Looking to eliminate more paper products from your home but you love Clorox wipes? Living Renewed shares a recipe for making your own Homemade “Clorox” Wipes.
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Julie says
I hope your readers understand that these CANNOT be used for the all the same messes as real Clorox wipes. Clorox wipes can actually disinfect nonporous surfaces (killing 99.9% of bacteria/viruses) and even though tea tree oil and other essential oils are antiseptic, they are not disinfectants. Bleach disinfects. Oils do not.
These wipes are great for light messes, but not for things that could spread disease (like feces on the floor from a baby’s leaky diaper or raw chicken juice on the counters).
These wipes are just like homemade baby wipes, using castile soap instead of baby shampoo.
It is a great idea, but folks need to understand that there is a real difference here and sanitation is something to consider!
sara says
@Julie, Good point. It’s nice to have lots of options- with safety.
Chelsea says
I’ve never bought the wipes because they are expensive, and I don’t have kids yet so I’ve never bought baby wipes either, wipes aren’t something I’ve ever had around. So I’m curious, what specifically do you all use the wipes for, because I’m interested in making some if I’ll use them!
Hollaina says
You can buy tea tree oil and castile soap at most natural/health food stores. I order mine from amazon since I usually get a better deal in bulk from there.
sara says
@Hollaina, we also get good prices at http://www.vitacost.com. Sadly, we are over an hour from the nearest Target:(
stephanie says
I’m kind of new at this making your own stuff, Where do you buy the tea tree oil and castile soap?
Emily @ Live Renewed says
@stephanie, You should be able to find both tea tree oil and castile soap at Target. The tea tree oil is by the vitamins and the castile soap is in the natural beauty products section. Hope that helps!
Heather@Family Friendly Frugality says
I’ve made homemade baby wipes but never clorox wipes. Great idea!
Heather says
This is great. I love the convenience of the wipes and have wanted to come up with a homemade version for awhile now. Thank you!
Stacey Diaz says
I love the idea of this, but I can not tolerate the smell of the tea tree oil… is there anything I can use in place if it? I have been missing my wipes and would love to give this a try.
Emily says
@Stacey Diaz, Tea Tree oil is probably used for it’s antibiotic properties. You can also use lavendar for that. Actually, there are many essential oils that have antibiotic properties. However, the vinegar is really your sanitizing powerhouse.
sara says
@Stacey Diaz, a lot of essential oils have been found to have antimicrobial effects:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/6/39/
You could try thyme, lavendar, cinnamon…lots of possibilities:)
Melissa says
This sounds so great! This is all kind of new to me, though- where do you find castile soap?? I hate the smell of vinegar, too, so if that works to mask it, I am all for this idea!
Emily says
@Melissa, You could use any liquid soap. However, castille soap is real soap made the old fashioned way. You can find it at any health store – a popular brand is Dr. Bronners, however someone mentioned Trader Joes has some too. I have seen Dr. Bronners at bigger Walgreens.
Emily @ Live Renewed says
@Melissa,
Like Emily said, you can find it at most health food stores. Target also carries Dr. Bronner’s brand, which is what I use. Glad you like the idea!
Liz says
This is too odd that you posted this today! Just an hour ago I was cleaning my bathroom and thinking that despite all my efforts to live a green lifestyle, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to give up Clorox wipes for the really yucky messes. Thanks, ma’am! Your timing couldn’t have been better!
Christi B. says
I do chair massages and just ran out of the wipes that I use to wipe down my chair in between each client. I have cloth wipes that I used with my baby that would work perfect for this. Great idea and post! Thanks so much!
nisreen maali says
I want to ask you what do you do for ink , my printer is always in need for ink and it is too expensive ,is there a way to save?
Ashley says
@nisreen maali,
Do you have a Cartridge World near you? They refill ink cartridges and it’s super cheap and the cartridges always last me a long time.
Ryan says
@Ashley, Depending on the printer you have you can also get refillable cartridges. I bought a set for my Epson printer for less than the cost of a new set. I have refilled the colors 2-3 times and the black around 5-7 times already, saving me a lot of money. If you do a fair bit of printing you might invest in a set.
Laura says
@nisreen maali, Walgreens refills some types of ink cartridges.
Kim says
Thank you so much for posting this!!! I’ve been trying to find some new/different uses for old towels. This is perfect.
Hollaina says
LOVE this!!! I am so going to try it. Thanks for posting!!!
Christine M says
Very interesting. I was in the store this morning and was going to purchase some generic clorox wipes but figured there had to be a way to make my own and here it is. Now to just get motivated to do it =)