DIY Cleaning: Homemade re-usable disinfecting wipes

I came across a “recipe” for disinfecting wipes on Pinterest a while back and have been meaning to try it. And then time gets away from me.

But I started to clean out a closet a couple of weeks ago, and gathered a pile of old towels and rags that were no longer usable for their intended purpose, and I decided that those babies were going to be recycled into re-usable disinfecting wipes.

To me, one of the most exciting things about making your own cleaning stuff is that if you buy/store a few basics, you have the ingredients to make a plethora of cleaning products right there in your own home, for a fraction of the price. Yeah….it’s that cool. And from a storage standpoint….well, simplifying is a good thing.

Here are a few of those basic ingredients:

Borax
Washing Soda
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Ammonia
Hydrogen peroxide
Alcohol
Essential Oils or even orange/lemon peels

In many cases, these ingredients are much more eco-friendly as well.

So gather your supplies, cause we’re going to make some disinfecting wipes…..

You’ll need a plastic container. We’ve had a consistent stream of babies at our house for the last…oh, 13 years or so, so I am using an old baby wipes container that I had lying around the house. You can use any plastic container with a tight fitting lid.

Then you’ll want a bunch of old rags/towels. I used the side of my wipes box to determine the dimensions of my rags. I cut them the same length and twice as wide so they could be folded inside the container. Basically the size of a washcloth. Next time I’ll use pinking shears, cause MAN those little fuzzies all over the place….

Then you’ll need something to mix in (I used an old cottage cheese container…Costco sized)
and something to measure with (I used an old medicine cup, and an old measuring cup)
and something to mix with (a plastic baby spoon….creative, I know).

I’ll reuse these, so I rinse and dry them and store them on the shelf with the cleaning supplies.

Then:

1 cup water
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
2 Tbsp. blue Dawn dish detergent.  Yeah, the brand matters on this one. But I buy mine at Costco in the mammoth sized bottles, so there’s still some significant savings
2 Tbsp. ammonia (opt)
Essential oils (opt) I added about 15 drops

 

You may need to mix up more than one batch of ingredients for your container, depending on it’s size, how many rags you’ve added to it, and how absorbent they are.

Dump it over the top of the folded towels in your container, making sure to distribute it so everybody gets a little.

Make sure you mark your box, so you know what’s in it….cause, you know…..you might forget….not that it’s ever happened to me or anything.

I find I like to go over my surface with my “wipes” and then rinse and go over again. And then, I throw it in the laundry, so I can do it all over again….which I love…because although there is some time investment, it’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s fast. That’s the way I like it.

Have you tried making your own cleaning products? How have you like them?