Supermarkets and convenience stores stock a wide range of cleaning products, some with specific purpose in mind whilst others are for multi-use. They come in a variety of strengths, scents and colours and can often be the best product for the job.
However for those who are trying to save the environment, money or because they want to try and be as chemical free as possible, homemade cleaning products can seem very appealing.
Environmental Benefits
The environmental benefits alone can be appealing enough to the eco-friendly among us to persuade them to try homemade products. Not only are they less laden with chemicals, but the bottles can be reused as the product is used.
As the product is rinsed away, there will be less damage to the environment as the ingredients are more naturally based. The government is now insisting that the general public become more environmentally aware and try to protect their surroundings where possible. This is one way that this can be achieved.
Those who find they enjoy making their own products or who believe there may be a local market for the cleaning products may find that selling their produce to cleaning supplies companies can be quite profitable as they too will want to be more eco-friendly. Why not go the whole nine yards and grow your own citrus fruits that can be used in your supplies for a really green’ initiative?
Cost Effectiveness
The amount of money that can be saved my making your own cleaning supplies can add up to quite an amount over the year. We are all aware that supermarket prices are rising above the rate of inflation and that buying a range of different products that work on different areas of the house can be expensive even if you take advantage of buy-one-get-one-free offers.
Making your own supplies in bulk and storing them for later can be very cost-effective. The ingredients that might go into your products such as salt and lemon juice are not very expensive and are often included in buy-one-get-one-free offers.
Typical Ingredients In Homemade Cleaning Products
This can vary from person to person but there are no hard and fast rules to this craft as long as any chemicals that are included are used sensibly and to the manufacturer’s instructions. Chemicals may appear to be safe when stored independently but they can be lethal if mixed with other chemicals even if these other chemicals also appear safe.
Typical ingredients in homemade cleaning supplies include lemon juice to remove grease and deposits, vinegar to remove lime scale, water to make it liquefied, and an abrasive agent such as salt granules to add some texture to the solution which helps to remove build-up or debris.
Some people also like to use bicarbonate of soda as this helps to shift stubborn marks and stains. Care should be taken when using these items near fabrics as some of them may stain or discolour the material.
Do They Work?
In general for normal household cleaning these products do work very well if they are made correctly and not tampered with in any way. Obviously for more stubborn marks or stain professional cleaning may be required or the use of a specific cleaner but most domestic cleaning can be easily achieved using homemade items.
Homemade produce are also very good for those with respiratory disorders who might find that their condition is aggravated by the use of chemically based products.
Homemade products are a very good idea for those who want to become more environmentally friendly, for those who want to reduce the amount of chemicals they are bringing into the home and as a way of saving money.