Not quite free but very cheap.

[lady-jane-grey]

Hi there Im jumping in without introducing myself but i wanted to pass on tips as there werent any posts here, I have asthma and have been using non scented/chemical stuff for years now these are my recipes/methods

a cheap bar of soap..... goes a long way and works well, soap up a cloth to wash down doors counters etc. rub on laundry stains too (white soap).

laundry liquid recipe

1 bar soap
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
3 litres water +enough to top up to 4x3 litres
grate the soap melt into the water in a big saucepan bring to the boil stirring in the other two ingredients. boil for a few minutes add some scent or lavender oil if you want. pour into 4x3 litre squash bottles top up with warm water shake to mix.
use one of those dosing balls full per wash, works in an automatic and you dont need conditioner.

window cleaner
1-2 drops washing up liq
1-2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
top up with water in a spray bottle

I have recipes for wax polish and an all purpose spray cleaner but you need to buy ingredients
let me know if you want the recipes and if can think of others I will post them
Kinda regards
lady jane

[Joyful]

Keep the recipes coming please .

[Ardeath]

As you said not quite free but very cheap... I use white vine vinegar "Distilled Malt Vinegar" (just one or two cap full) instead of softner. In Asda you can buy 500ml bottle for 50p ish or you can bulk buy it in Chinese supermarkets and it last for ages. The washing comes out really soft and it doesn't smell of vinegar when the clothes are dry.

[popco]

You can use plain white vinegar (diluted w/water) to clean counters & stuff too. Same w/hydrogen peroxide (surgical grade, I guess--in the US it is super cheap but I guess in the UK it's more expensive?) diluted w/water--I read somewhere that spraying w/vinegar & then w/hydrogen peroxide killed a v. high percentage of germs. Also baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is great to clean w/, but again, easier to find in large cheap quantities in the US than in the UK (though I did just get 3 kg at a Chinese supermarket!).

[Light768]

Are having some experiments.,? Is your experiments results good.,?



_________________

[lusi8367]

White vinegar and bicarbonate of soda are both great...

A cloth dipped in bicarb powder is great for removing grease - it is the best thing I have found to remove sticky dusty grease from the tops of kitchen cupboards that haven't been cleaned for a while

Vinegar is also great for cleaning bathrooms - as is lemon juice (smells nicer). Both remove scale from showers, taps etc.

Also fantastic for cleaning loos...since we moved into our house our loo has been 'clean' but from a certain angle you could see a nasty brown scale build up almost up the upbend. Tried several kinds of toilet limescale remover (suspect some were very unenvironmentally friendly) -nothing shifted it. Someone suggested vinegar...got rid of most of the water (plunged with a loo brush) chucked in loads of white vinegar and a kettle of boiling water and within an hour there was big chucks of brown limescale in the bottom of loo...Now use nothing else but vinegar - doesn't 'cling' but if you put it in then brush up around the rim it seems to work really well.

Also descales kettles really well (boil kettle, add vinegar and leave overnight) - I boiled the kttle with the vinegar in and it boiled over

I get mine from the cash and carry (5L white vinegar and 500g bicarb)...we don't have a business anymore but they don't mind if I go every 6 months or so and get a temporary registration.

[Sezbet]

I have a little note book I keep my cleaning recipes in, this multi-purpose cleaner is one I've used for two years or so -

1 teaspoon borax
1/2 teaspoon washing soda
2 tablespoons white vinegar (or lemon juice, but it doesn't last as long)
1/2 teaspoon washing up liquid
2 cups of hot water
spray bottle

combine them all, let it cool (so you don't melt the bottle!) then use as usual.

I also make a paste from washing up liquid and bicarbonate of soda for more 'hard core' cleaning - it's very effective.

Oh, and wash floors with washing up liquid and vinegar in hot water - no specific amounts, sorry, I do it by sight.

washing-up liquid's the only prepared detergent I buy these days(not including washing powder) and when I'm saving on everything else that means I can afford a good eco-friendly brand.

If there are any other kind of recipes you want, please just ask.

[Matt-M]

Best thing i've been using lately is shaving foam.
Nice cheap basic own brand.

We have a lot of light surfaces here and the shaving foam does the business. Only a small amount too. Skirting boards, white painted doors, light switches and best of all, those walls where you can see a dark patch either from hand marks or maybe above a radiator where the heat has spread upwards.

[gel]

Cleaning loos: After you get rid of the water,instead of vinegar just pure 1lt of Coca cola which is cheaper i think. Leave there for 2-3 hours and all these brown disgasting things are dissapeared.

White vinegar and bicarbonate of soda are both great...

A cloth dipped in bicarb powder is great for removing grease - it is the best thing I have found to remove sticky dusty grease from the tops of kitchen cupboards that haven't been cleaned for a while

Vinegar is also great for cleaning bathrooms - as is lemon juice (smells nicer). Both remove scale from showers, taps etc.

Also fantastic for cleaning loos...since we moved into our house our loo has been 'clean' but from a certain angle you could see a nasty brown scale build up almost up the upbend. Tried several kinds of toilet limescale remover (suspect some were very unenvironmentally friendly) -nothing shifted it. Someone suggested vinegar...got rid of most of the water (plunged with a loo brush) chucked in loads of white vinegar and a kettle of boiling water and within an hour there was big chucks of brown limescale in the bottom of loo...Now use nothing else but vinegar - doesn't 'cling' but if you put it in then brush up around the rim it seems to work really well.

Also descales kettles really well (boil kettle, add vinegar and leave overnight) - I boiled the kttle with the vinegar in and it boiled over

I get mine from the cash and carry (5L white vinegar and 500g bicarb)...we don't have a business anymore but they don't mind if I go every 6 months or so and get a temporary registration.

[pandora_p]

Thanks for the useful recipes. I use some similar ones.

* for floors
- olive oil soap flakes (easy to find in Greece)
- lemon juice (smells nicer) or vinegar

*for simple hand washing
- olive oil soap flakes

*for stains on marble
- paste made out of baking soda and water (leave for a couple of mins)
- wash off with vinegar and then water

*for lime scale
- rub with a lemon half

I even tried making my own washing liquid, but it didn't work on hard grease. I'll try again sometime.

Unfortunately I haven't yet managed to find washing soda in Greece. (Yet I can find borax!) Does anyone know if it can be replaced with baking soda? Or else where I can find it in Athens?