Cleaners... or $$$ saving ideas.

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Chris_Dog

Orange whip?
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Not for the brewery but for general cleaning like the tub or shower.

I know we are all having to tighten our belt a bit because of the economy as it is. It seems like this would be a good area to save a few bucks. Bathroom cleaners in general are pretty expensive, If I could put one together from things around the house I should be able to save a few bucks.

Really... I should broaden the thread to include any $$$ saving ideas

What do you think ???

Cheers!!! :mug:
Chris
 
My mother always claims that bleach and flash are the only two cleaners needed to clean a house. (Mammy's are always right, right? ;))

I do agree in part but there are times when you need a speciallised product for a specific task. If you can keep the unusual spills and cleaning tasks at bay by keeping the place scrubbed then bleach and flash it is...
 
Wow, don't even get me started, most household cleaners are about 90% water, so there is no point in buying those pre-diluted spray cleaners, huge wast of money. I have 6 - 1 liter industrial spray bottles I bought at home depot and I mix concentrated cleaners into them and than use them around the house.

One gets a cap of bleach and filled with water, very clearly labeled bleach.
One gets a half a cap of pinesol or murphys oil soap or whatever floor cleaner i have and filled with water very clearly labeled floors.
One gets a cap full of mr clean multi purpose cleaner and filled with water oddly this one isn't labeled because it is either neon green or neon orange depending on what type of stuff is in there
One gets filled with a quarter of a cap full of simple green cleaner, this is an organic all purpose cleaner, safe for use around food and other areas, one jug of this will last almost for ever.
One gets filled with a quarter of a cup of distilled vinegar and a good squirt of dish soap, another good food safe cleaner, and if you don't add the soap, you can use it for windows.
The last one gets filled with blue windshield washer fluid you buy for 99 cents a gallon at the pharmacy. The stuff you use to clean the windshield of your car is ok for glass and mirrors and such inside your apartment, not as good as windex or the vinegar, but it costs 1/5th the price for about 4 times as much.

I know some of these cleaners are a bit redundant, and I could probably get away with just the bleach bottle and the multi surface cleaner, but each one is good at cleaning a specific type of spill or mess, so I like having them around.

Also, in terms of saving more money, don't buy as many papertowels, I have many kitchen rags and cleaning rags which saves you from having to use and waste money on paper towels. There is a definite hierarchy here, and you really need to have a lot of them because they can spread germs if not properly taken care of. You would be surprised how clean you can get most surfaces with just a damp cloth.

My personal hierarchy goes like this, first they are used to dry and clean dishes, after a couple uses they are then used to wipe up counters, never again to touch the dishes, after that they are put in a bucket under the sink either to be run through the washing machine or to be used on spills on the floor. When you wash them make sure you wash them with hot water and bleach so they are sterilized and ready to touch the dishes again, sometimes before I wash them I fill the bucket they sit in with hot bleach water and let them soak for a day before going in the machine.
 
I have used Distilled Vinegar, Water and Ispropyl Alcohol as a general surface cleaner. Works quite well.
 
Don't forget that we all, as brewers, also have good sanitizers handy. An iodophor bucket can go a long way toward keeping your rags "sweet", as well as making a good sanitizer for cutting boards and other food contact surfaces.

For "I need a serious detergent" moments, trisodium phosphate from the paint aisle makes a super detergent. TSP is the base ingredient in a lot of dish and laundry detergent.

Also, I put my dish sponge in the microwave for a few minutes every few days. The boiling and steaming keeps nasties from growing in the sponge, and softens any goop on the microwave ceiling so it's easy to wipe off.
 
Vinegar ... buy plenty of vinegar (white distilled). If you have hardwood floors, dilute a bit with water. For the tub, mix vinegar, water and dish soap together in a spray bottle. Lots of elbow grease and a scotchbrite pad will really clean a tub.
 
Also, I put my dish sponge in the microwave for a few minutes every few days. The boiling and steaming keeps nasties from growing in the sponge, and softens any goop on the microwave ceiling so it's easy to wipe off.

This does work great but under one condition. Make sure the sponge is moist!!! Otherwise it WILL burn and create a very nasty smell. Not that I would know anything about that or anything. :drunk:
 
Great ideas guys thanks for the suggestions!

Anything I can use to replace Round Up weed killer?

Vinegar will do it but it's not as fast as Round Up. Most of the time vinegar is 5% but somewhere (can't remember where) you can get a stronger solution which is faster.
 
I sprayed half of the weeds in my yard with what round up I had left and the other half with a mixture of 1/2 Gal white vinegar and 3tbls salt. I'll let you know how it comes out.

Thanks for the reminder about waxing the tub... mine is due.
 
I use ammonia and water mix for cleaning glass and windshield washer fluid.

50/50 Everclear and distilled water for LCD screens and TVs. I've heard that isopropyl alcohol can have negative effects on LCDs but have used it in a pinch with no adverse effects.
 
Great ideas guys thanks for the suggestions!

Anything I can use to replace Round Up weed killer?

I bought a propane torch -- the kind you use for asphalt work. They go for about $50 at Home Depot.

There's a lot of satisfaction in torching bindweed to ash with a flamethrower.
 
Great ideas guys thanks for the suggestions!

Anything I can use to replace Round Up weed killer?

"Shoot Out" sold at Lowes has the same percentage of the active ingredient Glyphosate(or however you spell that) at a fraction of the price. I have used the stuff to kill Poison Ivy.
 
How about baby sterilizing fluid?

EDIT : Sorry posted in the wrong thread..
 
Wow, urine seems to be a popular choice. Is it a coincidence on HBT or the worldwide solution to herbicides? Depends how crowded your region is I suppose.
 
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