Save Zillions On Cleaning Products

Broomstick

wannabe_sybil wrote: »

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!

Summer Naturals.
B x

wannabe_sybil

I sort of wish this hadn't been merged because I now have to wade through all the posts from ten years ago to work out stuff, but I do appreciate that it helps keep the board clearer.

Elona - I suspect that the biggest money saver is regular elbow grease

I use microfibre clothes and I am using torn up newspaper to do stuff like scrape grease out of roasting tins (I do not have the skill, energy or resources to reuse). I don't like using cloths for the really mucky stuff and sometimes I do use kitchen roll.

This probably is current - is it worth getting cheaper kitchen roll in bulk (which I have done) or getting the more expensive but better quality stuff on the best deal you can?

joedenise

wannabe_sybil wrote: »

I sort of wish this hadn't been merged because I now have to wade through all the posts from ten years ago to work out stuff, but I do appreciate that it helps keep the board clearer.

Elona - I suspect that the biggest money saver is regular elbow grease

I use microfibre clothes and I am using torn up newspaper to do stuff like scrape grease out of roasting tins (I do not have the skill, energy or resources to reuse). I don't like using cloths for the really mucky stuff and sometimes I do use kitchen roll.

This probably is current - is it worth getting cheaper kitchen roll in bulk (which I have done) or getting the more expensive but better quality stuff on the best deal you can?

I agree with you on all this - I don't like it when threads are merged it makes it much harder to find anything.

I also don't like using cloths for mucky jobs like cleaning roasting tins and the oven - newspapers and paper towels are much better.

I use Icel*nd paper towels @ 4 for £1. They are a reasonable quality for the price and do whatever you need them for.

Denise

kmcld2

I like cleaning with liquid castille soap - a little goes a long way, and ordinary carbolic soap, it smells so clean.

nursemaggie

At last I mad it up to date. Spend my Saturday night reading a forum on cleaning and I enjoyed it you all have such a happy atitude and good senses of humour.

I want to thank you all for your tips. I have copied and pasted some to notepad and put them on my desktop.

dk2401

A citric acid solution of 1 tablespoon to 1 litre of water cleans kettles and showerheads just as effectively as commercial descalers and for a fraction of the price.
Just fill the kettle with water, boil, allow to cool for a few seconds, then add the citric acid - mind the fizzing. I tend to put the showerhead into the jug as well just to get my money's worth!
I get my citric acid off Ebay - much cheaper than Boots even with postage.

lizb46cc

Anyone know how to get he rid of ugly brown marks in toilet bowl where water runs down to refill bowl? Our water is from a spring and this leaves green marks in bath which I clean with a bleach spray but these brown marks are not coming off. Wish we had kept old toilet as this was not a problem with that. :-(

Agooner

@lizb46cc Try using some coca cola:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U22suBkohC4

supersaver1000

I agree with the coke, but I also used the toilet brush and some ajax power on ours. I then had to get the rubber gloves out and a scourer to really finish it off.

Ours is the same - a new toilet - the old one was much better quality I think, but we are on spring water too, so maybe there is a connection.

Have you thought about a bloo loo tablet - would that work?

Good Luck with a yukky job!

kboss2010

wannabe_sybil wrote: »

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.

Aldi washing powder and liquid is great!

I use the lavender scented bio powder for my clothes (it's cheaper than the gel) and non-bio gel for OH's because he has very sensitive skin. The gel is around £2.99 a bottle and the powder is slightly cheaper (I think around £2.20?) but if you live in a soft water area you can get away with using half a capful of gel instead of a full one per load. I also use the gel bottle lids to measure out my washing powder, an almost-full cap will do a washer load.

I've never lived in a hard water area so I can't say if they're the same or not.

I've cleaned my oven once in the last 3 years. It's way past its sell-by date but belongs to a rented flat so I can't replace it. I used that really nasty oven cleaner liquid that comes in an orange bottle and it worked really well.

My OH uses scourers every so often otherwise I wouldn't bother buying them. Never buy Brillo, just the cheap round ones from £1 shops and add my own soap.

I've got some blocks of green Fairy clothes washing bars from what looks like 1960 (inherited from an elderly relative) and I haven't a clue what to do with them! I'm concerned about using them to wash dishes as I don't know what they're made from and they look old enough to possibly be from an era when no one knew that asbestos was toxic.

Does anyone older than me remember them and, if so, what can I do with them besides hand washing clothes?

Edit: So, uh, I googled it and apparently I can fleabay 2 bars of the stuff for around £12?! Why do people want this stuff?