How to Make Your Own Non-Rinse Mop Solutions

If you are as fond of your Swiffer Wet Jet or Clorox ReadyMop as I am you are sure to appreciate these inexpensive recipes you can make up to refill your existing containers. Save $$$ on each refill!

I searched online and in my local library for home-made cleaning solutions in order to find the one that would work best. I ended up testing 20 different combinations and came up with three that when properly saturated and used on a clean terry-cloth mop pad do not streak on wood, laminate, or tile flooring.

They are all made with easy to obtain products you can get from your local grocery store and will cost pennies per refill. I made all of the recipes to fit in a 32 ounce bottle so you will not have to store extra or make calculations on your own to reduce to what you need.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Ammonia
• Vinegar
• Johnson Baby shampoo

1. 

   Johnson Baby Shampoo
   
   I found this online and since I had some on hand I gave it a try. It out cleaned 17 other cleaners with many more ingredients and left my floors sparkling and smelling good. The only reason this cleaner is not my favorite is that it lacks any germicide components and in a house with a toddler and two dogs I don’t feel safe without them.
   
   Just place ½ teaspoon of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo in your container and fill with water (don’t try to use an off name brand – they streak!).
   
   A small bottle of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo costs approximately $2 and will last you a long time!

2. 

   Vinegar
   
   I wasn’t surprised to see vinegar in so many recipes in the library or online but it did surprise me to see it used alone. It out cleaned 17 other cleaners as well. To me there were two hold backs to this being my favorite: 1) it leaves a smell in your house for a while; and 2) while vinegar rinses well and kills bacteria it doesn’t really have any cleaning properties (other than keeping your tubing clean from build up).
   
   Use 4 ounces of vinegar to 28 ounces of water.

3. 

   Misty’s Cleaning Solution
   
   This is my own combination of ingredients: 2 tablespoons of ammonia, ½ cup of vinegar, ½ teaspoon of Johnson baby shampoo and fill the rest of the container with water. I came up with this combination while researching the properties of the different ingredients:
   
   1. Ammonia is an awesome cleaner and spot remover
   2. Vinegar kills bacteria, mold, and germs and it’s a great rinse agent
   3. Johnson Baby shampoo smells good and seems to add a sparkle to the floor (don’t try to use an off name brand – they streak!).

Tips & Warnings

• Check out my awesome washable mop pad pattern for your Swiffer mops along with instructions on how to make the bottle reuseable at http://www.makethemyourself.com/mop.html.
• I am not a chemist or a scientist, just a mom trying to make ends meet. The following recipes are provided free of charge and with the understanding neither I, nor my company, will be held responsible for any injury resulting from their use either to yourself, your family, your pets, or your property.

[joemcmahon]

on 1/17/2009 Interesting - I did a little research on ammonia and vinegar together and here's what I found (at http://www.louisvillecleaning.com/house-cleaning/homemade_cleaners.htm) - the mixture of ammonia and vinegar actually gives you what's called a "buffered" solution - you have all those ammonium and acetate ions swimming around, so the ammonium ones react with acidic dirt, and the acetate with the alkaline. So: neat! Definitely will try this.

[CstmQTsBowtique]

on 8/7/2008 All of those products are great for cleaning your floors. I reuse my swiffer wet jet bottle (although after about a dozen refills, mine started to leak & I had to break down and buy a new one.)
All you have to do is take the bottle out, cut jab a knife with a small blade down into it, and insert a funnel w/ a skinny mouth into the hole u made, then fill up with your fav cleaner. Works great, saves money, and the keeps more bottles out of the landfill.

[AbbyNormal]

on 6/22/2008 I use vinegar and water and it works real well. The smell evaporates after awhile and takes any other icky smells with it!

[DUSTYMILLS]

on 3/20/2008 THIS RECIPE REALLY DOES WORK. I HAVE REAL OAK FLOORS IN THE WHOLE HOUSE AND MOST CLEANERS ON THE MARKET EITHER DON'T CLEAN ENOUGH OR LEAVE STREAKS. THANKS VERY MUCH, A MOST USEFUL ARTICLE.

[wjensen]

on 2/22/2008 Thanks for the cleaning recipe, i didn't have any baby shampoo so used 2 tsp of baking soda and chlorine instead of ammonia and it seemed to work as well with no streaks:-).... just be careful the baking soda does react a bit with the vinegar so don't fill the bottle to the top.