With Spring Cleaning on everyone’s minds lately (or is it just me???), here’s a tip that I hope will help some of you.
I love using my Swiffer Wet Jet to clean my kitchen floor. I think mops are yucky. However, the pads and cleaner refills for the Swiffer Wet Jet are insanely expensive. I’m way too frugal to pay $7 for a box of 20 pads and $5 for a bottle of cleaner. Yeah, right! So I have been trying to think of a cheaper alternative to clean my floors. Unfortunetely, I just could not get rid of my Wet Jet. I love it too much.
That’s when I had the idea to just refill the Wet Jet cleaner bottles with my own homemade floor cleaner. Duh! Why didn’t I think of that in the first place? So I went to make some cleaner and put it in the Wet Jet bottle – but when I got to the bottle I realized I could NOT get the cap off. I twisted so hard that I made my hand bleed. I guess it makes sense that they make the lid difficult to get off – they want you to go out and buy more of their cleaner! I was determined though.. so I kept trying. When twisting was became incredibly painful, I tried running the bottle/lid under hot water and just popping the lid off. That helped but it was taking awhile and I’m a very impatient person (I’m working on that!) so I went and grabbed a pair of pliers from the toolbox and tried those on the lid. Voila! Off it came. I was so excited that I may have done a little dance right there in my kitchen. Please don’t tell anyone.
I filled up my Wet Jet bottle with my own homemade floor cleaner and used the pliers to put the lid back on.
As for the pads on the bottom of the Wet Jet, I just used some very inexpensive microfibre cloths that I’d purchased at the dollar store a few weeks ago. I tried it out and it worked perfectly. My floor was so shiny and clean and nice smelling – and I didn’t have to pay Swiffer’s inflated prices to do it! I just tossed the pad in the washing machine and I can use it again next time (I have some extras I can use instead, if the laundry doesn’t get done right away).
Here’s my floor cleaner “recipe”, if you’re interested (you can also use this on walls, in your bathrooms, etc.):
Inexpensive Homemade Household Cleaner:
- 1/8 cup Dawn dish soap
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup vinegar
Missy: Great idea!
I crochet cloths for the swiffers. They last a long time, are reversible, and can be washed in the washer machine.
Thanks, Steve!
Cut a hole in the bottom of the bottle, since the bottle faces down there is no worry of the liquid making a mess.
Awesome!! Thanks! I want to get one of the Shark cleaners, but will use your methods in the mean time!
You can also make your own inserts so you aren’t throwing away the disposable pads… maybe you are already! (New to the blog after finding you on flickr) http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-Washable-Wetjet-replacement-pads-without-s/
I used to love my wetjet but now i use the h2o steam floor mop. This thing is the best and you only use water. I also now have the surface steam cleaner as well, and walked all over the house cleaning things.
yes the microfibre cloths are great!
the cap is very difficult to get off, i know. it’s so annoying!
I thought of this myself too but couldn’t ever get the lid off the cleaner bottle. I’ll def. try with pliers! With my luck it will break the lid or something but its worth a shot!
I ran out of the pads a few times and before I could get to the store I just the microfiber clothes too… works wonders!