DIY cleaner recipes

Here are a few DIY cleaning agents that I've seen on Facebook.  I did not save the info of who originally posted them and I have no idea who took the photos or who came up with the recipe.  I'm not trying to steal anyone's idea or photo, just sharing the recipes I saw that I really, really liked and that I think are very helpful!  Here's to cleaning and saving money while doing it!  :)


HOMEMADE FEBREZE

Ingredients:
1/8 Cup of fabric softener
2 Tbsp baking soda
Hot tap water
Spray bottle (i.e. an empty 27 oz. Febreze bottle)

Directions:
Using a funnel, pour the fabric softener and baking soda into the spray bottle.  Fill the bottle with hot tap water and shake well - making sure to twist the nozzle to the lock position if you're using a Febreze bottle.

Store-bought Febreze: $5.59
Homemade Febreze: $0.15
Total Savings: $5.44 OR 97.3%!



 
MATTRESS CLEANER

Ingredients:
Mason Jar
1 C baking soda
4 drops lavender essential oil

Directions:
Combine the baking soda and lavender oil in the jar.  Cover with the lid and shake well.  Using a mesh strainer, sprinkle the baking soda mixture all over the mattress and let it sit for an hour or more.  Thoroughly vacuum the mattress.

This will eliminate dust mites and other nasty things.  The baking soda helps draw up any moisture and deep dirtiness.  It also deodorizes and leaves the mattress smelling fresh and clean.




GROUT CLEANER

Ingredients:
7 C water
1/2 C baking soda
1/3 C lemon juice
1/4 C vinegar

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle and spray your floor.  Let it sit for a minute or two, then scrub.




A couple of personal notes:  Baking soda will help clean up doggie poo stains - including diarrhea.  After you pick up the "solids", pour the baking soda all over the "wet" area and let it set for several hours.  Using a vacuum that is not your "good" one (i.e. use a shop-vac), vacuum up the baking soda and the poo particles that you couldn't scoop up.  This works very well on the Big D - trust me, I had to do it twice thanks to Diamond having an upset tummy a few years ago.  There will be some stains left over, grab some Windex - just the regular blue stuff - and spray the stains.  I used an old toothrbrush to gently scrub in all directions, then paper towels to pat it dry and all of the stains came up completely.  You may have to repeat the Windex step a couple of times to get all of it up, depending on how bad your stain is.  If you're afraid that the Windex will discolor your carpet, test it in a discreet area first.  I use Windex to get out all kinds of stains in the carpet.  I told my mother-in-law about it and she used it on her carpet and made it look brand new.  She thought she was going to have to replace the carpet until she cleaned it with Windex.  Aaaaaaand, the generic stuff works just as well as the name brand.  :)