Favorite cleaners

[KyMama]

This morning while trying to clean my stove top I realized that my store bought cleaner is not working that well.  I used to have a nice collection of recipes for homemade cleaners, but I've put them up somewhere and can't find them.  So I was thinking it would be nice to have a list of products (homemade or commercial) that we use and love.  

I need a good, grease cutting cleaner to use in the kitchen so I'm off the find recipes to try because I don't want to run to the store.   

[okiemomof3]

this isn't for the stove but i have one worth gold for the bathroom it is the ONLY recipe i have found on Pintrest that works as well or even better than described

I call it my Magic Potion and all the girls here at work have gotten hooked on it too.

Magic Potion:
Dawn dish soap (i use the blue great value - some girls at work use the Gain for better scent)
cider vinegar - heated in microwave for 2-3 minutes until very hot
old shampoo squirt bottle or empty dish soap container

using equal parts, using a funnel pour the heated vinegar in container and squeeze the dish soap into the container. close lid and gently turn up and down to mix up. gently so not too many bubbles form.

Squirt potion all over tub and tub surround, on faucets, everywhere. plug up drain so excess does not drain out. wet a rag and slosh the rag around so that the cleaner gets on all surfaces and doesn't go down surfaces in "drips".

Now, just walk away......don't come back for an hour, go read, do chores, take a nap. whatever you want to do. After an hour has passed, go back and use same rag and just wipe all the grime away. there may be a few stubborn spots but for the most part, no elbow grease is required. Rinse thoroughly and your tub will be sparkling!

I have used this also in my toilet and it works great also.

[KyMama]

okiemomof3 - I think I used that before, I don't have any Dawn so I'll have to wait to try it again.

I forgot that I bought a book titled "501 Amazing Uses for Salt, Vinegar, Baking Soda, Olive Oil & Lemons" at Sam's Club a few months ago. I'm going to try number 46, degrease the stovetop - Fill a spray bottle with equals parts vinegar and water; spray the stovetop and wipe clean. I'll report back on whether or not it works. I'm going to try it on the wall right next to my stove too.

[okiemomof3]

i just use the generic dish soap and it works great!

[KyMama]

Great, I use Palmolive so I'll give it a try with that. I've always saw it with Dawn so I assumed you had to use it or it wouldn't work.

I got my vinegar and water mixed in a spray bottle, added abut 20 drops of lemon essential oil and got to work. I was using a blue scrubby sponge and it definitely worked better than whatever I was using before. I had to scrub a little harder on the wall, but it got it all. I think the wall was tougher because it was running off too fast instead of sitting like it did on the stovetop.

[willowgirl]

Dish soap is actually a really good cleaner, especially when it comes to cutting grease. If you have to clean glass (especially in the kitchen, like glass cupboard doors), and Windex or similar just makes them smeary, put a squirt of dish soap on a wet rag and wipe them down, then dry and polish. Usually takes care of the problem.

I clean most of my clients' kitchens by making up a sinkful of hot sudsy water and using it to wipe down counters, cupboard, appliances, etc.

As as the best commercial products:

Magic Erasers are good for everything, especially bathtubs and crayon marks! Also good for removing spatters on stovetops.
Bathroom -- Kaboom or Zep in the purple-and-white bottle.
Glass - Invisible Glass. It's pricey but worth it.
Floors (laminate, Pergo, wood) -- Ammonia-and-water solution cleans without leaving streaks

[Deleted]

LOVE that hint about the dish soap and vinegar - what a brilliant idea. We use bars of all-purpose laundry soap as normal shower soap as it lasts so much longer than the conventional bars of the nice smelly stuff. But HD hates to use up the small scraps, so replaces the bar when it still has some life in it. I've been saving the scraps and now I have the PERFECT way to use them up - melt them and mix with vinegar. Thanks so much for posting this okiemomof3. I'm going to give it a go immediately.

Also I remembered that if you wipe a cake of soap over bathroom mirrors and polish it off, the mirrors don't steam up. Maybe this mix would have a similar effect.

[willowgirl]

Oh, another tip: Lysol toilet bowl cleaner is handy for a few things, like cleaning stained grout in bathrooms with tilework. (The dispensing tip on the bottle is handy for squirting it into the grooves!) Also, if you have an ice/water dispenser in the door of your fridge, and the tray gets gunky with lime or mineral build-up, squirt some toilet bowl cleaner in it and let it sit for awhile, then scrub it out with an old toothbrush or Magic Eraser.

Toilet bowl cleaner is hard on your skin, so wear rubber gloves, or at least wash your hands thoroughly afterwards and apply lotion.

