Some simple home-made cleaner recipes

by Grate Seal October 10, 2018

As a follow up to our Spring Cleaning Strategies blog, we’ve compiled a list of simple, home-made cleaning solutions and everyday items you can make and use yourself. As always, when it comes to home-made cleaners, make sure you do a small test first to ensure you don’t wind up damaging the surface you’re cleaning.

A gentle all-purpose cleaning solution

To make up a litre of cleaner, mix together 4 teaspoons of liquid dish soap, half a cup of white vinegar and 3 and a half cups of water. This makes a good all-purpose benchtop and glass cleaner.

Glass cleaner

In a spray bottle, mix together 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, and 1 cup of hot water.

Baking soda as an abrasive

Baking soda is one of the most versatile non-toxic household cleaners. A simple 50/50 mix of baking soda and water makes a great abrasive cleaner. If you have marks on walls like crayon, gently rubbing this on there with a cloth can work a treat. It also works in the kitchen in places like the oven (harder scrubbing required).

Baking soda is also a drain cleaner

If you have a smelly drain, place about ¼ cup of baking soda down the drain. Follow it up a few minutes later with some hot white vinegar. This will cause a vigorous reaction to take place. For floor and shower drains, you can avoid bad smells altogether by installing a Grate Seal. You can read a more comprehensive blog on natural drain cleaning here.

Baking soda gets rid of carpet smells too!

If you have smelly carpet, sprinkle baking soda over the offending area through a kitchen sieve or tea strainer and let it sit for at least a couple hours before vacuuming it up.

Used news is great for glass

For a streak free finish, spray your homemade glass cleaner onto the mirror or window. Scrunch up a sheet or two of newspaper and rub the surface in a circular motion. When the newspaper becomes damp, discard/recycle it and grab another sheet.

Streak free stainless steel

This one was quite a surprise when we first found out about it but it works very well, After giving your steel surface a clean with the general cleaning solution; get a bottle of soda water and some paper towels pour a bit on to the paper towel and wipe the surface down.

Furniture polish you can (almost*) dress a salad with

Mix together a ½ a tablespoon each of lemon juice and olive oil together with a full tablespoon of white vinegar and a few drops of orange essential oil. Make sure the mixture is fully emulsified before use.
This mixture can work wonders on polished wooden surfaces and can also be used to remove sticky residue left from tape or stickers. Make sure you give the surface a quick clean with a slightly damp rag first.

Cutting board cleaner

Sprinkle a liberal amount of table salt on to your cutting board and give it a good rub with half a lemon. When finished scrape off the residue with a kitchen or paint scraper, wipe with a damp cloth and place in the sun to dry. This is also a great way to season a new cutting board!

About Grate Seal

Grate Seal is a durable, Australian made one-way rubber valve easily inserted into drains that lasts for years and years. It comes in a range of different sizes to suit most shower and floor drains.

We also have loads of great tips and tricks to help with all sorts of problems in our Grate Tips blog series and are adding more and more regularly. You can check them all out here.

*Not for human or animal consumption.