My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Discover eco friendly brands and sustainable fashion on our Ethical Living forum.

Ethical living

Home made general purpose spray cleaner?

12 replies

chloejessmeg · 25/01/2009 15:57

Hello. Have come to the end of my spray bottle and was wondering if anybody knew how to make a natural general purpose cleaner? I know I have heard of it being done before, but don't know the receipe or details.

If anybody can help, I would be grateful!

OP posts:
PuzzleRocks · 25/01/2009 17:02

I would be interested to know too.

dustbuster · 25/01/2009 17:03

Me too. I have experimented with sprinkling on baking soda, and spraying vinegar, which cleans v. well but is a bit of a faff.

pavlovthecat · 25/01/2009 17:05

surely just eco friendly washing up liquid and water? I use that for the most part so I hope so!

frogs · 25/01/2009 17:05

In a spray bottle (eg from gardening centre). Fill with water, add a squirt of washing-up liquid, and a splosh of white vinegar or lemon juice.

Spray on, wipe off with a clean soft cloth.

Absolutely brilliant for everything including mirrors, windows, hobs, surfaces, stainless steel etc.

paddingtonbore · 25/01/2009 17:06

I don't use a home made one, but we buy this from ecover, dilute it, and decant into a spray bottle. works a treat, apart from on limescale in the bathroom.

Moondancer · 25/01/2009 17:16

Anthea Turners Grimebuster (but you may
not have all the ingredients to hand)
2 tbls white vinegar
3 drops lavender oil
3 drops tea tree oil.
2 tsp borax
2 teacups water. mix well

chloejessmeg · 25/01/2009 17:26

Thanks! Moondancer - I have all but borax to hand. Never used Borax - where do I buy it? I might make that one without it and then get the borax for next time.

In fact, isn't borax quite strong? Is it ok to use if pregnant/have baby/pets around?

One of the main reasons I want to make one it to stop me and DD breathing in all the chemicals we use around the house. I hate them!

And I have a problem with cats weeing in places they shouldn't and disinfectants just attract cats to wee so a natural one should be much better.

OP posts:
Moondancer · 25/01/2009 17:32

Got it in Boots. Box dosent give much info but says 'Domestic Borax - natural multi-purpose cleaner'.

crazycanuck · 30/01/2009 20:26

the one I use (courtesy of expatinscotland!) is

500 ml water
1/2 tsp dishwashing liquid
1 tbsp baking soda (bicarb)
1 tsp borax
1 tbsp lemon juice
few drops essential oil

works a treat!

lulururu · 31/01/2009 05:46

i use 1 part teatree oil, 4 parts white vinegar and 8 parts water in a spray bottle. really good for everything and a good alternative for cleaning highchairs too.

TheDevilWearsPrimark · 31/01/2009 05:58

I use expats too, but omit the washing up liquid and add a little bit of rock salt.

chloejessmeg · 31/01/2009 15:11

I still haven't managed to get any Borax! Tried Asda with my online shop but no luck. Went to boots and they didn't have any either - or at least I couldn't find it.

Might just get a bottle of mostly water, add a few drops of lavender and tea tree oil and some vinegar and bi-carb?

Are the quanities important? Or is it ok just to guess?

OP posts:
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.