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Prepping for survival should not be limited to food but should also include other essentials like household cleaning products. Maintaining cleanliness at home or a bug-out location plays a critical role in ensuring you and your family are safe from spreading any disease-causing bacteria, germs, and viruses.
Although you can stockpile cleaning supplies while you still can, learning how to make your own from scratch can make you more sustainable and give you the most bang for your buck.
In this article, Super Cleaning, a professional home cleaning company in Louisville, KY, shares expert tips on how to make cleaning products from basic ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
Here are some excellent SHTF Preparedness-approved DIY cleaning recipes.
All-Purpose Home Cleaner
Here’s an all-around cleaning solution that you can use almost everywhere: removing hard water stains, getting rid of molds and mildew, and disinfecting kitchen counters and other surfaces. Vinegar is a wonder cleaner with mild acidic properties that melts away deep-seated dirt, neutralizes unpleasant odors, and kills bacteria.
Here’s what you need:
- One-part white vinegar
- One-part water
- Spray bottle
- Large glass jar with lid
- Lemon peelings or essential oils of your choice for the scent (optional)
Procedure:
- Mix all the ingredients in a jar. If you are using lemon to make the scented version of this homemade cleaner, wait a week to let the peelings infuse into the solution.
- Pour the contents into a spray bottle and use it for cleaning.
This vinegar-based cleaner is a perfect alternative for store-bought, chemical-based products. You can use it anywhere except on granite and stainless-steel surfaces, which can react poorly to the acid and result in discoloration and other irreversible damages.
Eco-Friendly Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Castile soap is a vegetable-based soap that is 100% natural and biodegradable, free from animal fats and toxic ingredients. It’s traditionally made from olive oil but has now evolved to using coconut, castor, or hemp oils.
It has many incredible personal hygiene uses, including a body wash, deodorant, and wound cleaning. You can use castile soap in washing dishes and laundry as a natural household cleaner. In addition, when mixed with baking soda, it makes an impressively effective toilet bowl cleaner.
When it comes to toilets, the scent is everything. You can add essential oils from various plants to your cleaner for whichever smell you want. Herbs and flowers are a wonderful resource for naturally altering the odor of a product.
What you need:
- ⅓ cup liquid castile soap
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- Essential oils for scent (optional)
- Large bottle
- Funnel
Procedure:
- Pour the ingredients into the bottle one by one using a funnel.
- Close the bottle cap. Shake well to combine everything.
- Pour over the toilet lid and rim as you would a bleach-based cleaner. Let the solution sit for at least 15 minutes. Scrub vigorously in areas with stubborn grime and rinse.
All-Natural Mirror and Glass Window Cleaner
Creating your own window cleaning solution is easier than you think. Follow these steps for squeaky clean windows.
What you need:
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup 70% rubbing alcohol
- Spray bottle
Procedure:
Mix everything in a spray bottle, and you’re good to go! Spray it on glass windows, doors, and mirrors and wipe dry with paper towels.
Pro tip: skip cleaning your windows when it’s hot and sunny outside because it will only dry out the cleaning solution too quickly, leaving streaks.
