Frugal Tips for Vacuumingby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 04 Jan 2008 04:19 AM Want to save money and still keep your house clean? In the past, we've covered such topics as making your own cleaners, finding inexpensive cleaners, making your own swiffer refills, and using inexpensive and natural products to clean your kitchen. We even talked about using your broom to save on the expense of vacuuming Now, let's take a look at vacuuming itself and how we can be very frugal when doing it. Skip the expensive vacuum with all of the fancy attachments and crevice tools. Instead, buy a simple machine with the basic tools. To get into tiny crevices, make your own small crevice tool. Take your smallest attachment and insert a regular old drinking straw into the end. push it in about 1/3 of the way and then secure it with some tape. The straw can easily fit into tight spaces, including computer keyboards. Buying a used vacuum isn't such a bad idea. Older vacuums with brand names tend to be very sturdy. One of the vacuums we use was left here by the previous owners of the house. It is from the 1960 and goes a great job picking up dirt and lint from the rug. If you are going to buy a used vacuum do a little research first. Make sure that you can find bags that will fit, if they apply, and test the vacuum, checking for clogs. Although I haven't tried it myself, probably because I am horrible and wrapping and tape, some folks reuse a vacuum bag by cutting it at the bottom, emptying it and then taping or gluing it back together. Opt for a hand push carpet sweeper instead of a vacuum to save on your energy costs. As mentioned in that earlier article, for tile, hardwood floors or linoleum, you can use a broom instead of a vacuum. A light mop with a vinegar and water solution will get up the fine dust. Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: Make Your Own Sanitizing Wipes Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags broom, Cleaning, frugal, thrifty, vacuum Discuss this article
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