Household cleaning tips to help your budget

Learning some household cleaning tips that your great-grandmother probably used can actually help you save lots of money. Store-bought cleaning products can be really expensive and they are loaded with toxic chemicals.

For cleaning money saving tips and to make your home safer for your children and pets, why not try making your own cleaning products at home?

You can make plenty of cleaning products with basic household items like vinegar, salt and baking soda.

Not only do you already have these items around your home, but you can also buy them very cheaply.

It may not seem like a massive saving at first, but over time, you'll find that you save a lot just by switching to these easy, safe cleaning products.

Household cleaning tips with vinegar

Vinegar is probably one of the most powerful cleaners you have in your home. You can make a toilet bowl cleaner, a glass cleaner and a microwave cleaner with it. Here are just a few of the things that you can use vinegar for:

• To Clean the Toilet Bowl: Vinegar on its own will disinfect your toilet bowl. Put two or three cups in the bowl and let it sit for fifteen minutes before scrubbing and flushing. A few drops of tea tree essential oil added to the vinegar will make it disinfect even better.
• To Clean the Bath, Shower, Sinks and Toilet: Since vinegar is a disinfectant, it is great for cleaning all those places that get icky. Dilute vinegar with equal parts of water in a spray bottle, and spray it onto the surface you want to clean. Scrub it off about thirty minutes later, and then rinse.

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• To Clean Windows: Use the same blend that you already put into a spray bottle, and spray it on windows or mirrors. Wipe them clean with crumpled up, week-old newspaper. Cleaning glass when there isn't any direct-sunlight on it will make it easier to get all the streaks off!
• To Clean the Microwave: Use a mix of one part vinegar with eight parts water, ensuring it's in a microwave-safe container. Microwave the mix on high for three minutes then wipe your microwave clean with a sponge.

How to use baking soda

Baking soda is another great household cleaning tips tool. It's mildly abrasive, which can be great for getting stains out of non-porous surfaces like countertops and baths. When you mix it with vinegar, it will bubble up a bit, which just makes it all the more powerful as a cleaner.

• To Clean Counters: Mix equal parts baking soda and vinegar, and scrub them over work surface. Wash clean with a damp sponge. If the baking soda leaves an ashy look behind, wash again with a little vinegar diluted in water.
• To De-Smell Carpet: if your carpet is smelling a little musty or your home needs to be freshened up, sprinkle some baking soda down a few minutes before you vacuum. You can also use baking soda to scrub out stains with a carpet cleaning machine.
• To Clean Smelly Dishes: If you left something in a plastic container too long, you might think you'll never get the smell out. Baking soda can help, though. Soak the dish in baking soda and water for a few hours, and the smell will come out.

Uses for salt

Salt is another household cleaning tips item that's great for cleaning. Here are just a few ways to use salt around the house.

• For Cleaning Up Dough Mess: It's really hard to get bread dough off the counter without ruining a sponge, but you can do it with salt. Make sure the doughy area is a little damp, and then sprinkle it with salt. Use your hands to scrub the salt around the counter and watch as it picks up all the dough.
• To Clean Cutting Boards: Scrubbing your cutting boards with salt after you chop strong onions or garlic can help remove the smell and get all the extra bits of vegetable off.

These cleaning solutions will help you save lots of money, and they'll also keep your home much healthier. Even though vinegar can smell a little strong, it's definitely better than clouding the air with harmful chemicals and the extra pounds in your purse will make it worthwhile.