Before we get into the recipes for homemade cleaners, I think it’s really helpful to understand what each ingredient does and WHY. I’ll briefly go over the main ingredients you’ll find in homemade cleaners, why they work on what they work and give some basic uses for each one. This is one part one of a three part post series, so make sure you check Monday’s post and come back on Friday for more tips! (BIG thank you to my favorite Utah State Extension educator for this information!)
BAKING SODA AND WASHING SODA
Both absorb odors, washing soda is slightly stronger and can’t be ingested. Wear rubber gloves.
Garage Floors (concrete surfaces): Pour generously on grease and oil spots and sprinkle with water until a past forms. Let stand overnight. Scrub damp brush, hose down and wipe clean.
Stove burners: In a dishpan, soak them 1 in gallon warm water and 1/2 cup washing soda for 30 minutes. Rinse and dry.
Upholstered furniture: To remove odors, sprinkle baking soda on the fabric then vacuum.
Scuffed walls: Erase crayon marks by applying a baking soda paste (equal parts baking soda and water) to white painted walls (may dull colored walls) let dry before brushing it off with a clean cloth.
CREAM OF TARTAR
Tartaric acid is a mild acidic powder
Burned on Food: Fill the burned pot or pan with enough water to cover the burned area with at least a half an inch of water. Pour about 1 to 2 TBS cream of tarter over the water. Place pan on stove and heat to a low simmer. Let simmer for 5 or 6 minutes. Cool. Scrub with “Tuffy” scrubber. Voila! (Also works well on burner dripper pans on the stove—make a paste of equal parts cream of tarter and vinegar, rub on, let sit 10-15 minutes, scrub off burned on build up.
Rust in Laundry: Make a paste of cream of tartar to clean rust from washable fabrics. To make the paste, mix a small amount of water with some cream of tartar until the consistency is appropriate. Apply this to rust stains and gently rub it into the stain. Let the mixture set for about 10 minutes and wash as usual.
Stains in Your Tub: Let this simple solution of cream of tartar and hydrogen peroxide do the hard work of removing a bathtub stain for you. Fill a small, shallow cup or dish with cream of tartar and add hydrogen peroxide drop by drop until you have a thick paste. Apply to the stain and let it dry. When you remove the dried paste, you’ll find that the stain is gone too.
Ring Around the Collar: Wet the collar area and rub in some cream of tartar. Launder as usual and the collar will be clean.
FELS-NAPTHA
Fels-Naptha is an American brand of bar laundry soap used for pre-treating stains on clothing and as a home remedy for exposure to poison ivy and other skin irritants. Fels-Naptha is manufactured by and is a trademark of the Dial Corp. The soap was originally created around 1893 by Fels and Co. and was the first soap to include naptha. The inclusion of naphtha made the soap very effective for cleaning laundry, but it was not generally safe for personal use.
The soap comes packaged in paper similar to bar body soap and is most often found in the laundry section of a supermarket or grocery store. It is intended for the pre-treatment of stains by rubbing the dampened product on a soiled area prior to laundering. The manufacturer claims it to be most effective in removing chocolate, baby formula, perspiration, and make-up.
According to the manufacturer, about 1/2 of a bar of Fels-Naptha grated and added to a wash cycle helps eliminate residual stains and is also a common ingredient in DIY laundry detergent recipes.
