Homemade Cleaning Wipes

In perilous financial times countless people are looking for ways to save money without sacrifice. One excellent way to save money without sacrifice is to make your own cleaning products. Large companies that produce cleaning supplies would like you to believe that making cleaning products is an expensive and difficult task best left to the pros. However making your own cleaning products with natural ingredients is both easy and inexpensive; making your own products also cuts the number of chemicals introduced to your home drastically.

I developed the following recipe for cleaning wipes after difficult financial times prevented me from purchasing them. It seems there are dozens of cleaning wipes on the market made by a variety of different companies. The cleaning wipes are very convenient, however the price of this convenience is readily evident in the items high cost.

After a little trial and error I discovered that it is easy to make highly effective cleaning wipes, customized to the type of cleaning you need, for a fraction of the cost of commercial brands.

You will need the following tools and containers to make the cleaning wipes: Rubbermaid or similar brand of plastic storage container with a lid, the container should be cylindrical in shape and hold at least 8 cups; Electric drill (if the lid of the container is not very thick you can use a cork screw instead), sharp knife and a roll of paper towels..

The ingredients you will need depends on the type of cleaning wipes you wish to make. Guidelines for making different cleaning solutions for the wipes will follow the recipe.

Begin by cutting a hole in the lid of your chosen storage container with either an electric drill or a sturdy corkscrew. If you use a drill I suggest that you use a bit that is at least 1/2 inch so you can easily remove the wipes when they are ready. This also holds true if you are using a cork screw.

Next, use the sharp knife to cut the roll of paper towels in half and place one half of the paper towels in the container. If you would like you can easily save time by making two containers of wipes at the same time, both with different cleaning solutions for different jobs.

Next you will add 2 to 3 cups of your chosen cleaning solution to the container. If the paper towels you are using are particularly thick you may need to add another cup of solution.

If you wish to clean mirrors, windows or shine steel or chrome surfaces make the following simple solution. Mix 4 cups hot water with 1/2 teaspoon of dish soap, 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol and 6 tablespoons of white vinegar. Make sure to use only white vinegar and not apple cider or other flavored vinegars. Also do not use this solution on marble as the vinegar in it can etch the stone. If you desire to clean marble surfaces substitute the white vinegar with an equal amount of rubbing alcohol.

If you wish to clean a variety of surfaces or ones that are particularly dirty make the following all purpose cleaning solution to add to the wipes. Mix 4 cups of hot water with 3 to 4 teaspoons of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap. This solution is great for grimy or greasy surfaces such as kitchen counters.

Once you have made the cleaning solution add it to the paper towels and place the lid on the container. You will need to allow the wipes to soak for at least 3 hours but I have found that letting them soak overnight garners the best results. After the towels have soaked up all of the solution you are nearly finished. You'll find that the cardboard tube inside the roll of towels is now very soft and easy to remove; take it out carefully. After removing the tube grab the end of the paper towels on the inside of the roll. Pull it up and thread it through the hole you made in the lid and securely fasten the lid in place.

Your cleaning wipes are now ready to use. Also if the wipes dry out it won't be a problem, simply add water to the container and allow the paper towels to soak again for a few hours and your cleaning wipes will be ready for use again.