Thursday, September 30, 2010

Make Your Own Swiffer "Refills"

I love the ease and convenience of the Swiffer Mop.
I do not, however, like the price of refills pads.
My mom discovered that you can run the "Wet Jet" pads through the washer and dryer and reuse them once or twice before they totally come apart....but I have been racking my brain to find a more permanent...cheap....solution.
Here's what the kiddos and I have come up with. It took about 15 minutes to make a big stash of these homemade Swiffer covers! I used what I had on hand, thick cloth diapers. (Reminders of my failed cloth diapering attempts!)
If you do not have cloth diapers on hand, you could use kitchen hand towels, old shirts, old blankets...whatever comes to mind. Remember, you will be scrubbing dirty floors with these puppies....use what you have!
Mark a big rectangle 6.5 inches wide and 12.5 inches long. This is a big larger than a mop head, but it needs to be a bit loose in order to slip it on.
Cut out the rectangle..

Snip off the corners so that you have the far ends of the rectangle left.
These will be the "pockets" to keep the pad on the mop.

Pin the "pockets" on the far ends of the rectangle. Be sure to place the finished ends of the cloth diaper to the inside so that they do not fray. If you are using something other than a cloth diaper, sew a zig-zag stitch on the inside of the "pocket" so that it will hold up in the wash.
Using a serger, stitch around all four edges of the rectangle.
If you don't have a serger...that is fine!
Sew a straight stitch around all four sides, then go back and finish off with a zig-zag stitch.

That's it!
Slip the pad on your mop...and you are ready to clean.
For the regular swiffer, you can wet the pad before mopping, or use a spray bottle of your favorite cleaning solution to spray the floor as you mop. For the wet jet, use a small funnel and refill the wet jet bottle with your favorite cleaning solution....or just water for the kids to do a quick "wipe up" after dinner!
When your pad is dirty....wash, dry and reuse!

96 comments:

  1. What a great idea! I had been thinking about how I might make my own pads and solution. You helped me out! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is great! I've been needing to refill mine but haven't wanted to fork over the money! I have the cheap cloth diapers lying around as I've invested in the Chinese prefolds instead.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, I love this idea! Thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Perfect! I love this idea...and I have a zillion burp cloths since my first child was a major spitter! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've also wrapped a swiffer with disposable baby wipes in a pinch too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I don't have a sewing machine but I can crochet so I have made my own Swiffer dusters and sweepers that way. The patterns are here (not mine): Sweeper and Duster

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, shucks! These links no longer work. H-E-L-P!!!

      Delete
  7. You are so great. I love this. I just have to find time to make them now. Love your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great idea! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Okay, that is fabulous. I have hung up my wet jet because I just couldn't put the $$ in the refills. Great idea. I will be doing this next week. Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love this idea! I, too, have used a diaper wipe in a pinch, as well as paper towels on the Swiffer dry. And LIKE EVERYONE else, I have TONS of cloth diapers (and various other towels) lying around collecting ...well, collecting dust!

    Could you clarify how you use a funnel to refill the WetJet solution? I have been DYING to find a way to work around buying more solution -- it's just too darn expensive!

    Thanks for sharing!! :o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. once the jug is empty fill a pot with water and bring to a boil, then put the jug in upside down for about 3 minutes. Take it out (with a towel or oven mitt) and the cap will come off and you can pop it back on after you fill it up with whatever you want. It might take a little effort to get the cap off, but if you have pliers handy it just pops right off.

      Delete
  11. We have two dogs and lots of dog hair. I loved the swiffer sweeper, but when it broke, I wanted something a little more economical. We have the Libman Scrbuster mop and I love it, but the cover really didn't pick up dog hair. I made some covers out of some old flannel sheets and they are great for sucking up the dog hair! When I bought the mop (about 6 years ago now), I bought one replacement mop head cover. I use these mop covers at least 3 times a week and have never replaced them. I made several of the flannel ones and use them daily (sometimes twice a day during "shedding season"!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great, great idea! Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Fantastic idea!!! I just purchased a new box of refills yesterday from Target and was lamenting to my husband that I had to find a way to make something reusable rather than buying these and alas your blog post! So excited to make these and return my refills to Target!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I would also like to know how to refill the wet jet bottle using a small funnel ?? The replacements are just so expensive.

