Cleaning Sprays - Spring Cleaning Occasional Series #5

Okay it is time for quick cleaning so we can get outside and enjoy the spring weather.  Here are three great liquid cleaners you can use to wash the windows so you can see the garden, clean the kitchen and bath so you can enjoy the garden and swab out the toilet so you can enjoy the smell of the garden!

courtesty of Hattatt

Window Cleaner

It seems like an old wives tale to clean your windows with newspaper, but it works.  For shiny windows, use sheets of newspaper (black and white only) to scrub and shine.  Be careful, though, the newspaper ink may darken your hands, but it shines the windows without streaking.

Juice from one fresh lemon

2 cups water or club soda

1/2 teaspoon peppermint essential oil

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Mix all ingredients and pour into plastic spray bottle. Shake well before using.

Cleaning Spray

This recipe came from Sandy Maine of SunFeather Soap Company.  She is an author of several books on cleaning and is someone I met in my Yahoo Herb group.

1 teaspoon sodium lauryl sulfoacetate*

1 teaspoon borax

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 cups hot water

1/4 teaspoon eucalyptus essential oil

1/4 teaspoon lavender essential oil

3 drops tea tree essential oil

Mix all ingredients together and stir until dry ingredients dissolve. Pour into spray bottle for use

and long-term storage. 

To use: Spray as needed on any surface except glass. Scrub and rinse with a clean, damp cloth.

Toilet Bowl Spray Cleaner

1/4 teaspoon sodium lauryl sulfoacetate*

2 tablespoons baking soda

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon orange essential oil

1 teaspoon grapefruit essential oil

½ teaspoon tea tree oil

2 cups water

Mix all dry ingredients in a 4-cup bowl. Then combine the vinegar, water, and essential oils in a glass  measuring cup.  Slowly pour the liquid into the bowl of dry ingredients.  Be careful it will foam up. Let this mixture rest for 10 minutes before pouring into a spray bottle to use.

To use: Spritz in and around the toilet bowl and swab out with a brush.  Will kill germs and leave a fresh scent.

* Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is a powdered granulated material derived from coconut and palm oils and is a versatile ingredient to use in powdered bubble baths, cream and paste shampoos, cleansing creams and bath bombs due to its excellent foaming agent. Especially great as a soap replacement for sensitive skin.

You can order this product from a place called Ingredients to Die For that has all the makings for cleaning, soaps, and cosmetics.