Cheap-o but effective surface spray

I use this stuff for all surfaces except for marble (cause I don't have any, but it wouldn't be good for it anyway) and mirrors. Not sure about granite either.

All purpose-surface cleaner
-1 spray bottle. Spend a little bit more money and get an industrial strength one. Something like this. I've had ours for years. Before that I was replacing them every few months.
-White vinegar. Buy it at a bulk store for the cheapest rates. We get ours at Costco - 2 gallons for like $4.50.
-Dish soap. I hope you already have this...
-Essential oils. I like Plant Life oils because they're really well-made, and inexpensive. Essential oils are a little bit of an up-front investment, but they last forever. I've had the same bottle of Sweet Orange for maybe 2+ years. Any essential oil should work, but stuff that is a bit more cheaply made might require more product to achieve the desired scent. Tea Tree oil has great anti-bacterial qualities, but I can't get past the fact that is smells like Sasquatch's balls.

Fill half of your bottle with water, and half with vinegar. Put 10-20 drops of dish soap in. I usually add the dish soap after the water and vinegar so that the top of my bottle isn't just full of suds. Then put as many drops of essential oils as you'd like on top of the dish soap. Shake, and use as needed.

Now a few things to note - a weaker essential oil scent won't be great for masking the vinegar smell. Vinegar will dissipate about 10 min after you use it as long as you aren't using straight vinegar. Worst case scenario, your house smells like you douched it for a few hrs.

I like a combo scent of sweet orange, lemon, and grapefruit. Right now I'm digging peppermint.

We have two 12-pack of washcloths from Target that we use like bleach wipes. We use them once or twice, then throw them in the wash pile. We use old cut up towels for bathroom cleaning so that we're not mixing poo germs with pho.

Labels: