See how they performed when we put them to the test against the name
brands:
MULTIPURPOSE CLEANER
Rating: Excellent. Performed as well as top-of-the-line commercial products.
Uses: Many. Tile and linoleum floors, formica counter-tops, appliances, etc.
Hazards: Read about ammonia above.
Cost: About 40 cents a gallon (not including water)
¼ cup baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1 cup household ammonia
½ cup white vinegar
1 gallon warm water
Mix ingredients and store in tightly-capped container.
OLD-FASHIONED GLASS AND WINDOW CLEANER
Rating: Very good. The best commercial preparations left the window only
a little shinier. Even though the cornstarch makes the mixture slightly gritty,
it didn't scratch the glass. Poisonous.
Hazards: Ammonia is poisonous, so keep. the mixture away from children and
arrange good ventilation. Wear gloves because it's a heavy-duty cleaner and
rough on the hands.
Cost: About 20 cents a gallon (not including water)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup household ammonia
½ cup white vinegar
1 gallon warm water
Mix the ingredients in a bucket and use to scrub windows. Try not to clean
glass the sun is shining on because it will dry too fast and streak.
VINEGAR WINDOW CLEANER
Rating: Very good. We'd been warned that plain water could do as well as
a vinegar solution, but our subjective impression was that the vinegar made
it a lot easier to get rid of smudges. In theory, vinegar is supposed to
remove hard-water spots.
Hazards: May be hard on your hands, but safe enough to drink.
Cost: About 7¢ a gallon (not including water)
½ cup white vinegar
1 gallon warm water
Just mix and scrub.
DILUTE BLEACH
Rating: Very good. In the ballpark with commercial cleaners, but few name-brand
cleaners got rid of smudges with less scrubbing.
Hazards: Bleach is poisonous, so keep it away from children. It will bleach
anything it touches, so use only on colorfast items. Check the solution first
on a hidden spot.
Uses: Same as above.
Cost: Less than a penny a gallon (not including water)
2 tablespoons or 1/8 cup liquid bleach
1 quart cold water
Mix in a scrub bucket. Moisten an old cloth with the solution and wipe onto
surface. Let stand about 2 minutes and rinse well.
DILUTE AMMONIA
Rating: Very good. A few of the best commercial cleaners outperformed it.
Hazards: Ammonia is poisonous and its fumes sting the eyes and throat. Wear
gloves. Don't mix with chlorine bleach because the combination produces poisonous
gases called chloramines.
Uses: Same as above.
Cost: About 8¢ a gallon (not including water)
½ cup household ammonia
1 gallon warm water.
Mix in a pail and use to scrub.
METAL POLISH
Rating: Good. Does the job but you need to scrub more than you would with
a commercial cleaner.
Hazards: Safe enough to eat, and it's not gritty enough to scratch the metal.
Uses: Suitable for brass, bronze, copper and pewter. Not for silver, silver
plate and jewelry.
Cost: Less than a penny for about 3 tablespoons of paste (not including water)
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon salt
I tablespoon white vinegar
Combine salt and flour in small bowl and stir until blended. Add the vinegar
and mix into a thick paste. Smear on the paste with a damp sponge or cloth
and rub gently. Let the polish dry for about an hour.
Rinse well with warm water and buff dry with a soft cloth.
WALL CLEANER
Rating: Very good. A few commercial preparations required less scrubbing.
Hazards: See ammonia above. Don't let children eat the borax either.
Uses: For painted walls, not wall-paper
Cost: About 6¢ for 2 quarts (not including water)
2 ounces borax
I teaspoon ammonia
2 quarts water
Dissolve the borax and ammonia in a bucketful of water. Scrub a really dirty
wall from the bottom up. if you scrub from the top down, the dirty water
will run down over the dry, soiled wall leaving hard-to-remove streaks. Oddly
enough, it won't stain wet, clean walls. For textured walls, old socks are
good scrubbers because they won't tear off in little pieces as easily as
a sponge might. To keep water from dribbling down your arm, fasten an old
washcloth around your wrist with a rubber hand.
About the Author:
Kim Tilley is the mother of three boys, ages 8,5 and 1. She is also a tightwad at heart. Her interests include cooking, crafts, gardening, computers, and saving money! When not typing away at the computer, she entertains herself by chasing kids and finding ways to create something out of nothing!
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