My quest for finding new ways to repurpose old t-shirts and green my clean continues! This time I’ve set my sights on our floors. We typically use a steam mop to clean our hardwood floors, but I love the convenience of grabbing our Swiffer Sweeper for smaller jobs – I just don’t like buying and tossing those disposable wet pads.
Enter t-shirts!
After making homemade reusable disinfectant wipes out of t-shirts, I realized the same concept would work to keep our Swiffer wet wipes out of landfills – and it all could be done with just a handful of all-natural and inexpensive cleaning products!
My arsenal of all-natural, money-saving cleaning supplies.
DIY Swiffer Wet Wipes for Hardwood Floors
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon vinegar
Old t-shirts, cut up into rectangles slightly larger than the Swiffer pad
Container (I used a quart sized canning jar)
Stuff t-shirt rags in jar. Mix water and vinegar together, and pour over rags in the jar. Screw on lid and shake to moisten. Pull one out when you’re ready to get your green clean on, and fit it to the head of your Swiffer Sweeper, tucking in the corners to secure. When you’re finished, simply toss it in the laundry to wash and reuse!
DIY Swiffer Wet Wipes for Linoleum & Tile Floors
1 cup water
A few drops of castile soap
Old t-shirts, cut up into wipe-sized rags
Container (I used a quart sized canning jar)
Stuff t-shirt rags in jar. Mix water, and castile soap together. Pour water/soap mix over rags in the jar. Pull one out when you’re ready to get your green clean on, and fit it to the head of your Swiffer Sweeper, tucking in the corners to secure. When you’re finished, simply toss it in the laundry to wash and reuse!
Center reusable t-shirt pad under the head of your Swiffer, wrap around and tuck into corners to secure.
Notes:
- Castile soap is an all-natural, plant-based soap that gently loosens grime and dirt from surfaces – it can be found at most supermarkets or health food stores.
- Do not use castile soap on waxed wood floors, because it will break down the wax.
- Do not use vinegar on granite or marble.
The Swiffer and these reusable wet pads are especially great for tights spots like bathrooms – just be sure to choose the “recipe” that is right for your flooring type.
Earth Day is just over a week away! How have you greened your clean lately?
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GREAT IDEA!! We love a good reuse! Really enjoy your site.
Thank you so much, Deborah!
Yay! Another great, smart DIY cleaning materials post!
I’m planning on making some of your ideas this weekend!
I love hearing that, Carla! Let me know what you think!
how about a recipe for the laminate floors? I cant use anything bur Swiffer cleaner on mine as anything else leaves a dull film that is impossible to remove except with the Swiffer solution.
I’m not sure what would be best for laminate floors, Sherry. Any laminate floor owners out there that can recommend a good DIY floor cleaner for us?
I was told to use vinegar & water solution on my laminate floor. Have had them for 18 yr in kitchen, still look good.
So great to know – thank you, Barbara!
I clean houses and that is what I use to get both laminate and wood floors looking great.
I wouldn’t use castile soap on laminate floors..Perhaps those solutions should be reversed
I use the castile soap blend for our linoleum floors in the bathroom. We don’t have any laminate floors, but I’d love to hear if the vinegar solution is good for that surface. Let us know if you give it a try. Thanks Karen!
I have laminate, as well, but even the Swiffer leaves streaks. Will the vinegar work on the laminate?
I’d love to hear the answer to this as well! If any laminate floor owners would like to give it a try, please let us know your results. Thank you!
I’ve always heard not to use vinegar on either laminate OR wood… vinegar is an acid and eventually could wear away or compromise the finish. I would substitute the vinegar with diluted murphy’s oil soap… it’s natural (enough), can be used on wood and laminate and doesn’t need rinsing.
So what’s the recipe for waxed floors? Murphy’s Oil Soap, perhaps? Our kitchen floor is very worn and I have to wax it, but love your idea of using old t-shirts in place of wet floor wipes. Just replaced a whole stack of my hubby’s old undershirts and this is a perfect use for them.
And I’ll make up a bottle of the hand-cleaning wipes too–amazing how many of those I go through in a week. Though I do try to find the Greenworks Compostable ones…
Sure, you can give this method a try with Murphy’s Oil Soap! If that’s already what you’ve been using and you like it, go for it. I hope you give the reusable disinfectant wipes a try, too. They’re so simple to make and so great to have on hand!