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Cleaning with fewer chemicals and fewer £

22 replies

Spindelina · 18/11/2016 20:02

I would like to reduce the amount I spend on premium cleaning chemicals. Any help appreciated.

So far, I've discovered cleaning the bathroom and kitchen sink with white vinegar, and mopping with a few drops of zoflora.

What I haven't sussed is:

  • daily wiping of the hobs and tiles behind. I'm using either baby wipes or ££ kitchen cleaner. What's a good degreaser that I can spray on and wipe off?
  • I don't really like fabric softener. I live in a stupidly hard water area. Is there an alternative?
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Artandco · 18/11/2016 20:03

White vinegar as fabric softener

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BratFarrarsPony · 18/11/2016 20:04

WAshing up liquid
Soda crystals

these will tackle most cleaning jobs.
You can make a soda crystal solution up yourself and put it in an old spray bottle.

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specialsubject · 18/11/2016 20:37

Baby wipes area hardly eco!! Never use wipes for cleaning!

All you need is

  • cif or similar
  • white vinegar
  • bicarb
  • washing up liquid


I've just cleaned a seriously skanky house with that lot and sugar soap, although a place lived in by reasonable humans wont need the latter. Oh, plus lots of hot water and effort.
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whyohwhy000 · 18/11/2016 20:40

Lemon juice is great for limescale.

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Spindelina · 18/11/2016 20:40

How do I use white vinegar as fabric softener? Pour a bit in the same drawer?

And the white vinegar I buy for cheap is the Sarsons distilled malt 5l bottle, which smells of chips. That's OK for kitchens and bathrooms, but I don't think it's going to be great on clothes, is it? Can I get less chippy-smelling acetic acid from somewhere?

Will try soda crystals in a spray for the hobs, thanks.

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Spindelina · 18/11/2016 20:42

special I know they're not eco - that's part of the reason I want to stop using them!


The other place I am lazy and use wipes is the bathroom floor. It's three flights of stairs away from any other hard floor, so it's not worth bringing the mop up, so I get on my hands and knees with a couple of floor wipes. I'm going to replace that with a cloth and water/zoflora in the sink.

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KatherinaMinola · 18/11/2016 20:44

I can never be arsed to do this, but it does work - wipe away old grease on hob-top with new grease (bit of sunflower oil) and then rub half a lemon over it to de-grease.

Bit of a faff to do every day though.

Soda crystals do work and are about £1 for a big bag.

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Artandco · 18/11/2016 20:46

Yes just put the white vinegar in fabric conditioner drawer. Clothes doesn't smell vinegary after

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Spindelina · 18/11/2016 20:47

special I'm looking at your list.

white vinegar - descaler, great. Other acids are available.
washing up liquid - detergent, holds oil in suspension with water, good for cleaning anything oily.
sugar soap - also detergent.

What do you use bicarb and cif for? Is cif just abrasive? Is bicarb an alternative to soda crystals (degreaser)?

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BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 18/11/2016 20:48

Decent microfiber cloths will help an awful lot too.

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BratFarrarsPony · 18/11/2016 20:48

bicarb and white vinegar is quite good at degreasing, and also really fun when you put them together...

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marzipananimal · 18/11/2016 20:49

I clean mostly with microfibre cloths and water. Vinegar, bicarbonate or washing up liquid for tougher jobs

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Spindelina · 18/11/2016 20:54

Ive never understood mixing vinegar and bicarb. Don't you just end up with salt solution with a bit of whatever of the two you put in more of left?

I have microfibre cloths - I use them for dusting. By 'decent', I'm assuming you don't mean the 4 for £1 ones that I have though.

I shall try vinegar in the washing machine tomorrow and report back. Still not convinced that it's not going to smell Grin

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pklme · 18/11/2016 20:55

Washing up liquid
Vinegar
Bicarb for nasty smells, or a bit of abrasive to clean a pan.

You can Eco balls for the laundry, I don't use detergent at all now, though I don't have kids clothes with food stains all over.

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SuePerkins · 18/11/2016 21:08

I daily clean hob, worktop, tiles etc with Zoflora (1 in 40 dilution in a spray bottle). I also do the bathroom floor with the same - I vac (huge amounts of husband body hair, shudder) then spray the floor in sections and wipe my way out of the room.

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Spindelina · 18/11/2016 21:11

Zoflora's just a smelly disinfectant isn't it? So it's not going to do any more cleaning than plain water. Are you just adding it to the water for the smell? Or are you actively trying to disinfect?

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llangennith · 18/11/2016 21:18

FB had a tip for cleaning really filthy oven glass doors using bicarbonate and vinegar. The video showed them sprinkling it all on and just wiping clean. Amazing!
I used a while container of bicarbonate and a lot of vinegar and elbow grease. Oven door still filthy.
I'll be using harsh chemicals tomorrowAngry

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BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 18/11/2016 21:25

Well I use 'E cloths', you can them on amazon. I was very sceptical at first but they've lasted well & are very good. With cheapy microfibre cloths I look for thickness as find them better than thin ones.

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BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 18/11/2016 21:31

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00NIN8FYO/ref=mp_s_a_1_7_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1479504502&sr=8-7&keywords=E%20cloth%20starter%20pack&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21
It wasn't this pack I don't think as they were cheaper than this when I got them (I just quickly searched on amazon & copied the first link)

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SuePerkins · 18/11/2016 22:00

spindelina I like the fact that it kills odours that can linger ie garlic, bacon etc. I could use Bicarb on a cloth (and used to in the past) and that also works. But I like that Zoflora leaves a fresh smell. I suppose it is probably mostly the water and microfiber cloth that does the work, and I haven't found anything yet that I can't clean off with it! Works out much cheaper than other sprays and wipes I've tried in the past.

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specialsubject · 18/11/2016 22:20

Bicarb is for getting out smells and getting off serious muck (not my house!) Use as a paste left on for hours (days...). Vinegar cleans windows.

Cif is for worktops and surfaces both horizontal and vertical. Sugar soap for serious scrubbing amd degreasing if no one has cleaned in months ( not my house !)

Clothes washing does need liquid or powder, forgot that.

It is all chemicals, even water.

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Spindelina · 19/11/2016 07:24

Thanks. That all sounds very good - and I guessed it wasn't your house!

You will note that I said fewer chemicals not less chemicals - part of the problem is the vast array of different bottles which all do basically the same thing.

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