Naturally Clean: Make Your Own Washable Swiffer

Reader Contribution by Stephanie Nelson
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Cleaning a home can seem tedious and never ending–at least that’s the way I feel. Two months ago I moved into my friend’s home that is on the market. (It is a new trend to have your home staged by a renter. They get a discounted rent and you get to have your home staged with furniture.) Unfortunately, realtors and prospective buyers track mud all around the house and sometimes leave old coffee cups for me to clean up.

I’m constantly cleaning the 1950’s hardwood floors with my housewarming gift: a Swiffer Sweeper. I’m not a huge fan of the company’s dry cloths since they are not eco-friendly, but they do clean the floors nicely. (A great green alternative is the omop floor care by Method.) Now that I’ve used the trial pack, I decided to make my own version of Swiffer’s dry cloths out of an old towel.

The towel works great, whether it is used dry or with a cleaning product. Best of all, my cleaning doesn’t hurt the environment by tossing individually used cloths in the trash after each cleaning session.

Dry Cloth Towel
Time: 20 minutes

• An old towel (any size will do)
• One foot of ribbon

1. Loosely trace the shape of the Swiffer so there is about a half of an inch on the shorter ends and an inch to an inch and a half on the longer sides.

2. Cut the rectangle out of the towel.

3. Sew all of the sides.

4. Cut your ribbon into three-inch strips, you will have four pieces of ribbon.

5. If you are using a swifter, you can use the cloth holders as a marker for where to sew the pieces of ribbon. Sew a ribbon strip to the edge of towel on the longer side of the rectangle.

6. Repeat step five to the remaining three sides.

Herbal Floor Cleaner

• 1/8 cup plant-based liquid soap
• 1/8 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 gallon water
• 10 drops lavender essential oil.

1. Mix the soap and vinegar into the water. Next add the lavender essential oil.

2. If you don’t like the lavender fragrance, you can swap it out for your favorite essential oil.

For more information on cleaning your home naturally, visit our blog series Naturally Clean.

  • Published on May 29, 2009
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
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