Question of the Day: Mar 17th (Cleaning Products)

[Karly]

What's your favorite cleaning product? Is it something you recently discovered, or an old standby?

[Girlo]

vinegar and water with a little orange and tea tree oil mixed into the spray bottle. :nod:

[milliez]

BLEACH! I love using bleach, especially for my kitchen and bathroom. It makes everything so sparkly clean.:biggrin:

~ Melissa

[~Jenn]

vinegar and water with a little orange and tea tree oil mixed into the spray bottle. :nod:

Ditto! Love it!

[sheila]

Fels Naptha. It isn't what I use the most, but I'd never heard of it until about a year ago when I started making my own detergent. Man, that stuff is handy!

[Jillian]

We buy almost 100% method brand cleaning products, for no reason other than they smell good.

[MamaGoofy]

I love the lysol clean up wipes. They are so handy!

[Connie1222]

I love the lysol clean up wipes. They are so handy!

I'll ditto that! Makes cleaning much easier.

[TtownAnne]

Clorox Wipes! You can use them on just about everything.

[Karri]

Vinegar!
I keep a spray bottle handy of some mixed w/ water and a few drops of lavendar oil to clean up anything -on the walls, wood floor, vinyl floor, sink - whatever! I love using it on the tile in the bath - it keeps mildew from appearing in my grout. It keeps my dishwasher clean if I use it twice a year in its own cycle. And its the only thing that gets grease and grime off of anything.
I just wish it smelled better :dead:

[Jayne]

Magic Ereaser! I love that darn thing. I use it all over the house :lol:

[Elisete]

Murphy's oil soap! I love it because it can be used on anything and it smells great! I make my own "soft scrub" with it :

¼ C Borax

Murphy’s oil soap

½ tsp lemon grass oil (you can use any oil but I think a lemony scent goes well with Murphy's, orange might be good too.)

[Alyson]

I love Clorox wipes as well!!!

[magoo]

Microfiber cleaning cloths!

My other favourite is baking soda. It's great on our glass cooktop. :aok:

[Jillian]

Magic Ereaser! I love that darn thing. I use it all over the house :lol:

Ooo, yea, I love the magic eraser!!!

[LISA]

I can't think of any product I :airquote: love :airquote: I just loath cleaning that much :lol: I'll go with windex..if someone pops in unexpected I can do a million things with a bottle of windex and papertowels :)

[Lynn]

Bar Keeper's Friend! :up: It is the only thing that cleans our stove.

[Eva]

More of a landry product than cleaning product but I LOVE my clorox bleach pen. I seem to be using it in over time lately.

Also the swiffer cloths.

[Melissa]

I love the lysol clean up wipes. They are so handy!
:nod: I get the kirkland brand ones and they are terrific!

[Michal]

Microfiber cleaning cloths!



Ditto! They are are so much better at cleaning everything than regular cloths.

[Alyssa]

I love Formula 409 (which I tend to call Formula 401K a lot, by accident :lol: ) - but we're also now using Pledge Multi Surface a lot.

That said, I am really trying to get into natural/organic cleaning products. Keep meaning to start a post on that...

[Alyssa]

Bar Keeper's Friend! :up: It is the only thing that cleans our stove.I might look into that...the stove is so hard to keep clean.

For those using vinegar/water - what is your approx. ratio of water to vinegar?

[~Jenn]

For those using vinegar/water - what is your approx. ratio of water to vinegar?

I use about half and half...I really just add water to the spray bottle until it looks about half full, and then I fill the rest with vinegar. Then I add some tea tree oil, and voila, instant cleaner! You do have to get used to the smell, but it doesn't take too long (although the kids will comment every now and then! :lol: ).

[Carmen]

BLEACH! I love using bleach, especially for my kitchen and bathroom. It makes everything so sparkly clean.:biggrin:

Same here! I love bleach.