[Raeven]

You're solving lots of my little problems over here, willowgirl. Thanks for so generously sharing this bounty of great tips.

[willowgirl]

You're welcome, Raeven.

Hopefully none of my clients will stumble across this thread; I'll put myself out of business ... lol!

[jen8753]

I really like the Awesome! Brand of degreaser you can get for $1 at Dollar tree or Dollar general. It's yellow and comes in a clear bottle with red writing on it. I buy the larger "refill" bottle (does not come with a sprayer) for the same price of $1 and you get, i think, 40% more than the bottle with the sprayer nozzle. I use it on my stove and anywhere with really dirty spots. Floors, outdoor, etc.

[okiemomof3]

do you have dilute it? or use full strength?

[manygoatsnmore]

I like the Awesome line of products, too.

You can dilute the degreaser or use full strength, depending on what you need it for.

[Maura]

I use dish soap all over the house.

I just discovered Bar Keeper’s Friend for the toilet. We have iron an other minerals, so the toilets tend to look awful. Boy, a little old green scrubber and some BKF and those stains came right off. Toilet looks new. I used it around the sink faucet too, wonderful. Now, I just need some Borax to keep up with it.

I’m going to have to try the dish soap and vinegar solution for the bathtub. Thanks.

[willowgirl]

More random cleaning tips: Mirrors. For big bathroom mirrors, start by dusting it off with a clean, dry Swiffer duster. Next, spritz with glass cleaner -- you seldom need to do more than the bottom half. If there are toothpaste spatters, wipe them off first with a Magic Eraser. Polish the glass with a wad of paper towels, then use the slightly damp towels to clean the top half. If the mirror is taller than you can reach, grab your roll of paper towels by one end and swipe it back and forth to clean the top. (You may need to spritz the roll lightly with window cleaner, swipe, then tear off the damp towel(s) and swipe it again until dry and streak-free.)

If you have a chevalier mirror, or any mirror on a stand, angle the glass facing slightly downward so it doesn't collect dust.

[Daniel]

Nov 18, 2015 19:38:04 GMT jen8753 said:

I really like the Awesome! Brand of degreaser you can get for $1 at Dollar tree or Dollar general. It's yellow and comes in a clear bottle with red writing on it. I buy the larger "refill" bottle (does not come with a sprayer) for the same price of $1 and you get, i think, 40% more than the bottle with the sprayer nozzle. I use it on my stove and anywhere with really dirty spots. Floors, outdoor, etc.

The Awesome Cleaner from Dollar General is REALLY Awesome.  Use it on everything.  My hired farm hand turned me onto to this Awesome product.  My favorite use is as a laundry stain remover.  We keep a small spray bottle in the Laundry room.  Just spray and wash as usual.  Haven't run across a stain it doesn't take out yet.

[tab]

Mean Green, cleaner an degreaser, from Family Dollar, works great on miniblinds, fan grils,, etc. Spray and hose off. Gets rid of fly and spidey poog along with the gunk. This tip was given to me years ago and it has saved me hours of scrubbing.
A great scrub is castile liquid soap on sponge and baking soda. Other liquid soaps work but the castile just seems to be a bit better.
The best glass cleaner I have found is
1/3 c. Alcoho, 1/3 c. Ammonia, dash Dawn, fill squirt bottle with water. Works on many surfaces, including ok on stovetops.

[Txsteader]

I try to use natural products as much as possible. One year, when my stove had gotten especially gunky on the side walls (out of sight, out of mind), I made a thin paste of dishwashing liquid and baking soda. I brushed it on generously w/ a 2" paint brush and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then I sprayed it w/ a 50/50 diluted vinegar solution. It instantly reacted w/ the baking soda and I simply wiped the gunk off w/ a rag. The solution softens the grease/gunk & the vinegar bubbles it up so it's easily wiped away.

[shellymay]

Nov 18, 2015 2:52:28 GMT @kiwifarmgal said:

LOVE that hint about the dish soap and vinegar - what a brilliant idea. We use bars of all-purpose laundry soap as normal shower soap as it lasts so much longer than the conventional bars of the nice smelly stuff. But HD hates to use up the small scraps, so replaces the bar when it still has some life in it. I've been saving the scraps and now I have the PERFECT way to use them up - melt them and mix with vinegar. Thanks so much for posting this okiemomof3 . I'm going to give it a go immediately.

Also I remembered that if you wipe a cake of soap over bathroom mirrors and polish it off, the mirrors don't steam up. Maybe this mix would have a similar effect.

