How Much Does It Cost to Use Commercial Detergents vs Homemade DIY Household Cleaners?

These days most people are trying to shop carefully and buy discounted products in order to save money.  Some people prefer DIY (do it yourself) products to clean up. Are commercial detergents or homemade detergents cheaper? Which one do you prefer?

In a perfect world, every corner of your house should be clean and shiny. 🙂 This includes bedrooms, living rooms, floors, clothing, sinks, toilet…you get the idea. Most people buy any kind of detergent that is expensive and full of chemicals, but if you look at the shelf in your kitchen, you can probably easily make an effective, cheap, and chemical-free cleaner.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the commercial and homemade detergents.

There are always spots and dust on the windows. You probably buy the well known brands full of ammonia and other chemicals. There is always a sign with a skull on it and a label that says “keep out of reach of children” and so on. A bottle of 700 ml costs around $4. However, a mix of hot water with half to one cup of white vinegar in a spray bottle and a drop or two of a dish washing liquid, if there is more grease, will save you a lot more money. Also, use balled up newspaper for streak free wiping. It is a child and wallet friendly alternative to clean up your windows. The white vinegar costs around $3 for 4l bottle, which goes a long way.

The all-purpose cleaners in a spray bottle are about $3.75 per bottle for 650 ml. You can cut your spending by making your own cleaner. You can mix 2 tablespoons of dish washing liquid and 2 cups water in a spray bottle. Use baking soda and some water to scrub the stains of the sink or your bathroom. You can even use an old toothbrush to wash up the corners and cracks. Wipe it up to shine. The dish washing liquid soap is less than $1 per 560 ml bottle.

You can use soda to clean almost everything. For example, you can clean your oven with it. If you mix 1 part of baking soda and 3 parts of hot water, you have a thick paste. Put the paste on the oven and let it sit overnight. Then use a plastic spatula to remove the greasy of the oven. Make sure that you will wipe off after the clean. A package of baking soda costs about $1.50.

How about the floors? We cannot only clean with water, so from time to time we should use wood floor detergent to clean the mess up. After mopping the floor with hot water, mix 1/8 cup of a liquid dish washing soap with 1/8 white vinegar in a 4l bucket of hot water. It cost almost nothing again. In comparison with the commercial detergent for wooden floors cost approximately $11.50, and some of them cannot be used on every surface, so you need to be careful with that as well.

Ugh, time for the toilet. ): Most people do not like cleaning the toilet, so they just want to get the job done and use the famous brands with cool bald guys on the label. If you what to try out DIY detergents, here’s something for you. You need to swish 1/2 cup of white vinegar around the toilet, let it stay for a few minutes, then scrub and flash. After that, wipe the toilet with the home made all-purpose cleaner using a cloth. Here’s a good resource for easy to make bathroom cleaners.

Homemade detergents are much cheaper, environmental and children friendly than the commercial ones. Of course, if you’re feeling lazy and just want to keep surfing the web on your new 2-in-1 laptop and hire a professional like TidyCleaning Bayswater or Commercial Cleaning Company to do it for you.