DIY: Homemade All Purpose Cleaner

Now that we are a one income family, I feel that it is my responsibility to find ways to cut costs and lighten the burden that my husband carries when it comes to providing for our family. One of the areas that I have taken a particular interest in as of late, is making my own household cleaning products. 

I've perused the internet and Pinterest in search for recipes with ingredients I currently had around the house. I did not necessarily want to go out and buy a bunch of stuff at the grocery store, make the product, test it out, and then hate it, because then I would have felt like I wasted money. And we are on such a tight budget that I cannot afford to waste a single penny. I finally stumbled across this recipe  and gave it a try over the weekend. 

Wow! This stuff is incredible!

Here is all you need:

1 spray bottle (I used a Shout Stain Remover bottle that I had recently finished off)

1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap (I used Dawn in the original scent)

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

2 tablespoons of vinegar

2 cups of water

Mix the dish soap, baking soda, and water in your spray bottle. Let the baking soda dissolve fully before adding in the vinegar (You want to avoid a reaction with the baking soda and vinegar. Otherwise you will have a nice science project for your kids to observe on your hands!) Once you have added the vinegar, screw on the lid to the spray bottle (be sure the nozzle is in the OFF position) and shake lightly. 

*Tip- If you notice that your spray bottle has pressure building inside it, unscrew the nozzle slightly to allow some of the pressure to release and then screw it back on.

I thought I would test my new cleaning product on the shower in the master bathroom because it is my most troublesome spot in the entire house to clean. I have used every product under the sun to get rid of the soap scum build up to no avail. I figured that if this homemade cleaner passed the test in the master bathroom, it can clean just about anything. 

I sprayed a generous amount of cleaner in the shower and on the shower door, then waited an hour for it to do it's thing. 

Here is a picture of the shower before I sprayed on the homemade cleaner:

I did not edit these images other than to provide the text

Embarrassing... I know. I promise, I DO clean our shower regularly. Twice a week in fact. It's just that the soap scum would NOT come off no matter how hard I scrubbed.

And here is a picture of the shower after I used the homemade cleaner:

Again, I did not edit these photos other than to provide the text

HUGE difference! And this was after only one application. I'm sure I can get my shower completely soap scum free now. I could not be happier with the results. In my opinion, this stuff works better than a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I am never buying brand name again.

My next project will be to attempt homemade laundry detergent. But that will have to wait until pay day because I will have to go and purchase a few items from the store. So stayed tuned everyone!

Bye Bye expensive brand name cleaners. I'll miss you.