[Trish]

Vinegar!
I keep a spray bottle handy of some mixed w/ water and a few drops of lavendar oil to clean up anything -on the walls, wood floor, vinyl floor, sink - whatever! I love using it on the tile in the bath - it keeps mildew from appearing in my grout. It keeps my dishwasher clean if I use it twice a year in its own cycle. And its the only thing that gets grease and grime off of anything.
I just wish it smelled better :dead:Ugh, I so hate the smell of vinegar :dead: but, I know that using this would be much better than a lot of other crap, so my next question is where do you find lavendar oil? :scratch: I've got to have something to help w/that horrible vinegar smell :lol:

[Karri]

For those using vinegar/water - what is your approx. ratio of water to vinegar?

For general cleaning, 1:1, with 2-3 drops of oil.
For floors, 1 gallon water, with 1/2-1c. vinegar.
For shower/bath tile, straight vinegar.

where do you find lavendar oil? I either got it at our local co-op or at Whole Foods. You could get it at any natural foods store or that kind of place, I am sure. You do want TTO or Lavendar (although I will admit to not caring for the smell or TTO) because of its antiseptic properties.

[Jillian]

You can actually get both TTO and lavender oils at walmart in the vitamin section.

[Sandy]

We use 409, and various wipes - clorox, etc. I took an enormous tub of antibiotic wipes from the hospital when we left. But, I am also really interested in moving toward organic/natural cleaning products as well. I am not going to be able to use vinegar b/c Tommy HATES the smell of it.

[Girlo]

Just agreeing with the 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water. :nod: I use the same, technical measuring technique that Jenn uses. :giggle: "Yep, that looks about right......"

I use orange oil instead of lavender because it's WAY cheaper (about 1/3 the price). :heee: That said, a bottle of the EO will last a VERY long time (because you're only using a few drops in a big bottle), so the cost really evens out in the end if you prefer lavender to orange.

Also agreeing with the smell. It does take a little getting used to. At first, it's an assualt on your nose.....after a few months you don't even notice it. Plus, it dissipates after you spray it within minutes! It's not like an hour later you're still smelling vinegar in your kitchen after you've cleaned it. Plus, knowing that if Alex consumes some of it, he'll just get an icky taste in his mouth is a BIG bonus.....makes the smell totally worthwhile. :aok:
That said, I do prefer the smell of vinegar to the smell of the bleach in so many cleaning products out there these days......

[Mandi]

We use a lot of 409 and Kirkland antibacterial wipes (like them better than Clorox ones.. bigger and more sturdy).

I'd like to get on board with the vinegar though. I'm all for cheaper cleaning products. :aok:

Karri- When you doing the vinegar in your dishwasher, how much do you add? Do you just throw a cup or something into the bottom and then run it empty?

[Trish]

Karri- When you doing the vinegar in your dishwasher, how much do you add? Do you just throw a cup or something into the bottom and then run it empty?OH, I was going to ask about this, too... my dishwasher could really use a good cleaning :shuffle:

[kalm]

I love vinegar/water for cleaning glass surfaces....and I used to use it on the floors but have gotten away from that.

I always have the Kirkland wipes, which I mainly use for quick cleanups (quick sweep of the bathrooms, nearly daily are my favorite use of them).

The more environmentally friendly cleaners have become a way of life over the last year of so. Simple Green is my favorite for wherever you'd use something like 409 (though I kinda like Alyssa's 401K, :lol: ), as well as for the floors. I've been using 7th Generation dish soap, dishwasher soap and laundry detergent. I love the scents of all.

[Karri]

Karri- When you doing the vinegar in your dishwasher, how much do you add? Do you just throw a cup or something into the bottom and then run it empty?

I add about a cup and I put it in the detergent cups, but I think I read that you can just 'toss' it in there. And yes, I run it empty. I try to remember to do it once a month, but that usually doesn't happen. And I do it before I leave the house and then I crack the window b/c I think it smells :lol:

[Becca]

We use a lot of 409 and Kirkland antibacterial wipes (like them better than Clorox ones.. bigger and more sturdy).

I'd like to get on board with the vinegar though. I'm all for cheaper cleaning products. :aok: ...

Ditto to the wipes...& the cheaper cleaning products :biggrin: I also use Lysol 4-in-1 cleaner quite a bit.