    Thanks Patti ;o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Patti -you can use a wooden skewer to loosen the tiny hole -don't make another hole. Then find the smallest funnel you can at the dollar store and slip it in & fill with your own solution. Or stick lid in boiling water for 10 to 15 seconds to soften plastic seal and open with rag because it's hot then refill and put lid back on. It seals when cooled.

      Delete
  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Awesome post. I was just cleaning out my son's drawers. From birth, I had been using cloth diapers as burp cloths (more affordable and economical). Now that he is 18 months I didn't need them any more, but couldn't make myself throw all of them away. So I thought I'd save them for dusting, but now...I'm going to convert them into my very own Swiffer refills. You ROCK with this idea!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. How do these stretch over the ends to fit the pockets on there. Is the fabric stretchy?
    Great idea and I appreciate you posting the directions.
    ♥ Joy

    ReplyDelete
  18. This is such a great idea! My mom makes similar things, but she knits/crochets them. I'm going to share this idea with her too!!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Joy, the pads are a bit bigger than the mop head, so they just slip over.

    And as for the funnel....You can just"jam" one in there, then try and pull the plastic "stopper" back in place. (Is that confusing or what?!?:)
    Here's what I do....I just have my hubby unscrew the lids. I have tried and tried, but am just not strong enough to get that sucker open, but he is able to unscrew it easy! Just unscrew, use the funnel to pour your mixture in, and screw the lid back on!

    I love, love the crochet/knitted idea! Those would make a great (practical) wedding gift!

    And as for the dog hair...I think if you made the pad out of flannel, it should pick up the hair when it is dry. I haven't tried it...but think it would work!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I use microfiber cleaning cloths that are available in the automotive dept at Wal Mart. I just poke the cloth into the holes and wash after each use.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ooh- now THAT Sounds more like my way of doing things! ha! thanks for the tip! ;)

      Delete
  21. I just use a old dish cloth and stick that in the holes of the swifter and then just wash it when Im done. Works perfect for me! I just found your blog & Im a new follower!

    www.thethriftymilitarywife.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. I took a pair of pliers and took off the cap on the Swiffer fluid bottle. I just took an old dish towel and followed your pattern. Whipped it out in 5 minutes. Cool!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I linked to this in a post this weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  24. great idea! i tried to just pin some cloths on but that doesn't work very well. i don't have a sewing machine but i might try to just hand-stitch it! thanks for the idea. :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. I recently bought a Libman Freedom Spray Mop, you fill it with your favorite cleaner and it comes with one washable/reusable microfiber pad. I really like it. I will try your idea and make some more of my own pads. Libman has a $5 rebate on the mop and I got mine on sale for 18.99 at my grocery store.

    ReplyDelete
  26. What a smart girl you are! :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Great idea! I'll be using some old burp cloths for this.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Patti - I found the perfect way to refill the solution on Swiffer Wet Jets. Once it's empty, boil a shallow pot of water - about 1 1/2 inches. Put the cap end in the boiling water for about 30 seconds to a minute - this softens the plastic inside that holds it in place. Use a towel or pliers (don't burn yourself) and it comes off super easy! Once it's off, get a nail clippers and cut all the plastic "fingers" inside the cap so that it will easily screw on and off in the future! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Love this! When I get a sewing machine (maybe garage sales next year!) this is on my list of things to make!

    I got your comment on my blog... did you email me already? I didn't see anything from you in my inbox, but maybe I overlooked it. Go ahead and email me at my personal email, audrey_loewen (at) hotmail (dot) com. I would get that one quicker than my blog email! :) Have a blessed day!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I LOVED your swiffer "refill" idea and featured it here. So clever!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Just made tonight. I folded the long end of the rectangles up instead of cutting that piece completely off. Fabulous! :) Thanks. For my dry mop I just poke a microfiber cloth in the holes, but that doesn't work so well w/ the wet jet. Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Great post and it looks so cute too! I was using a microfiber cloth and just pressing it into the little holes, I might have a different model then you though. I still use the disposeable ones the odd time but I like to use coupons for them. The best site I have found so far is this one, here is a good swiffer coupon for you if you are interested, there are about 6 for December

    ReplyDelete
  33. Very good idea,i was thinking about making one now i know how to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  34. If you do not have cloth diapers on hand, you could use kitchen hand towels
    mophead

    ReplyDelete
  35. easy way to refil the bottle: boil some water in a pot dip the lid to the swiffter bottle in the boiling water for a couple of seconds and then twist off! refill the bottle with favorite cleaning solution and screw lid back on!

    ReplyDelete
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