Readers often email me asking for money-saving household cleaner tips. And one of the most common tips I have is: Don’t use so many cleaning products!
I do keep some cleaning products at my house, of course.
But, I don’t use a cleaning spray every time I need to wipe a surface.
Rather, I find that plain old water and a washcloth work just fine for a lot of minor cleaning jobs, especially in the kitchen.
As long as I’m not dealing with grease (definitely need soap for that!) or a raw meat mess (again, soap wins), I just rinse my washcloth in hot water and then wipe away.
I wipe my counters ALL THE TIME and if I used a spray every time, I’d go through an awful lot of cleaner.
I do this with my kitchen floors too, actually. A damp washcloth followed by a towel does a pretty great job of cleaning up non-greasy floor messes.
I think sometimes, at least here in America, we have an overactive “it’s unsanitary!” sense. In the average household, not every surface in the house needs to be sterilized at all times. That’s a pretty impossible standard to maintain anyway.
reflection in my water-cleaned kitchen counter
Plus, a lot of antibacterial products aren’t actually that effective in killing germs (often they require you to completely soak the surface in the cleaner and then leave it for 10 minutes, which hardly anyone seems to do!) Using these products with a quick spray and wipe often just makes us feel like we’ve knocked out all the bacteria.
I do think cleaners have their place, mind you. I just happen to think that there are some places where water and a washcloth have their place too.
Julie F
Wednesday 28th of March 2018
I’m not a salesperson for them but I splurged on Norwex Enviro cloths and the window polish cloth. Amazing. They clean and scrub so well. I don’t use window cleaner anymore. They scrub grease off and you can rinse and keep cleaning and it doesn’t leave grease or sticky behind. Less paper towel use and cleaner use. They don’t get weird and stinky either!
Terri
Wednesday 7th of March 2018
A cleaning cloth and a bucket full of warm water with a squirt of dish soap is surprisingly effective for cleaning most things! I do this a lot and my kids like to get their own cleaning cloth and "help" me, since it's just a little dish soap and water, I don't hesitate to let them help.
~Lisa~
Tuesday 6th of March 2018
I recently started using a mixture of vinegar and dawn dish detergent for cleaning the tubs and sinks. For floors, I still have an abnormal obsession with Pine-Sol. Working on it!!
Michele
Saturday 3rd of March 2018
I use lots of baking soda for stains and scouring. Vinegar is one of my favorite disinfectants. I keep some cleaners on hand but like the more natural ones for everyday use. I also use plain water for my counters and my husband thinks it's crazy that I don't use cleaner. Water is the universal solvent and does a better job of dissolving the sticky jelly messes than his fancy cleaner ;). Has anyone ever used Kool Aid powder for cleaning toilet bowls? I've heard it works but haven't tried it for fear that the due will stain.
Deidre
Thursday 1st of March 2018
We use mainly microfibre cloths (MFC) & water, I use vinegar for wiping down the bench after preparing raw chicken & cleaning the toilet. I do use shower power for the bottom 1/3 of the shower & MFC the rest because it really is an old shower that is hard to clean - the floor is tiny tiles with a ton of old grout & bathroom the rest of the bathroom is MFC's & water. Many hospitals in Australia have moved to using only MFC & water as research has shown it is more effective than chemicals. Bleach is quite toxic so I rarely use it, real vinegar is anti-fungal/antibacterial/antiviral & in most cases will be much more effective & completely safe. We wash our chopping boards in hot soapy water, & as the sun is extremely disinfecting try to line dry towels & cloths on the line in the sun.