Welcome again to MAKE IT MONDAY! I trust you had a restful weekend and are ready to jump into another fun sustainable home project! I am having so much fun here on the homestead crafting ways to make our lives better. I hope you are enjoying it so far.
Todays project as you can see is making reusable cleaning pads for my new stick mop. A little background info before we start though.
I have used a bucket and mop for cleaning my floors forever. I even used a Swiffer for quick clean ups for a while. The refill pads can get expensive though if you use it a lot. Since I have switched to natural cleaning products I was looking for a way to save on my ingredients while cleaning as well. I hated to mix up my cleaner in the bucket and soon after have to dump it and remix when the water got dirty. So, I decided to look into stick mops with a reservoir for my cleaning solution.
I visited my local Walmart to see what was available. There are a lot of different models out there now. All stick mops are not created equal though! Here is a general review of what I found and my impressions.
Some models serve as a vacuum or steamer and mop together. I have a vacuum, broom and steam cleaner so I don't need those features. Plus, most used batteries or had to be plugged in to power the unit. Not interested!
Many do not have a refillable cleaning solution reservoir. They want you to buy their pre-packaged chemicals. Now I have seen pins on Pinterest where people have figured out ways to refill those bottles but for me that is too much work.
Others are your basic stick mop with refillable reservoirs and have various sized heads and cleaning pads. I eliminated those with hard plastic heads and sharp corners. My concern was scratching walls and baseboards. Next I ruled out those with Velcro attached cleaning clothes. I knew that I would be making my own replacements (the refills they sell can be pricey) and I have found in the past that after a while, Velcro seems to not want to stay attached.
So, what did I end up with? A Dirt Devil Spray+Mop with Swipes. It has an easily refillable reservoir which holds a decent amount of my homemade cleaner, swivel head which is not to large to get around toilets and narrow spaces and rubber ends on the head which flexible enough not to mar any walls, furniture or baseboards. Not to mention there was an attached $3.00 off coupon attached by the manufacturer. I just couldn't pass it up. It's perfect! Now, on to our project.
I went to my local dollar store and bought a couple of microfiber cleaning cloths. I chose the ones with mesh on the back because I thought it would lend a little more durability.
Now the refill pads you buy have a foam core. I needed an absorbent layer. I happened to have a brand new package of chamois cloths at the house that had been given to my hubby as a gift. FREE! The only other thing required was elastic strapping to hold it in place on the mop. I happened to have some (yes I'm a pack rat) which was cut off an adjustable medical belt. Perfect for what I needed! I would imagine that any absorbent fabric would do. Terry cloth, thin sponge material or layers of flannel would work as well. Right now JoAnn Fabrics has flannel on sale for 60% off. Solids are $2.40 a yard. Great deal if you would like to use that! Whatever you choose, all of your materials for this project can be purchased at your local craft or sewing store.
I first traced the pad which came with the mop on my chamois cloth and cut them out.
Next, pin and sew the elastic to the chamois. I used a simple straight stich on my machine. Make sure you stich around the whole end of the cloth so it holds better to the mop.
Now pin your chamois piece with elastic sewn on to your microfiber cloth with wrong sides together. Make sure that the elastic is facing up and the microfiber down. (You can see the stitching around the end of the elastic in this pic)
I know that not everyone has a serger, so I decided to sew this with a regular machine. I did a satin stich around the entire edge. I chose to sew before I cut the microfiber to make the edges easier to handle. This is what it looks like.
Cut around your cloth making sure not to cut your stitching. I then sewed three lines of straight stich down the center to hold everything in place. I didn't measure anything, I just eyeballed it. Just don't sew over your elastic.
You have now made your own stick mop replacement cloths! Yeah for you!
I have found that I prefer my homemade ones to the one that came with the mop. I made up several so when I'm mopping, when they get dirty I either switch it out or rinse it out and keep going. Throw in the wash and lay flat or hang to dry. So easy!
I love being able to use my own cleaning solutions with ease in my home without the waste. I know it probably sounds silly, but I can't help smiling when I mop now knowing that I made these and my cleaner myself! I hope that this inspires you to give it a try. Mopping can be fun!
Have a blessed day and I'll see you soon.
Tina:)
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