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Make your cleaning products go further


mint
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Now, I don't mean don't do any cleaning, sorry.

Save the spray type bottles of cleaning products.  Then, when you buy new bottles of stuff, decant half of it into said spray bottles and fill up with water.

You will find that the watered down products clean just as well as full-strength.

For window- and glass-cleaning products, dilute with equal parts vinegar and the cleaning quality is superior to the original.

For clothes-washing detergent, use approximately half of the recommended amounts and your clothes will be just as clean.

I don't know if the next tip saves any money but, if you add a stain remover to the washing, you can wash at a lower temperature and get the same results. 

In this warm weather, spin at a lower speed and use less electricity.  The clothes will dry anyway out in the sun.

Oh, and don't bother with soft rinse.  If you live in a hard water area, vinegar in the soft rinse drawer works a treat.

There, hope that helps.  In the words of the best retailer in the UK, Every Little Helps![:)]

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[quote user="Loiseau"]Any particular sort of vinegar, Sweets?  Am just wondering whether balsamic, or walnut, might not produce interesting marks on the said towels...!

Angela
[/quote]

Hey, Angela, this isn't posted in the Light Topic Section, you know.

I use the same vinegar as that for cleaning my kettle.  8% or 10% when I can get it; colourless vinegar.  Buy in 5- litre bidons and save even more.

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Save even more when cleaning windows just use water and 2% white vinegar.

Wet and wipe then buff dry.

My wifelet decided to add a little bleach to washing up liquid and suceeded in making a gel that squirst slowly.

I left some standard green washing up liquid outside in the sun and it went clear?
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Personally I don't buy any cleaning products, I make them all myelf and they work really well. The basic ingredients for all my recipes are white vinegar, liquid soap, bicarbonate of soda, caustic soda, borax and salt. I make washing up liquid, clothes washing liquid, bathroom cleaner, cooker cleaner, window/mirror cleaner and stuff to do the mopping of the tiled floor with. It is a long time since I bought a 'product'. I do buy toothpaste from the local bio shop and a bar of soap from palestinian source www.fipsouk.fr  but have completely given up on hair shampoo after reading a post elsewhere and my hair has never been in better condition. Funny old life innit?

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[quote user="cornfield"]Personally I don't buy any cleaning products, I make them all myelf and they work really well. The basic ingredients for all my recipes are white vinegar, liquid soap, bicarbonate of soda, caustic soda, borax and salt...... have completely given up on hair shampoo after reading a post elsewhere and my hair has never been in better condition. Funny old life innit?
[/quote]

[I]So what do you use for your hair? In the near future I will be in the close proximity of  lime mortar etc.The last couple of times I've been there it has turned my hair to the texture of straw. Any help gratefully received. [:-))]

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[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]OK I'll give the vinegar trick a go.  How much do you suggest using for a pretty standard 4Kg load machine?[/quote]

Pierre, I don't measure it; just slosh in a bit.  The soft rinse drawer isn't that big anyway so I'd say use the amount of vinegar as you would soft rinse. 

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[quote user="cornfield"]Personally I don't buy any cleaning products, I make them all myelf and they work really well. The basic ingredients for all my recipes are white vinegar, liquid soap, bicarbonate of soda, caustic soda, borax and salt. I make washing up liquid, clothes washing liquid, bathroom cleaner, cooker cleaner, window/mirror cleaner and stuff to do the mopping of the tiled floor with. It is a long time since I bought a 'product'. I do buy toothpaste from the local bio shop and a bar of soap from palestinian source www.fipsouk.fr  but have completely given up on hair shampoo after reading a post elsewhere and my hair has never been in better condition. Funny old life innit?
[/quote]

cornfield, I am deeply impressed and I don't doubt that your stuff works really well, otherwise you wouldn't bother, would you?

Jonzjob is the one to encourage us not to use any shampoo and it is at least 3 years since I used any. My hair, too, is very thick and in excellent condition.

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It is now well over two years since I washed my hair and I will definitely never go back to shampoo or soap of any kind. My hair is naturally quite fine and fly away, but really does seem thicker and stronger than it ever has before. I just rinse it very well ever evening in the shower and towel it dry. It is quite short (my partner cuts it having learnt hairdressing from an internet site!) and I don't need any blow drying to keep it in shape any more. When I think of all that time and money I have wasted over the years ........!

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Do you put your cleaning products into spray bottles, cornfield?

The best thing about the spray bottles is that I find I am using only a tiny amount of the quantity that I used to slosh everywhere.

BTW, I forgot to mention that Lidl does a Javel spray in a blue bottle that is brilliant for cleaning the loo.  In the past, I wouldn't use bleach but, with this spray, a little goes a very long way.

Spray all the outside of the loo, the cistern and seat, wipe clean and that's it, sparkling!  I do, however, use the ordinary stuff inside the bowl.

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[quote user="sweet 17"]Do you put your cleaning products into spray bottles, cornfield?[/quote]

I put the window/mirror cleaner into a spray bottle and also the bathroom cleaner. I don't use bleach at all in the toilets because we have an ancient soakaway system which might not take kindly to it. I use the same stuff for cleaning the toilet as I use for the showers, sinks and bath and it seems to do the job just as well as anything I have ever bought specially for the job. I have also discovered that the stuff I mix for cleaning the bathroom is excellent in the kitchen for spraying and wiping the white surfaces of the fridge, dishwasher and cooker - it seems to be very quick and easy and gets rid of that slightly sticky layer that I guess comes from cooking in a small space.

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We used to get the daily shower spray stuff when we lived in the UK to stop scale/soap residue on shower glass. Since it is not available in France we now find a spray bottle of water with a teaspoon of washing-up liquid is just as good! I get the washing up liquid that says it makes your glasses shine - it lasts ages.
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