Non-Toxic Homemade Cleaning Wipes

When I cleared our house of toxic cleaning products five-years-ago, I thought the conveniences I had grown accustomed to were forever gone. We used to go through 2-3 rolls of paper towels a week, countless napkins, and I never thought twice about using Clorox wipes.

Switching to non-toxic products made me think outside of the box, and I began to look for inexpensive and environmentally responsible ways to keep my house clean. A friend introduced me to flour sack towels, and I more recently switched many of my cleaning towels over to microfiber cloths.

Microfiber cloths are amazing! They are lint free (so they are great for mirrors), absorb a lot of water, and 36 of them are $16 at Costco. I cut half of the towels into quarters, put them in containers and poured in my own wipe solution. The end result is inexpensive, convenient, and non-toxic wipes that you are not concerned about your children touching.

What you will need:

- 12” Microfiber square towels before cutting, or 6” square wipe after
- A pair of sharp scissors

- Containers with lids (Old wipe containers work great)

- Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Rubbing Alcohol

- Essential Oils (tea tree, orange, lemon, clove, lavender, etc)
- A large mixing bowl
- Measuring spoons and cups

Basic Preparation of Wipe Holder (if You’re Not Going to Add Solution)

1. Gather microfiber cloths.	2. Lay cloth flat. (Mine had a line right down the center to make it easy on me)	3. Cut cloth in half.	4. Cut cloths in half again. (I then washed and dried to get the fuzzies off of the cloths)
5. Get an old container with a lid (I used an old wipe container)	6. Break off the dispenser tabs in the lid.	7. Stuff cloths to see how many fit (I fit 18 into mine)	8. Put lid the lid on.

Cleaning Solutions

Homemade Disinfectant Wipe Recipe:

1.5 cups of vinegar
1.5 cups of water

2 T baking soda
2 T Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap

20-30 drops of essential oils

Homemade Window & Mirror Recipe
(this is an excellent streak-free recipe!)

1 cup of vinegar
1 cup of rubbing alcohol
1 water

Directions for Making Non-Toxic Cleaning Wipes

1. Get (or Empty) Containers	2. Gather Ingredients	3. Put Cloths in Bowl
4. In separate mixing bowl, mix ingredients together. It will foam when you add the baking soda. Stir well & quickly pour into the cloth bowl.	5. Squeeze the cloths with your hands until all of the cloths are slightly damp, but that cannot be wrung out.	6. Put the cloths into designated containers.

I have a bucket for used cloths next to my washer. Once the containers are empty I wash the cloths with ½ cup washing soda, 1/2 cup borax, and 10 drops of tea tree oil.

Cost:

Towels: $16 (will last a very long time)

Disinfectant Solution (per container):
Vinegar: $.25
Dr. Bronner’s: $.15 (best guess)
Essential Oils: $.25 (again, best guess)
Total: $.65

Window & Mirror Solution (per container):
Vinegar: $.25
Alcohol: $.25
Total: $.50

Initial Cost (per container)
18 Cloths: $1.80
Solution: $.65
Total: $2.45 (about $1 less than store bought wipes - the first time. After the initial towel investment, it will cost $.50-$.65/container!)