Save Zillions On Cleaning Products

wannabe_sybil

Actually, I'd forgotten stardrops until I posted on here. It was always quoted as a standby, but I haven't seen it recently.

Lemanie_2

Hello,

You can use a mix of half water and half vinegar in a spray bottle (with a few drops of essential oil, lemon is good for antibacterial action) for a multi-surface cleaner.

Also, if you have a Chinese supermarket near you, you can buy vinegar and bicarb in vast quantities - I think I bought 20L of vinegar for £7.50 and 3Kg of bicarb for about £4.

That'll do most things (including the loo - I don't use bleach).

Lemanie

nuttyp

Oven cleaner, well im afraid I still buy that. I haven't discovered anything OS yet.

wannabe_sybil

Lemanie - thanks, I will definitely check out the Chinese supermarket! And I am sure that I can re-use some spray bottles.

nuttyp - darn that there is still oven cleaner required. Mind you, I need to first clean my oven before worrying what to clean it with.

I love value baby wipes for cleaning eg window ledges and light switches. I suppose it is a cloth with cleaner on.

GreyQueen

wannabe_sybil wrote: »

I have a cupboard full of cleaning products and the house work still doesn't do itself.

I have a theory that the better you are at cleaning, the less items you need. Once I have used up my stash I plan to really keep to the minimum. What are the minimum? I have

dishwasher tablets
Washing powder
Washing up liquid
Multi-surface cleaner (would this be stardrops?)
Bleach
White vinegar

What else should I consider (eventually, when I've run down or thrown out the current stash)?

That's pretty close to my set-up.

Washing up liquid, laundry power, Tosspots Basics cream cleanser, soda crystals, bircarb of soda, a limescale toilet bowl cleaner, Astonish Hob and Oven cleaner, and bleach (I don't use bleach very much, about 1 litre a year).

Hot soapy water cleans most things.

wannabe_sybil

Thank you - I'd forgotten about soda crystals!

Broomstick

I've recently bulk bought some 'green' cleaning stuff and got citric acid as well as some of the things already mentioned. I wanted a cheaper alternative to Barkeeper's Friend and my occasional use of Lakeland descaler bags both of which contain citric acid. We'd tried descaler bags with the shower head and they worked a treat - we are in a very hard water area - but I reckon that citric acid will work the same and be cheaper. It should also clean as well as BKF since it's already in powder form so will be slightly abrasive if used damp.

B x

MrsGSR

I'm using some laundry washing liquid that is made from soda crystals and soapflakes. Working well so far!

wannabe_sybil

Broomstick - was that from drypak? I have looked on their site with a great deal of interest, but I won't be buying anything more until I absolutely have to!

MrsGSR - I tried making laundry gloop but I got a funny smell in the washing. It wasn't in the gloop, and it persisted even when I added tea tree oil. I don't think it was even the washing machine as the laundry was fine with normal powder. I got some Ariel professional at Makro, working out at 170 of their washes for, I think, £18 but I can't remember clearly. When that runs out I plan to try Aldi powder as it is supposed to be very good indeed. I have run out of Vanish and I am already doing a boost for whites with washing soda.

How do we stand on brillo pads? I don't seem to need them, but that could be because I haven't tackled my oven.

elona

How about trying a steel wool scrubby thingy instead of Br**o ?

They last much longer.

Also try microfibre cloths with the cleansers you have already.

I have just tackled double oven which was a right state and oven pr**e for £4 did a fantastic job on oven shelves, racks and oven but could not be used on glass doors etc which is where the steel scrubby thing came into its own. (plus elbow grease).