I used the vinegar and dish soap suggestion on the fridge ice/water tray the other day after reading this, I did pop out the tray (calcium buildup)

and soaked it over night in another bowl and to my surprise no scrubbing needed as it was gone and I just wiped with a rag....Thanks Ladies and

now I will try on showers/tubs

[susannah]

Nov 16, 2015 20:04:01 GMT willowgirl said:

Dish soap is actually a really good cleaner, especially when it comes to cutting grease. If you have to clean glass (especially in the kitchen, like glass cupboard doors), and Windex or similar just makes them smeary, put a squirt of dish soap on a wet rag and wipe them down, then dry and polish. Usually takes care of the problem.

I clean most of my clients' kitchens by making up a sinkful of hot sudsy water and using it to wipe down counters, cupboard, appliances, etc.

As as the best commercial products:

Magic Erasers are good for everything, especially bathtubs and crayon marks! Also good for removing spatters on stovetops.
Bathroom -- Kaboom or Zep in the purple-and-white bottle.
Glass - Invisible Glass. It's pricey but worth it.
Floors (laminate, Pergo, wood) -- Ammonia-and-water solution cleans without leaving streaks

My stainless gas stove has a black surface where the burners are.  And I swear I had just about given up ever getting that to look good again.  Smeary, greasy, blech.  After reading this, I tried just putting some Dawn dish soap on a wet rag to clean it, then using some serious elbow grease to wipe it down.  Both my husband and I were amazed at how good the stove top looks now.  It hasn't looked this good since shortly after we bought the stove.  THANK YOU!

[willowgirl]

You're welcome!

Now for a "favorite cleaner" tip of a different kind -- favorite VACUUM cleaners! If you see a high-end vacuum cleaner in someone's trash, scoop it up! Nine out of 10 times, the only thing that will be wrong with it is all the filters are plugged up. People who have the money to replace a $500 vac without batting an eye don't seem inclined to change filters, for some reason. I have acquired a number of good vacuums like this, including the Shark Navigator I've been using for the last 3 years. Yesterday, I scored a Dyson -- the Cadillac of vacuums! And the only thing wrong with it was gunky filters. It will cost about $25 to replace them. (Hint, even if the canister says, "Lifetime filter, never needs replacing," it WILL need to be replaced at some point ... but that may be ALL it needs!)

[manygoatsnmore]

willowgirl, nice score! I have also found that vacuums quite often just need to have the strings and stuff cut off the beater bar.

[jupiter]

We have a clear glass sink on a base. Very pretty but a pain in the rear to clean. I've tried everything! The dish soap/ vinegar mix? AWESOME! Our sink is spotless! Thank you all for sharing!

[okiemomof3]

Dec 13, 2015 1:20:04 GMT jupiter said:

We have a clear glass sink on a base. Very pretty but a pain in the rear to clean. I've tried everything! The dish soap/ vinegar mix? AWESOME! Our sink is spotless! Thank you all for sharing!

it makes it look like it is brand new, right?  That's why i love this stuff It's the only pinterest thing that actually worked as well as claimed!

[kawaiitimes]

Nov 16, 2015 17:15:25 GMT KyMama said:

okiemomof3 - I think I used that before, I don't have any Dawn so I'll have to wait to try it again.

I forgot that I bought a book titled "501 Amazing Uses for Salt, Vinegar, Baking Soda, Olive Oil & Lemons" at Sam's Club a few months ago. I'm going to try number 46, degrease the stovetop - Fill a spray bottle with equals parts vinegar and water; spray the stovetop and wipe clean. I'll report back on whether or not it works. I'm going to try it on the wall right next to my stove too.

This is what I use on virtually everything, including my glass top stove. It works really well and deoderizes as it cleans. (Right now I am using apple cider vinegar instead of white so I can use the same bottle to spray down the pets for fleas, too).

[jupiter]

Dec 14, 2015 13:27:39 GMT okiemomof3 said:

Dec 13, 2015 1:20:04 GMT jupiter said:

We have a clear glass sink on a base. Very pretty but a pain in the rear to clean. I've tried everything! The dish soap/ vinegar mix? AWESOME! Our sink is spotless! Thank you all for sharing!

it makes it look like it is brand new, right?  That's why i love this stuff It's the only pinterest thing that actually worked as well as claimed!

Yes it does! (:

[manygoatsnmore]

Okay, guys, what would you recommend for an aluminum pizza bake pan - the kind with all the holes in it. As it's aluminum, oven cleaner is out. I've tried Awesome Degreaser on it - worked a bit, but not all that well. I'd like to get it looking like new again. I also have some aluminum air bake cookie sheets that are not in as bad of shape, but they do need some upkeep.

Would the vinegar hurt the finish if I try the dish soap/vinegar mix? I figure if it works on baked on stuff on stove tops, it might work on the pizza pan, but...I don't want to damage the finish.