Make safe, cheap cleaning solutions at home

Dear Readers: With grocery and gas prices going up, we all need to try to save wherever we can. A great place to start? Making your own safe and cheap cleaning solutions. Some of the expensive commercial sanitizing sprays are basically just a little household bleach and water, so why spend money on packaging and advertising?

Mix up your own by adding 1 tablespoon of household bleach (sodium hypochlorite) to 1 quart of water and pour into a labeled spray bottle. This simple sanitizing spray can be safely used on most kitchen countertops, but not on natural marble. It’s also great for sanitizing most surfaces in the bathroom, too. Use it on shower tiles and doors, tubs, counters, shower curtains and sinks (not real marble or unsealed granite). Spraying a little on the grout in the tub/shower between cleanings (and opening a window or turning on the exhaust fan to let the moisture escape) may help prevent mold and mildew.

Most cleaning around the house can be tackled with a few cheap ingredients that you probably have sitting in your cabinet right now! For more low-cost formulas, I have a brand-new six-page Homemade Cleaning Solutions pamphlet, which you can have by sending $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (58 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Cleaners, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. You’ll find money-saving ways to clean windows, stainless steel, woodwork — mops, sponges and rags. For an all- purpose cleaner that costs less than 10 cents to make and works great on grease and grime, mix 1‚Ñ2 cup of sudsing ammonia (it has a little detergent in it) with enough water to make 1 gallon of cleaner. Heloise

Dear Heloise: If you are flying with your spouse, pack half of your items in each suitcase, sharing them. That way, if a bag gets lost, you still will have some clothes. James, via e-mail

Good point! It’s called “split the risk and hope they both show up!” Heloise

Dear Heloise: One use for small shards of broken clay pots: Place a piece over the drain hole in the bottom of an unbroken clay pot before putting in a plant. This keeps most of the dirt from draining out of the pot, while still allowing excess water to drain. Kathy, via e-mail

XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate