http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=353x1268Oh my.
Horse with no Name Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Feb-19-07 09:34 AM
Original message
I LOVE my Swiffer mop
BUT...it is a very wasteful luxury.
So....I have been toying around and came up with a unique solution.
I took some of the prefolded cloth baby diapers that I picked up at a thrift store...I folded the sides into the thickest part. I then sewed a seam down each side and then again where the wings came into the middle.
I sewed a piece of velcro from side to side horizontally.
I made 6 of these. They attach easily to the Swiffer and then when I am done, I can toss them in the washing machine for next time.
The entire project cost about $6.
My camera isn't working or else I would post pics...but it is very easy to do and helps on cost as well as keeps the crap out of the landfills.
Okay.
AZDemDist6 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Feb-19-07 02:03 PM
Response to Original message
1. i used old bar towels the same way
i could gt 3 doz in the automotive section of Costco for about $13 and they fit into the pokeyhole of both Swiffer and the Clorox mop heads
Warpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Jun-28-07 01:29 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. You can turn them into Swiffer like shmutz magnets with a light spray of Endust.
youthere Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat Jul-28-07 02:04 PM
Response to Original message
4. What a great idea!
I also love my swiffer, but I use it "sparingly" because the covers cost so much (plus I hate the idea of more landfill fodder)
My husband has plenty of worn flannel shirts I keep to tear up for rags...I don't have any cloth diapers anymore. Thanks for the idea!
madmunchie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun Oct-21-07 01:01 PM
Response to Original message
5. I bought a mop like that several years ago
the handle was like a "swiffer" but the bottom is a microfiber with velcro. It can be used wet or dry. I love using this, it is easy and clean and economical.
Summer93 Donating Member (397 posts) Thu May-22-08 01:12 PM
Response to Original message
6. Swiffer luxury
I just recently ordered Floor Wipes from Wipex. These are scented with floral Rosemary and basically use vinegar for cleaning hardwood floors. Now I am thinking of reuseable wipes with my own formulation of vinegar and rosemary.
kestrel91316 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon May-26-08 08:55 PM
Response to Original message
7. I have never bought a Swiffer, though my sister swears by hers.
Thing is, my only non-carpeted flooring is in my moderately-sized bathroom, my tiny kitchen, and my tiny entry hall. So it really is no big deal for me to run a sinkful of hot water with a little dish soap and ammonia and get down on the floor with a good thick cloth and wipe the floors clean (after sweeping first). And because it's just me and my one remaining cat, my home doesn't really get dirty (that coco mat outside the front door is a BIG help) enough to be cleaning floors real often. I do try not to spill in the kitchen!
So in the interests of frugality and independence from manufactured single-purpose goods and burning a few more calories than I have in recent years, I am opting for the homemade labor-intensive version. No more sponge mops, and no Swiffer.
In light of our energy costs and environmental concerns, I would rather see truckers drive food and medical supplies and true essentials across the country rather than plastic stuff that will break too soon......was it Thoreau who admonished us to ".....simplify, simplify!......"?
Well, the problem is, I don't see a whole lot of primitives simplifying things.
I'm always seeing primitives making things more complicated than they need to be.
zuzu98 Donating Member (320 posts) Sun Jun-22-08 08:27 PM
Response to Original message
8. Method sells biodegradeable refills for the O Mop that would fit Swiffer mops, as well as a washable/reusable pad that sticks on (to their mop) with Velcro. I've been cutting down on the refills and using cloth diapers and old T-shirts cut up into reactangles as no-sew options.
Okay, now remember, franksolich is not "up on" the latest in toys and gizmos.
I assume--and anyone is free to correct me if I assume wrongly--this "Swiffer" thing is some sort of pole with a sponge or absorbent cloth at one end, used to clean high-up places one can't reach with the arms.
Here, the ceilings are 10' high. Here, franksolich smokes a great deal. Here, there are lots and lots of cats.
And so inevitably some sort of brown dust evolves where the wall meets the ceiling.
I assume a "Swiffer" is used to clean places such as this.
However, I already have a broom, and rags.
Rather than going down to the store and buying some sort of "special use" toy, it's just easier, no cost at all, to wrap a rag around the broom, and clean such places.
