How to save money during the Holiday season making your own cleaning chemicals…

Window cleaner

A drop or two of dish soap for every 2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of white distilled vinegar for extra cleaning power. 

Always clean glass with a dry soft absorbent cloth or towel, when it gets wet you will leave streaks behind.

 Brass Polish

General Information :
There are many different finishes for brass accents, such as doorknobs, faucets, or house numbers. Some are coated with a lacquer finish, which can be damaged by aggressive cleaners and chemicals.

If the tarnish appears very spotty, the protective lacquer finish has likely failed. A cleaner will restore the exposed brass, however the parts still covered with the lacquer will remain dull. The ONLY way to restore damaged brass such as this, is to remove ALL of the lacquer finish, and restore with a commercially available metal cleaner/polish such as Brasso, Meguiars Metal Restorer, or Nevr-dull. These products all work well on unfinished brass (No lacquer). A good home remedy is to use ketchup and some salt or a cut lemon and some salt, which does work but not as effectively as a good metal or brass polish if the tarnish is particularly bad.

Technique:
Follow manufacturers instructions, however generally these products are applied, allowed to react for a few minutes, them rubbed vigorously to restore shine.

We also recommend adding several coats of paste car wax to protect this restored finish. Some pieces (such as exterior house numbers), which have been subject to harsh environmental conditions, may also be pitted. This type of damage is very time consuming to repair, so replacement is usually less expensive in the long run.

Hard water or lime deposit remover

Water deposits and rust are removed using a acidic cleaner.  A inexpensive home remedy is to use white vinegar (which is acidic).

To remove hard-water and lime build-up in a teapot or kettle, pour in two cups of vinegar and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, then rinse well. 

General purpose cleaner

 Mix in spray bottle, 1 part ammonia (ammonia is cheap and found in any grocery store) to 3 parts water.  This will  only cost pennies per spray bottle vs. a few bucks for a pre-made general cleaner.