Save Money on your Cleaning Bill!

[Byeutter]

If you want to save money look for concentrated cleaners that you mix at home. I personally use the Veriuni Line of All-Natural Cleansers . The All purpose cleaner in the line costs $9.85 per quart plus shipping which costs out in usable product to 8 cents per quart including your shipping costs. (Each quart of concentrate will make up to 128 quarts of mixed product!) Supermarket brands are pushing 4.00 a bottle for conventional cleansers and close to $5.00 a bottle for the eco-friendly stuff!
It would cost you anywhere from $512 to $640 to purchase the equivalent amount of store branded stuff! (based on the figures I gave above!)

Your local supermarket probably carries one or two brands of mixable cleansers. With the economy and quality of them I am suprised that the green crusaders have not caught on to them yet.

Another benefit is that you also reduce your waste- 1 empty bottle going to the landfill in place of the 128 bottles of pre-mixed supermarket brands.

[Milehimama]

Or, you could buy a gallon of vinegar for $1.49 and mix it with water yourself - cleans floors, mirrors, windows, counters, and more! Non-toxic, it's what Grandma used to clean with. Tough spots, scrub with baking soda first. Also cheap and non-toxic.

[jkuo13]

Rubbing alcohol also works wonders as a cleaner/disinfectant. Just dilute a little 70% isopropyl and put it in a spray bottle. Vinegar, isopropyl, and baking soda get you pretty far with general cleaning.

[megRDJ]

I use less detergent and bleach in both my washing machine and dishwasher than recommended by either the soap companies or the appliance manufacturers. Like shampoo, the amounts recommended are quite wasteful and in the case of the dishwasher, cause spotting problems when using the economy cycle as with less water the rinse does not always wash all the soap away so you get spots and sometimes pitting. Reducing the soap to between 1/4 and 1/2 gets everything just as clean but with far less residue to rinse away or out.

[Rockatiel]

Vinegar, tea tree oil and baking soda are my best cleaning friends!

[lucille]

Originally Posted by Byeutter

If you want to save money look for concentrated cleaners that you mix at home. I personally use the Veriuni Line of All-Natural Cleansers . The All purpose cleaner in the line costs $9.85 per quart plus shipping which costs out in usable product to 8 cents per quart including your shipping costs. (Each quart of concentrate will make up to 128 quarts of mixed product!) Supermarket brands are pushing 4.00 a bottle for conventional cleansers and close to $5.00 a bottle for the eco-friendly stuff!
It would cost you anywhere from $512 to $640 to purchase the equivalent amount of store branded stuff! (based on the figures I gave above!)

Your local supermarket probably carries one or two brands of mixable cleansers. With the economy and quality of them I am suprised that the green crusaders have not caught on to them yet.

Another benefit is that you also reduce your waste- 1 empty bottle going to the landfill in place of the 128 bottles of pre-mixed supermarket brands.

I have wondered why Method and Seventh Gen have not done this. I wish Method would put out a concentrate bottle of their multipurpose cleaner in this fashion. We recycle our empties but it just seems so backward to be shipping that much water when the promote their super concentrated liquid laundry soap as the solution to quit shipping so much water in products.

[lilac]

Originally Posted by lucille

I have wondered why Method and Seventh Gen have not done this. I wish Method would put out a concentrate bottle of their multipurpose cleaner in this fashion. We recycle our empties but it just seems so backward to be shipping that much water when the promote their super concentrated liquid laundry soap as the solution to quit shipping so much water in products.

I love Method too (mmm cucumber multipurpose cleaner, that stuff made me *love* to clean). But I also felt the same about their lack of concentration in their formula. Unfortunately now that I've moved, I can't get anything but the hand wash in my area anymore.

What is really easy (and fun to use!) to clean is to sprinkle down surfaces (countertops, tile, bathtubs) with baking soda/sodium bicarbonate like you would sprinkle down Comet. Cut a citrus fruit in half and use as a (biodegradable!) scrubber, working the baking soda in to scrape off the dirt and muck. Then you can use either water -- or if it needs a heavy duty clean -- a diluted vinegar solution from a spray bottle, and then wipe clean with a damp cloth. If you're using vinegar, the citrus will cut the smell. Although I'd rather use vinegar any day over bleach. Non-toxic and that smell goes away so much faster.

[lucille]

Originally Posted by lilac

I love Method too (mmm cucumber multipurpose cleaner, that stuff made me *love* to clean). But I also felt the same about their lack of concentration in their formula. Unfortunately now that I've moved, I can't get anything but the hand wash in my area anymore.

What is really easy (and fun to use!) to clean is to sprinkle down surfaces (countertops, tile, bathtubs) with baking soda/sodium bicarbonate like you would sprinkle down Comet. Cut a citrus fruit in half and use as a (biodegradable!) scrubber, working the baking soda in to scrape off the dirt and muck. Then you can use either water -- or if it needs a heavy duty clean -- a diluted vinegar solution from a spray bottle, and then wipe clean with a damp cloth. If you're using vinegar, the citrus will cut the smell. Although I'd rather use vinegar any day over bleach. Non-toxic and that smell goes away so much faster.

Baking soda, lemon juice and a stiff brush got the grey yuk out of the texture in our plastic bath tub. None of the chemical toxic products would touch it. I need to try using it on more things.
I got really hooked on the method all purpose cleaner because it will clean things that other cleaners won't touch (it doesn't make me cough when I use it too). I so want to know what the ingredients are in that.
After the bath tub success I really should play around with vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice more for other cleaning.

[lilac]

Originally Posted by lucille

Baking soda, lemon juice and a stiff brush got the grey yuk out of the texture in our plastic bath tub. None of the chemical toxic products would touch it. I need to try using it on more things.

That was the moment that I fell in love with the baking soda, lemon scrubber and vinegar combo. I couldn't believe that I just saw all that stuff coming off and running down the drain. The tub didn't even look that dirty to me, but I figured it had been a while since I scrubbed it so I did it anyway. But low and behold, it apparently was! It was absolutely sparkling afterwards.