Do Homemade Cleaning Solutions Really Work?

Last weekend I got to experiment with something I'd been dying to do: Make my own cleaners. Now was a perfect time since I was out of nearly every conventional cleaner, and my house was passing the disgusting-for-visitors threshold.

I must say, I went into this experiment with high hopes but low expectations. Now that I have dogs that lick anything put in front of their faces, I really don't want to use cleaners with harsh, abrasive ingredients that can either kill them or upset their stomachs (which really just leads to even more cleaning).

I did some Googling and found a pretty comprehensive site on non-toxic home cleaners from Earth Easy. So far, I've made the disinfectant, toilet cleaner, floor cleaner and had some great success with regular baking soda.

I mixed together the disinfectant solution and cleaned the entire bathroom. While the vinegar in this cleaner will kill most bacteria, it won't kill everything. I'm not the kind of person who uses hand sanitizer every time I grab a shopping cart, so I figure this type of cleaner will work for me. It did a great job cleaning the shower, sink and mirror.

The toilet cleaner recipe I followed was the borax and lemon juice concoction. Worked like a dream on my toilet that turns strange colors from the water.

The floor cleaner consists of equal parts vinegar and water. Like I said, I have two dogs. While they love to use the great outdoors to pee pee, they love to poop indoors. This solution removed all evidence of their bathroom habit, and while it smelled like vinegar immediately after I sprayed, the smell soon dissipated. Vinegar is a neutralizing agent, so if you have dogs that mark, it should keep them from marking in the same place.

The bottom of my tub has looked pretty sketchy for some time. Because of the dogs and rough tub bottom, it has been hard to make it pristine. I decided to try making a paste of baking soda. I wet the bottom of the tub, then liberally sprinkled the Arm & Hammer. Using a rag, the solution made the tub cleaner than I've ever seen it.

The awesome thing about these cleaners is that not only are they more environmentally friendly for the earth and your family, but they cost just pennies a solution.

Have you tried any of these cleaning solutions? I'd love to hear about what works and what doesn't.