A while ago I posted about using some 4-0 mine for our household cleaning. I happened to be using a diluted dishwasher soap recipe at the time and it did leave a little film. I recently picked up this recipe card at Whole Foods and really like the cleaner it makes. It smells good and doesn't require a rinse. I use it on the floor, too!
Speaking of the floor, I love my Swiffer but hated how expensive the pads were and the thought of my daughter (then) crawling all over the floor after I used their liquid. I had the idea to cut a hole in the bottom of their bottle and fill it with my own mix...works great! It does slosh out a little so you have to plug it up. In this photo I have a cloth stuck in it...we've had tape over the hole, too. (so professional around here!) haha.
Another neat & super easy fix for the Swiffer is to cut your own pads from fabric. I've seen people sew different cloth pads but I just cut some larger pieces of microfiber and am using those. I was going to serge the edges but they are not unraveling yet, even after quite a few uses. The grippy stuff on the bottom of the Swiffer really clings to the microfiber so it doesn't slide around even without being fastenend.
I love that these easy changes have allowed me to still have the convenience of the Swiffer without having to feel bad about the chemical & disposable aspects of it. And, I almost forgot...it's a LOT cheaper, too!
Thanks for stopping by! For more wonderful tips visit Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.
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13 comments:
Great idea to cut the whole in the bottle. I knew there had to be a way to refill it with out buying another refill. Thanks!
Great tip, thanks!
I should get one of those. I have the regular swiffer that you just attach the pads to and it's the ONLY non-green cleaning item in my home. I can't give it up, though, I love it too much! I keep thinking, why doesn't Seventh Generation make some pads to put on the swiffer?
Maybe I should get some microfiber cloth and see if I can use those on it, instead. Hmmmm. Great idea, Steph!
Ahhh... a microfiber cloth! I've been wondering what I can use instead of the regular Swiffer refills. Great tip!
Yay! I'm glad you guys liked it. :)
I'm new to the crafty sorts of things - how much is microfiber (generally)? Could you useanythign else too? And, do you just throw them in the wash when you are done?
I should have added that, Beth. Thanks for asking. :) I got a big bag of microfiber "rags" in the Wal Mart automotive dept for $4. They are a generous size (one rag got me 4 swiffer pads) and all had finished edges...not sure why they were rags. Pretty colors, too! I've also seen microfiber cloths at the $1 store. Hope that helps!
I haven't tried it yet but I read recently that you CAN wash and reuse those Swiffer cloths..wouldn't that be nice if it's true?
I refill my Swiffer solution, too. But instead of cutting a hole in the bottle, I just cut the ring that holds the lid on the solution. It's like on a 2 liter bottle when the ring separates to open. Just carefully cut the ring and you can refill to your heart's content!
Elizabeth
On those regular swiffers, you can use a bigger microfiber cloth and tuck it into the corners on the top of the swiffer. I used to do that and then broke down and bought one of those Orange Glo ones with washable microfiber pads.
I have a recipe almost like the one you've shown, but instead of dishwashing liquid, I use Castile soap ~ no bad ingredients. I don't use lemon juice, but I do add tea tree oil and or lavender or grapefruit essential oils...Or what ever smell I'm wanting at the moment!
Great idea! The "dispose everything" factor of Swiffers is what has kept me from buying one. I can get on board with these eco-friendly modifications. :)
I've just read this post. I'm wondering how difficult to make a diluted dishwasher soap. Could anyone post it here, please? I'd like to ad this recipe to my collection of soap recipes here. thanks.
My husband removed the cap of the Swiffer bottle by soaking it in very hot water about 30 seconds. There are teeth and a threads that hold the cap on. The teeth are weakened with repeated removal.
The solution I use successfully consisted of Clorox Green Works all purpose solution (1/4) and water (3/4).
It smells great and doesn't leave any film.
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