kitchensink

Our Harvest Homekeeping Event begins next week and I thought I offer some of my homemade cleaner/disinfectant recipes so you can be looking them over to see if you want to use any of them.  If you choose to use any of them, this preview will give you time to get what you need to make them.

Hard Water Fabric Gel Soap
Fabric Softener
All-Purpose Cleaner and Disinfectant
Non-Streaking Spray Glass Cleaner
Septic Toilet Activator
Automatic Dishwasher Soap
Automatic Dishwasher Spot-Free Rinse
Dishwashing Liquid
Non-Toxic Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Oven Cleaner
Lemony Furniture Oil

Hard Water Fabric Gel Soap

2 cups pure soap flakes – you can grate a couple bars of ivory for this
1 1/2 cups Borax
6 cups warm water
1/2 cup glycerin
2 teaspoons essential oil of either lavender, lemon or eucalyptus

1) In a medium saucepan, GENTLY stir together the soap flakes, borax, and water. Heat slowly and stir until the mixture is clear. You don’t want to beat up a bunch of bubbles, so be gentle. Add the glycerin and set aside to cool.

2) When its cool, add the essential oil and stir thoroughly.

3) Pour into a mason jar or other container and cover until needed. To use, add 1 cup of Gel per load of clothes, making sure the soap is dissolved well before adding clothes to the water. This gel works best with warm water, or dissolve it in a quart of warm water before adding it to cold wash water.

Fabric Softener

1/4 cup baking soda
1/2 cup white vinegar

1) Fill the washing machine or basin with water

2) Add the baking soda, stir it around to dissolve, then add the clothes.

3) After rinsing the clothes, make a final rinse and add the vinegar to it.

Another way to soften clothes is to add 1/2 cup baking soda to the wash water, or use 1 part soap flakes and 1 part borax in the wash water before you add the clothes.
Also check out my lavender clothes rinse.

All-Purpose Cleaner and Disinfectant

1 teaspoon borax
1/2 teaspoon washing soda
2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1) In a spray bottle that will hold at least a pint, combine the ingredients. Add 1 cup very hot water and shake well, mixing and dissolving the dry ingredients.

2) To use, simply spray and wipe. This can be stored indefinitely. You may need to shake it periodically.

Non-Streaking Spray Glass Cleaner

1/4 cup white vinegar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups warm water ~ I use de-ionized water

Put all ingredients in a large spray bottle. Shake well to dissolve the cornstarch. To use, spray liberally on the glass, wipe with a clean cloth. Buff to a streak free shine with a wadded up piece of newspaper.
If you use de-ionized water, it will tend to streak even less!

Septic Toilet Cleaner/Activator

You can try this if there is a continual odor from the septic tank. It could mean that the sewage digesting bacteria are not present in sufficient numbers…..it could also mean that you have a leaky septic tank!

1 quart hot water
1 pound brown sugar
2 teaspoons dried yeast

Combine the brown sugar and hot water, stirring well. Leave it to cool to lukewarm. Stir in the yeast, and immediately flush the mixture down the toilet. Do this last thing at night after everyone has gone to bed.

Now, septic systems are a touchy thing. So don’t use this very often. I recommend a product called Rid-Ex Liquid™ to add bacteria from time to time.

Automatic Dishwasher Soap

2 cups borax
2 cups washing soda

Mix the washing soda and the borax and store in a plastic covered container. To use, add 2 tablespoons to the dishwasher soap compartment. If you have hard water, you may want to use the Spotless Dishwasher Rinse, below.

Don’t over-use this. When you use too much, it can cake on the glass ware.

Spotless Dishwasher Rinse

1 to 1 1/2 cups white vinegar added to the rinse compartment of your dishwasher will do! Don’t overfill. Add before washing.

Dishwashing Liquid

This inexpensive soap does not suds up very much, but it cleans so well! Use with hot water. Do not use it in automatic dishwashers.

1/4 cup soap flakes
2 cups hot water
1/4 cup glycerin
1/2 teaspoon lemon essential oil ~ or use some other scent

1) In bowl combine soap flakes and water and stir until the soap is dissolved. Cool to luke warm.

2) Stir in the glycerin and the essential oil, leave to cool. AS it cools it will form a loose gel. Stir with a fork and break up the gel and then pour into an old shampoo bottle.

3) To use, squirt 3 teaspoonfuls into hot running water.

Non-Toxic Toilet Bowl Cleaner

1 cup borax
1/2 cup white vinegar

1) Flush the toilet to wet the sides. Sprinkle the borax all along the sides of the inside of the bowl.

2) Drizzle the vinegar over the borax and leave over night.

3) Next day, scrub with a toilet brush and flush.

For stained toilets, you may need to repeat this a time or two and do some scrubbing along with it.

Oven Cleaner

1 box baking soda (16 0zs.)
1/4 cup washing soda

1) In a container mix the ingredients well.

2) Wet the floor and walls of the oven using a rag or paper towels.

3) Generously sprinkle the walls and floor with the mixture. Repeat and allow to sit over night.

4) In the morning, wipe all the grease and film away using an old rag. Rinse well.

5) Stubborn stains may have to be scrubbed with an abrasive pad and some salt.

Lemony Furniture Oil

1 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon essential oil

Mix well. Apply with a soft rag. Wipe and buff well to a shine.