Achoo! I’m waging a war on the dust bunny and I want you to win the money battle in the dust game. Since I’m allergic to paying for Swiffer Sweeper refills and I break out in hives at the cost of replacement Swiffer Duster thingers, I’ve hacked a better way for cleaning my home.
Getting us to spend big bucks on refills is a nice gig for cleaning companies looking to make ongoing cash. So I’m putting an end to endless refills, taming the dust mites, dealing with allergies, and sweeping up pet hair all with a swish of my Swiffer hacked broom.
So if you’re allergic to paying for expensive and environmentally unfriendly dusters and sweepers, then try these 4 frugal home cleaning tips for a cleaner home at less cost.
1. Use Microfiber Cloths or Towels
Go ahead and turn your Swiffer into a microfiber mop by passing on refills altogether. Microfiber fabrics are woven from very fine synthetic fibers and are perfect for lots of home cleaning activities, including: mopping, dusting, polishing, and wiping.
These soft and reusable cloths save you money because they are effective at cleaning delicate surfaces like computer monitors, are machine washable, and don’t require costly cleaning solutions to remove grime. Microfiber cloths come in a range of sizes and weights with varying loop sizes and you can buy a package of 12 Microfiber Cleaning Towels for around $10. That’s less than $1 a towel!
I’ve used microfiber cloths on my Swiffer Sweeper for over a year now with excellent results. Microfiber fabric is durable and when the cloth is dirty I just clean it with my laundry.
To turn your Swiffer Sweeper into a microfiber mop:
1. Apply microfiber cloth to the Swiffer Sweeper in the same way as a refill.
2. If the cloth is too long or wide, use clasps to tighten cloth over the Swiffer.
3. Sweep away all your dust bunnies and pet hair!
I love using microfiber cloths over refills because they are a greener alternative, they are reusable for many years, and they cost far less over time. Besides, throwing away Swiffer mop pads and dusters needlessly adds to our landfills and I feel better about not contributing to our environmental debt.
2. Get with it and flip it!
When the dust settles and you think your Swiffer mop sheet has bitten the dust, go ahead and flip it to push forward and continue gathering dust! By fliping these seemingly one-sided Swiffer mop sheets you save 50% on your home cleaning costs by using both sides.
You may need to dust the one side off with a little vaccuming power, but I assure you both sides work equally well for removing the grime from your flooring.
3. Wash and Reuse
Don’t chuck your Swiffer sheets and dusters just yet! If you’ve got some mesh laundry bags and a load of wash ready to rumble, then extend the use of these handy electrostatic dusting and floor mopping tools by washing your dusters and mop heads.
Did you know they can last for several cleanings? Well, they can. Not only do these refillables stay electrostatic after washing but you will reduce the garbage created and save big.
4. Buy Generic Refills
With the popularity of Swiffer refillables, many companies have moved into this dusty market to capture your home cleaning dollars. Many generic refillables cost 10-60% less than the cost of the Swiffer brand. I’ve purcased the Swiffer Duster refills as generics and they hold up nicely for several uses AND can be washed many times to keep costs down.
So if you’re ready to leave your Swiffer sheets and mops in the dust then do try these home cleaning hacks to save some dough. I promise, when the dust settles you’re gonna love the savings.
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Your Two Cents:
I’m really glad to see more people using reusable clothes on their Swiffers since it not only saves money, but saves all those disposable clothes from going to landfills (what a waste!).
But honestly, I find that an old fashioned broom works just as well if not better — and I do a lot of sweeping since we have 5 cats and hard floors throughout. Though I’ve never felt the need to, I’ve read that you can use an old pillow case or even just a towel around one to pick up smaller pieces of dust.
Great tips! Maybe I’ll have to stop boycotting Swiffer now…
Thanks for sharing this!
I have actually started crocheting “refills” for my swiffer products. It gives me something to do while watching television (instead of EATING), and is much greener!
Making them from cotton makes it very washable, and I can add a textured stitch to them to give them extra scrubbing power.
I’d bet there are lots of patterns out there for knitters, too!
Hey – try a feather duster or one of those ones made with staticy threads – that what I use and then just shake it out. Works great on everything. What ever happened to the mops our mums had with washable heads? (hmmm…weird image there- sorry) Yep – just say no to disposable anythings.
For a neat freak like me, this is an amazing money saving trick! Thank You!!
I love the idea of using microfiber cloths. I don’t generally use Swiffer because I’m not too keen on disposable things…
Even cheaper – find some prefolded cloth diapers at a garage sale – like $2/dozen is what I managed to find. The diapers fit nicely around the swiffer, the cloth sticks well in the holes, and the padded center lines up well with the main pad. Then just toss in the washing machine when you have used both sides of it. I use it mostly to damp mop with on my wood laminate floors, with some vinegar in the water. I spray the water onto the diaper with a misting/spray bottle.
Ha ha, funny to see this post now… here’s why:
My wife & I made the switch to microfiber clothes back in January of 2009. Since then we have only used 1 1/2 rolls of paper towel, and that is mostly because guests still use them when they come over (because of habit).
Just the other day, my wife bought a generic swiffer at the dollar store & used a couple of our microfiber clothes! It works great & just plain makes sense!
Cheers.
Oh, to have a house large enough to warrant dusters and swiffers:) In my apartment there are just a few small surfaces that need dusting, and I just use kleenex or paper towels. This is my way of using the same item for several purposes. Great tips here, the microfiber towels are smart!
Great tips! For me, I rather use a vaccum or a broom and dustpan to sweep my floors. To mop, I’m on my hands and knees using microfiber rags. I find that the floors get much cleaner that way.
Wow this is a LOT better than my muslin scrap hack!
Now where did you find that mesh laundry bag?????
sheesh I can be such a dork. Clicked on the link for the bags…so ignore my ignoramus question, please.
Before I made the switch to microfibre I hacked a solution for my swiffer solution. I cut a hole in the top (or I guess bottom) of the bottle and poured my own cleaning solution in with a funnel. Suppose you could do the same when using microfiber and just put water in and give a spray when you need?
And before I did that – I got a spray bottle from the $ store and filled that with my solution and would spray, mop, spray, mop.
Oh are you talking about the swiffer sweeper? Well no problem, this is a solution for the swiffer wet jet
Some of the generic refills really, really suck. You think you are saving money but then you use more to do the same job. LIFE brand refills are a good example of this. I’ve long been a ‘flipper’ but it never ocurred to me to wash them before – nice tip! Also I have done the same with my WetJet, just cut a hole in the top and use my own organic cleaner – or just water. A word of caution though – some cleaners will clog the spray nozzle, and they will also evaporate through the hole in the top.
I cut up some fleece scraps for my dust mop. I like the results from that better than the generic disposables.
How handy. I just moved to hardwood floors and picked up a swiffer on freecycle. Was trying to figure of the best way to secure them since the wether type doesn’t have those indents to catch the cloth. Thanks!
ditto Michelle…i used to love swiffer sweeper…i got lot of pain in my hand and back due to constant back and forth going… but these days i’m cleaning with plastic broom that you get for 1$ in indian stores ( it covers decent area in one big sweep and you get behind furniture and corners and reusable too)… then clean off with swiffer wet jet which i cut hole on top of bottle and filled with venigar,water or just plain water sometimes..it sparkles my hardwood floor ..really cool ..saved aton on refills.