pinching some pennies & shining them too; part 1

I am sure all of you have seen the "home made cleaning product" posts on Pinterest and how they're natural and inexpensive. I know I have! I usually just pinned them on my "clean" board and that's as far as I got to trying them out, until this past week!

I actually had a blast trying eight (8) different homemade cleaning solutions out including: glass cleaner, all purpose cleaner, fabric freshener, floor cleaner, fabric softener, stainless steel cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner and carpet cleaner (for stains).

So when I started researching homemade recipes I had these questions/concerns:

• Do they clean as well as store bought cleaning products?

• Will they actually cost less than store bought cleaning products?

• Will they kill germs?

• Will they smell good? I love the smell of cleaning products; is that weird?

• How long will it take to make them?

I will be answering all of those questions for each homemade cleaning product I made! Here is part one of this series!

The first thing I made was home made (and all natural) All Purpose Cleaning Solution! 

Recipe:

2 lemons (peels only)

1 orange (peel only)

1 lime (peel only)

3 c. vinegar

bunch of mint 

**Put ingredients in jar and wait overnight**

I used this to spot clean clean my floors, countertops, et cetera. 

1. Do they clean as well as store bought cleaning products?

I thought it did a great job! My surfaces felt and looked clean. I thought that citrus would make things sticky, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

2. Will they actually cost less than store bought cleaning products?

I used 3 cups of vinegar and a whole jug costs less than $2. Lemons and limes are cheap as well and you can still use the citrus juice for cooking. Mint is free since I grow it, but mint wasn't even necessary. So, I'd say its cheaper.

3. Will they kill germs?
Unfortunately when I researched vinegar I found this: "Vinegar can be used as a safer bleach alternative for some applications, like cleaning. It is also biodegradable. However, vinegar is not a registered disinfectant and does not kill dangerous bacteria like staphylococcus. Hydrogen peroxide has antimicrobial ingredients and can be an effective household cleaner." So, I did not use this in my bathrooms! However, I am going to look for a germ killing all purpose cleaning recipe.

4. Will they smell good?

It didn't smell horrible, but I didn't love it. I'd say it's lacking in this department. 

5. How long will it take to make them?

This one took the longest to make out of the ones I made so far, but only because I had to peel the fruits, pick the mint and wait overnight.

Bottom Line

I will not use this one again, simply because it doesn't kill germs. In my opinion, all purpose cleaners should kill germs.