DIY: Reusable Swiffer Wet Jet Pad
9:33 AM
Meg and I were goofing around while taking this picture of me and my neat mop. Oh man, but now all I can think about is Angelina Jolie's leg coming out of her dress! She must have seen my blog and wanted to pose just like me because it's so "cool" ;) LOL!
Yes! I don't have to buy anymore Swiffer WetJet refill pads and throw them away when I'm done! That equals more cash in my pocket! Here's what you need to make your own reusable/washable Swiffer mop pad.
1 package of Gerber padded cloth diapers
(2) 9" strips of sew-on Velcro per pad. Just the soft side.
Sewing machine, pins, and thread
Scissors and measuring tape
Lay out your padded cloth diaper like so
Fold down the top 3rd portion
Fold up the bottom 3rd portion and pin down
Fold in half and cut on the fold line
You get two reusable Swiffer pads per cloth diaper!
Get your 9" strips of the soft side of the velcro
Measure 1" from the edge of the cloth diaper and pin on your strips of velcro
Make sure that with the other piece of velcro you pin it on top of the edge of cloth diaper that was folded over. You don't want the pad to have any flappy parts. This will secure the edge down as well as cover it up making it look a little better.
Here's what it looks like pinned
*I only used blue thread so you could clearly see what I did
Serge the raw edge and then secure the velcro to the pad using a zigzag stitch down each side
Stick it onto the Swiffer and mop till your hearts desire
*Notice that the pad is a little shorter in width than the actual mop. It really makes NO difference at all having it a bit shorter. It just has to be a little shorter if you want to be able to make two pads from one cloth diaper.
Look how shiny my floors are!!! I actually prefer the way the cloth pad feels as you push it along the floor. It's glides more smoothly than the disposable Swiffer pads.
So if any of you care, I calculated the cost difference to see if this method actually saves money. Each disposable Swiffer pad costs .50, so basically you could buy a package of 24 for about $12. One package of cloth diapers (there are six in a package) is around $6. Because you get 2 pads out of each cloth diaper, you actually get a total of 12 reusable pads, which makes them cost .50 each. So the cost is even at this point! In fact you have to buy some velcro to make your reusable pad, so actually it costs a tiny bit more at this point to make your own. But the kicker is that you can reuse these babies probably for the rest of your life! Just throw them in the washing machine. So it totally saves you money in the long run. Hey, it's also "green" since you aren't throwing away disposable pads after every use. So I think it's well worth it!
Guess what else... you can also refill the swifter solution with your own cleaning supplies. Here is the tutorial.
Stephanie
19 comments
great idea!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I love this! I'm definitely going to try it! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea thank you for sharing
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing I need to get someone to make me some!
ReplyDeleteWhere did you buy your cloth diapers?
ReplyDeleteI've been rolling this around in my brain for ages. I loathe tossing the mop pads every time. Now I know what to do with that pack of crappy prefolds that I was so generously given by a friend who knows nothing about modern cloth diapering. And since I usually sew my own cloth diapersm, I have a ton of velcro laying around, too! I can get started on these this afternoon! Pair that wit the trick I read on how to get the swiffer bottle top off to refill it, and we are cheap and green!
ReplyDeleteI have a question, why the Velcro? You only used the soft side? Why do you need it ? Do you put the loop side on the mop?
ReplyDelete@Pam, You need the soft side of the velcro because the bottom of a Swiffer Wet Jet has the equivalent of the "poky" side of velcro on it. That's how you stick it to the mop.
ReplyDeleteExactly which kind diapers did you use? I bought some cloth diapers to use as burp cloths, and the amazon reviews even said they were great burp cloths, but when they came they were so thin I could see through them! So I know those are the wrong ones for this project, I am just not sure what the right ones are. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I imagine these can be used dry as well for a regular swiffer pad. Do you know how well they would pick up dog hair? I have a pomchi that sheds something fierce.
ReplyDeleteAmber, if you are looking for a dry cloyh for the regular swiffer,you may want to try the yellow/gold car shammi's used to polish cars. They pick up pet hair well, can be vaccumed and washed several times. they come cut pretty big but you can cut them down to fit. I also use them wet.
ReplyDeleteI heard microfibers cloths are really good to use on hard wood floors, and I found a 3 pack at the dollar store that are 9 by 9 inches. I just sewed them in half, added some interfacing to the middle make them a little stiffer and added the velcro. Thanks for the great idea!
ReplyDeletewouldn't old dish towels work as well. they could be folded and sewn to the correct size. The towels might ot be nice enough for dishes but would be fine for the floor. and would be free!
ReplyDeleteYou*Go*Girl*!!
ReplyDeleteMy experience with actually using them as diapers is that they shrink quite a bit after washing. I'd suggest searching "how to prep new cloth diapers" and do that before cutting/sewing. You can often get higher quality diapers used from diaper services- making them even more environmentally friendly.
ReplyDeleteWhat an idea! Your technique is really amazing. It’s really cool way. Going to try this. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteCleaning Services Chandler AZ
Googling "Gerber padded cloth diapers" says you can get them at Walmart, Target, Amazon...
ReplyDeleteJust made some out of old Chinese prefold diapers (which were great diapers) but it doesn't glide as well as paper pads. Wondering if gerbers, microfiber, terry cloth, flannel would work better.
ReplyDeleteJust trying this now and I can't get the folded diaper under my presser foot. It is too thick! How did you do this?
ReplyDelete