Saving money on swiffer!

I have laminate wood floors in my house. They are pretty dark, so they show up dirt and foot prints very easily.  I am constantly ' erasing ' the dirty look with my Swiffer Wet Jet. I love the thing. It's so convenient to just whip it out and mop up a few footprints and be done. No mop or bucket or pouring liquids involved.  If I had loads of cash stacked up, I wouldn't mind the cost of that convenience--- but I don't, so buying the disposable pads and the cleaning solution was getting old.  I decided to do some looking online to see if anyone had any tips on a home -made/ cheaper way to do this. I did! I have been using my super cheap replacements and I like them better than the bought stuff.  I thought I'd share what I've done. :


First- the cloths that go on the bottom to wipe the floor. I found a woman online who shared how she made her own reusable/washable cloths from  rags.  I bought a pack of microfiber ones at Freds for a couple of dollars. The first one I made just like she did. A normal rag happens to be the perfect size , so you don't have to do any measuring.  I cut it in half.  You have 2 pieces that are the same size as the swiffer bottom. I then basically sewed them up like a pillow case, putting the two outsides together and sewing around the edges. Leave a little hole, and turn right side out, then top stitch. Tada. I guess doing it this way maybe is a little more durable for washing and it's thicker. I sewed 2 strips of velcro on one side. I wish I wouldn't have now.  --- Don't bother with the velcro!  The microfiber sticks to the bottom just fine and without the velcro, you can flip it over and use the other side.  So that was prototype # 1.  It's  good and is holding up in the wash. I have washed  and dried it several times.  NOW.... me being the lazy/ time saving person I am...heehee...... I decided to try to cut corners. #1- I cut my microfiber cloth in half. #2 I stuck it to the bottom of the swiffer and took off. That is working fine too. No sewing involved. It is way thinner and I figure it will fray over time. But so far it's good and it took way less time than sewing the pieces together and sewing the velcro on. I get two cloths out of one rag instead of one. Plus I can just flip it over and use the other side! So either way works. Will come back and comment on how the non-sewn one is holding up compared to the heavy duty sewn one.

Next I will explain how I got around having to buy the special cleaner in the special bottle....