Best home-made cleaners

I prefer to use organic or non-toxic cleaners. Today I cleaned my ceramic tile floors by wet mopping with 1/4 cup of white vinegar in a gallon of water. Worked great, floors are clean, and there's no chemical smell (vinegar smell went away when floors dried).

I've been researching other home-made cleaning recipes on various web sites. Would love to hear what's worked for you!

[v-girl]

Wow! I've never made my own cleaners. I have quite a bit of Melaleuca cleaners. We use mostly safe cleaners, but our 25 year old bathtubs seem to require CLR, Lime-away or other super-strong, use rubber gloves cleaners. Though we always re-wash with safe cleaners afterward.

[Chrisada]

I use Dr. Bronner's mixed with water to clean and as soap in the dispenser. The almond is my favorite. I also use vinegar diluted with water around the house.

Baking soda & a scrub brush works well as an abrasive bathtub cleaner that won't hurt porcelain. It won't get hard water deposits off like Lime Away, but it gets off soap scum easily, even if it has built up. (Not that I would ever let that happen. )
I like Mrs. Meyers lavendar scented dish soap for handwashing dishes.

[Amiens]

Showers (not marble, travertine tile, or other natural stone- it will etch the material): full-strength vinegar followed by a scrubbing with baking soda.

Natural stone: Ivory Dishsoap, just scrub and rinse. On counters like these, I used windex (I know not very "natural').

Toilets: Put a small amount of baking soda in the toilet, then just before scrubbing pour a small amount of vinegar in the toilet. Scrub and flush. I don't worry about the kids helping me clean.

Hardwood floors: 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon of water. Wash and let dry.

Carpet freshener: Freshen your carpets naturally by combining two tablespoons cornstarch, 1/4 cup perfumed talcum powder, and 3/4 cup baking soda in an old spice container. Sprinkle the mixture on dry carpet and let stand five to 15 minutes before vacuuming.

Floor polish: equal parts vinegar and vegetable oil

If you want to add a scent: 15 drops of pure peppermint oil or other pure essential oil to your vinegar-water mix.

Porcelain sinks: baking soda is a great "scrubbing" agent.

For the kitchen, I found this and have been wanting to try this over the Clorox Wipes. I have read that this method is just as effective, and more "green."

"You can use vinegar and hydrogen peroxide to disinfect your kitchen counters, produce and even your cutting boards. All you need is three percent hydrogen peroxide, the type you buy at the drug store, vinegar (white or apple cider), and two clean sprayers, like the kind you use to mist plants. Fill each sprayer separately, one with peroxide and the other with vinegar (don't mix them together in one bottle - that makes peracetic acid, which isn't safe and can give you a bad chemical burn). Spritz the item you want to disinfect, first with hydrogen peroxide and then with vinegar, then rinse off under running water. University tests show that this technique killed more potentially lethal bacteria, including Salmonella, Shigella, and even E. coli, than chlorine bleach or any commercially available kitchen cleaner."

The key is not mixing them in the same bottle but rather keeping them separate and then spritzing, and then wiping with a wet cloth or rinsing in the sink.

[BonBon]

I use Dr. Bronner's mixed with water to clean and as soap in the dispenser. The almond is my favorite. I also use vinegar diluted with water around the house.

Do you dilute it in the dispenser? Never thought to put it in there!

[BonBon]

I have about 60 of those microfiber cloths (courtesy of Sam's club). For almost everything I just use water and a cloth. One damp and one dry. I used to buy Method's Daily Granite for the counters but found water works just as well. Also use baking soda as a cleanser for the sink and if it gets really grubby I put a cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar in the drain to clear it.

For the wood and tile floors, I have one of those Hoover Floormates and just use really hot water. Works great. The less stinky crap you use in your house, the better.

[Chrisada]

I also love to simmer water, cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest on the stove to make a natural air freshener. It smells better that store bought ones, the smell lasts, and you are not spraying chemicals into the air.

[HouseofWool]

I normally use this laundry soap (not while I'm with my parents, but I will again)

1/2 cup washing soda (not baking) (Arm and Hammer)
1/2 cup borax
1/2 bar of Fel Naptha soap grated

You can use it as a powder - approximately 1 Tablespoon per load or you can dilute it into 3 gallons of water (boil one gallon, mix in the powders, then dilute with an additional 2 gallons of water) and use about 1/2c per load.