Frugal Cleaning Tips
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Carpet
Freshener Blend
1/2 cup
baking soda
50 drops lime
30 drops tangerine
20 drops patchouli
Mix and set aside for 24 hours.
Sprinkle on carpeting and let sit at least 15 minutes, then vacuum.
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Mildew
and Mold Killer
1 cup
peroxide
1 cup white vinegar
2 Tablespoons baking soda
Mix ingredients and store in spray bottle.
Be careful when pouring into bottle, as it will foam up.
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Silver
Cleaner
Here is a
recipe for cleaning silver that is just like the 'plates' that are for
sale, but it is much cheaper!
Combine the following in a clean container or sink (no specific amounts
of any of the ingredients mentioned):
Aluminum foil
Baking soda
Salt
Very hot water
Soak silver in this solution till tarnish is removed. (One
point to consider is that if your silver is only silverplated brass or
copper, do not use this method to clean it)
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Porcelain Cleaner
Use Cream of Tartar. To clean porcelain surfaces, rub with
cream of tartar sprinkled on a damp cloth. Works well on light stains.
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Natural Antibacterial
Cleaner
Vinegar is a mainstay of the old folk recipes for cleaning, and with
good reason. The vim of the vinegar is that it kills bacteria, mold, and
germs.
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Brass Cleaner
Use something you probably already have in your kitchen:
Ketchup, vinegar, tabasco, lemon or lime juice.
The acid in these products removes tarnish with soaking or light
scrubbing.
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Heavy-Duty Disinfectant Cleaner
1/4 c. powdered laundry detergent
1 Tbsp. borax
3/4 c. hot water
1/4 c. pine oil or pine-based cleaner
Slowly stir the detergent and borax into the water to dissolve.
Add the pine oil and mix well. For bathroom cleaning, use the mixture
full strength. In the kitchen, dilute with water.
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Make Your Own Oven Cleaner
2 Tbsp. dishwashing liquid
2 Tbsp. borax
1/4 c. ammonia
1 1/2 c. warm water
Mix together, apply to oven spills and allow to sit 20-30minutes. Scrub
with an abrasive nylon-backed sponge and rinse well.
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All-Purpose Household Cleaner
1 cup ammonia
1 cup washing soda
14 cups warm water
Pour ammonia, washing soda and 2 cups of water into a gallon size jug.
Shake to mix. Add remainder of water. Cleans tiles, countertops,
appliances, etc. Just about anything.
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Make your own Furniture
Polish
2 ounces beeswax
1/2 pint turpentine
About 1/4 ounce Essential Oil - more or less to your personal taste
Grate or slice the beeswax, put the wax and turpentine into a pan and
melt slowly. The turpentine is flammable so it's best to use a
double-pan or put the mixture into a boil and heat it over a pan of hot
water. Let it cool and before it goes completely hard add any Essential
Oil you like - I use lavender. Mix it well as it hardens and it turns
into a thick cream. It takes a fair bit of effort to get a shine and it
tends to feel slightly sticky for several days after you apply it. The
smell of turpentine goes within a few hours of using it.
To produce a softer cream polish that is easier to use:
add 1/4 pint hot water and a tablespoon of soap to the mixture above
(dissolve the soap in the hot water and beat that into the wax and
turpentine mix).
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