We love using home-made cleaning solutions! The store-bought chemicals can irritate your throat and nose, and they’re not safe to come into contact with your skin, either. Using only a few simple and cheap pantry ingredients, you can create your very own cleaning solutions for cheap. Give the environment (and yourself!) a break and try these recipes.

White Vinegar

Vinegar dissolves dirt, soap scum, and hard water deposits. Although it’s a tough acid, it’s gentle enough to use on hardwood floors. White vinegar is also a natural deodorizer, and absorbs odours instead of masking them. If you’re worried about the smell, it goes away completely when the vinegar dries. If you have sensitive skin, vinegar is great as a fabric softener. Add 1 cup of vinegar to your rinse cycle instead of regular fabric softener. For hard water deposits on your showerhead, simply place 1/2 cup vinegar in a sandwich bag and tie around the showerhead with a rubber band. Allow it to sit overnight and rinse in the morning. If you’re looking for an all-purpose spray cleaner, simply mix 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup water in a spray bottle. This is great for countertops, backsplash areas, and floors.

Baking Soda

Baking soda has a mild abrasive action and has natural deodorizing properties. It’s a great replacement for harsh store-bought scouring powders. Sprinkle baking soda on your sponge for bathtub rings, vanity units, or removing food deposits from the kitchen sink. For tough stains and grime, make a paste of baking soda and water and leave it to stand for 10-20 minutes until the deposits have softened and can be removed easily. To keep drains running smoothly, pour 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain and a little hot water to wash the baking soda down. Allow it to sit overnight, and don’t use it on blocked drains.

Rubbing Alcohol

Rubbing alcohol is great on windows, mirrors, and hard-surface ceramic tiles. It’s also good to put it into a spray bottle and spray on points of contact to kill germs (door handles, steering wheels, toilet handles, toilet seats, etc.).

Ammonia

Ammonia is a strong window and all-purpose cleaner, and it’s stronger than vinegar. For a tough cleaning solution, mix 1 tbsp ammonia, 1tbsp dishwashing liquid, and 2 cups of water.

Photos: Trusper, Modern Survival Online, Good Ideas and Tips, Kendricks Stationers, DIY Life.

Fixing scratches on your hardwood floors doesn’t have to be a chore. Here are 8 simple ways to fix them and leave your floor looking new!

1. Vegetable Oil

Rub vegetable oil on the scratch and let it sit overnight. In the morning, just wipe clean.

2. Stain Marker

Purchase a stain marker in a shade close to the color of your floor and simply color in the scratch.

3. Tea

Tea can help stain the scratch to help it blend in with the rest of your hardwood floor.

4. Walnuts

Rub a walnut over the scratch. This also works for wood furniture, too.

5. Sand and Stain

For deeper scratches, gently sand the scratch and wipe clean with a damp cloth. Paint over the area with a little bit of the original floor stain. Apply lightly and use a cloth to work it into the surface. Repeat until the spot matches the rest of your floor.

6. Mayonnaise

Rub a small amount of mayonnaise over the area and let sit for a few hours, then wipe clean.

7. Iron

For deep dents, apply a wet cloth or paper towel over the area. Run an iron over the cloth for 3-5 minutes.

8. Pecans

If you’re out of walnuts, rub a pecan onto the scratch.

* Keep in mind that sometimes you really have to part with you floors and accept that they are not in the condition to be refinished. Termite and water damage is hard to repair and needs to be replaced. Consider a reputable flooring supplier for new hardwood floors, wood floors, click flooring, and even laminate!

Photos: AJ Floor Coverings, Vintage Home and Garden, Tea Genie.