In 2013, my goal was to change over as much of my household and personal care items as possible to natural alternatives. I didn’t want to buy the expensive ones that still use tons of packaging and cramp my budget! I mean low cost alternatives from things I already have around my house. While I made a lot of changes, the one thing I just couldn’t get used to was not having the disposable wipes for the bathrooms and kitchen. I really tried the spray with reusable rags, but it just annoys me for some reason. So, I kept buying the Clorox Green Works ones because they were a more natural alternative. But one day I sat down and went to work to find a reusable option and I found a great one!!!
Gather your supplies:
about 10 rags (I cut mine from t-shirts that were too stained to donate)
white vinegar
hot water
essential oil
container
I grabbed a disinfecting wipes container and added about 10 rags. Then, in a 1 cup measuring cup add 1/2c. vinegar and 1/2c. hot water and 10 drops of essential oil. I love peppermint!
Pour it over the rags and let them sit for a minute to soak up the cleaning solution.
That’s it! I usually make these up as I need them. Since they don’t have preservatives and chemicals in them, there’s a good chance they will mold if you just leave them in the container to use whenever. Also, I wash these cleaning rags in a separate load on hot with a bit of a vinegar rinse. I have a little laundry basket they all go into and I do that load once a week. Then it’s not mixing in with any of our other clean laundry! I hope this works for your family too!!
I’m about to try this super simple idea of seeping lemon peels in vinegar and then using the result for cleaning. I love wipes, though, and for some reason hadn’t thought of re-using one of my old containers – mihgt have to mix the ideas together! Thanks for sharing : )
Good luck! I tried steeping orange peels in vinegar and felt like it ended up leaving a film on my surfaces. But I’ve heard such good things about it. Hope it works well for you to combine the ideas!!
So, I’m paranoid about funky bacteria and viruses. Especially…bathroom ones. I frequently use the disinfectant wipes on the toilet and usually scrub the kitchen counters with one after I’ve cooked with eggs…do you feel these still get rid of the bad stuff? And…what about washing them, would you really trust that they are CLEAN (out of the laundry) after cleaning around the toilet?
I use green cleaners in most of my apartment…but this is one of the big ones I haven’t embraced yet. SO paranoid. I mean I KNOW antibacterial wipes/soaps/etc are making superbugs…I have a bachelors in Biology…I get that part but just can’t get myself past the ick factor in the bathroom.
Any thoughts would be great!
Courtney,
I can totally see your concern! In my research I have found that vinegar kills about 99% of bacteria, 82% of mold and 80% of viruses. I usually do use a soap and water to clean my kitchen counters and use this disinfecting wipe as a final wipedown. I feel very confident that if the soap and water cleans my dishes that have had raw eggs and meat on them, then that in conjunction with the vinegar wipes should work well.
As far as bathrooms are concerned, I feel that the percentage of bacteria etc. that is killed with vinegar makes me comfortable. That being said, I am not a huge germaphobe. We don’t use any antibacterial soaps or cleansers or hand sanitizer. My husband is very adamant that he doesn’t want to wipe away all the germs that will grow our children’s immune systems. So I trust his judgement and our family is very rarely sick – even with three kids, the last time we were at the doctor for sickness was over 3 years ago.
I cloth diapered my third child, so my feelings about washing bathroom disinfecting wipes is pretty similar. If they are washed in super hot water with vinegar, plus they have vinegar on them, I feel comfortable. Especially since it’s followed by a hot dryer or line drying in the sunshine. That should kill anything that could possibly be left.
All that said, I’m just a stay at home mom, so my research could be wrong! Plus, every family needs to feel comfortable with the germ level in their home, so it might be that commercial cleaners will still be the best choice for lots of families and that’s fine too!!! Good luck in your cleaning endeavors and thanks for taking the time to comment! I’m sure others had the same questions and didn’t ask 🙂
Joelle
I appreciate the reply!! I have a weird phobia of the stomach flu….so ANYTHING that could cause a stomach illness just terrifies me. I will have to look in to this more. Maybe soap water then a second wipe of vinegar…I could maybe do this.
Thanks again!