I have a confession I am ashamed to make: during my pregnancy I broke down and bought a Swiffer. The thought of getting on my hands and knees to scrub the floors was too much for me to handle, so I let laziness get the best of me and I opted for what I thought was the easy way out. Wrong!
I quickly realized that the Swiffer was a total waste. Of my money. Of my time. Of our resources. Each Swiffer cloth costs about 50 cents, but I had to use at least four of them to really clean the floors. And, I noticed that the floors were never really clean. But, the biggest bummer about this method was all the waste that I created. The used Swiffer cloths get tossed into the garbage, and the plastic box they come in is a big drag on the environment, too. Plus, the questionable chemicals and fragrance used to soak the Swiffer cloths was giving me a headache every time I cleaned the floors. I knew there had to be a better way to clean the floors without breaking my back.
So, I devised my own Swiffer system. I didn’t want to throw away the Swiffer mop because that would be a waste, so the method I developed uses it.
1. Take an empty 28 ounce spray bottle and add four ounces of vinegar, a good squirt of dish soap, and top it off with warm water.
2. Apply a household rag to the Swiffer mop in the same manner you apply the Swiffer cloth.
3. After vacuuming the floor, spray the vinegar solution on a section of floor. Mop. Continue spraying and mopping until the job is done (you may have to replace the rag if it gets dirty). The rag stays put and the solution really cleans the grime. You’ll have plenty of leftover cleaning solution to use next time.
I swear, this system works BETTER than the store bought version! And, it costs just PENNIES per use!!!!
Homemade Mothering is a movement that aims to simplify life and foster self-reliance while being kinder to our families and the planet. Its about encouraging people to get back to the basics when it comes to mothering and homekeeping. 
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I was just reserching homemade swiffer systems! excited to try this!
Omg I am so glad you posted this. I was going to buy a swiffer mop thing, but now I'm going to try this instead!
Sounds like a good plan! I use the Shark Steam Mop. It is by far the best thing ever invented. No chemicals, just steam! And a cloth attachment that can be put in the wash when you're done! I've never had cleaner floors.
What, no baking soda?
=D
I'm going to use this method with an old clorox mop we have laying around where you pull a trigger and it dispenses the liquid for ya. Thanks for the "recipe!"
We agree – great use of the swiffer – it DOES take tons of them to do one cleaning! We have both moved on to the Shark Steam Mop, although Tricia still has the swiffer duster for her ceiling fans. Glad to know that we can make it work, even though their commercials will continue to annoy us 😉
I love our swiffer mop–I just never use the disposable cloths! Another great use for "dusting" the floors (like the disposable cloths do) is to use dry old-fashioned cloth baby diapers on the mop. They pick up so much dust, hair, flour, etc.
This is such a wonderful idea…thanks for sharing!
Do u think there is a way to get the homemade solution in the old bottle so you can still pull the trigger and it will spray on it’s own?
I’m not sure – I’ve never used the Swiffer wet jet before. I just use my swiffer dry mopper and spray as I go using a spray bottle.
Yeah! I have been looking for a better way to mop the floors. I might just have to try this tomorrow 😀
here’s a nice microfiber mop if you don’t already have the swiffer style.
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.V29785.desc.Don-Asletts-Supersize-Microfiber-Mop-w-6-Microfiber-Pads
I tried this as soon as I got done reading! But to make it a little better I used one of my husbands old socks instead of a rag ^_^