If you’re like me, you absolutely love your Swiffer Wet Jet. I love how quick and easy that it is to use, and I love that there’s no dragging out the mop bucket, rinsing the mop and dealing with trying to get that huge mop head clean and dry.
But I don’t love how expensive the disposable cloths and cleaning solution refills are. With a little elbow grease and some creativity, you can rid yourself of those expenses forever!
The first hurdle we’ll contend with is that darn cap-which-shall-not-be-removed on the refill bottle. We can wipe the smug smile off of its face with three easy steps.
1. Heat a couple of inches of water to boiling and then turn off the heat under the pan to ensure you don’t accidentally start an unexpected kitchen remodeling project by setting something on fire.
2. Dip the end of the bottle into the water, screw cap side first, until the entire white cap and just a little bit of the bottle are emerged in the water. Hold it there for 20-30 seconds and then remove from the water.
3. Grab a kitchen towel so you don’t burn your hand and use it to twist the white screw cap right off of the bottle. It’s that simple!
Now you can refill your cleaning solution bottle with your choice of cleaners, or you can make your own cleaning solution. If you’d like to make your own cleaning solution, I would suggest using half vinegar and half water with a splash of alcohol to keep anything undesirable from growing in the refill container. You can add some orange or lemon essential oil to make it smell pretty and also because citrus essential oils are wonderful degreasers.
If you’re concerned about disinfecting floors, for instance if your family has recently been sick, add a few drops of tea tree oil to your cleaning solution.
Now for those cute little boxes of disposable pads. There are tons of solutions out there for this one, and you probably already have a few of them in your house. Here are five things you can use to replace your disposable pads.
1. Use microfiber kitchen cloths, which will stick very nicely to the Velcro on the wet jet.
2. Grab a disposable wet jet cloth and use it to make a pattern from which you can sew, crochet or knit your own custom-fitted washable wet jet cloth.
3. Slide old, mis-matched socks over the wet jet, slitting the socks if necessary to make them fit on the wet jet properly.
4. Grab an old wool blanket out of the bottom of the closet and cut it up into wet jet cloth-sized pieces.
5. Hop on Etsy.com or HyenaCart.com and purchase a washable cover for the cost of one box of disposable covers.
Visit The Peaceful Housewife for more great frugal ideas!
Read more: http://moneysavingqueen.com/March-2011/Frugal-Living-Make-Your-Own-Swiffer-Cleaners/#ixzz1I0izCRz8
No comments:
Post a Comment