Can You Make Your Own Magic Erasers?
Who else loves magic erasers? I know I’m glad I discovered them. Whenever I come upon stubborn grime, gunk, or buildup, a magic eraser always seems to do the trick.
But as much as I love my magic erasers, they can be kind of pricey too which I don’t love. Magic erasers are a type of material with very limited durability and often after only a couple of uses they’ve crumbled apart. That makes frugal folks like me kind of grumpy.
If also makes frugal folks wonder if they can just make their own magic erasers to save some money.
So . . . can you make your own magic erasers?
Not really – BUT – there’s an easy thrifty solution you can use instead!
DIY Hack for Homemade Magic Erasers
It turns out that magic erasers are just a type of sponge material called Melamine. So the DIY hack for homemade magic erasers is to just find a way to buy the inexpensive generic melamine sponges instead. You can usually buy a whole bunch of melamine sponges for much less than the name brand magic eraser sponges. How much you want to save depends on how large a pack of melamine sponges you’re willing to buy.
After searching around on Amazon for awhile, I opted for this 20 pack of melamine sponges (I wasn’t quite ready to commit to 100 sponges yet!). Different packs have slightly different sized sponges too and sometimes it can be hard to determine their actual size. The sponges I purchased ended up being about ¾” thick and are about 4” x 2 ¼”. And when I’m feeling really thrifty, I cut them in half!
How To Use Your DIY Magic Eraser
The generic melamine sponges can be used just like their brand-name counterparts. All you have to do is get them wet and then use them to scrub the area you wish to clean.
However if you wish to add a little “extra something” to the process, that’s easy to do too.
One thing you can do is add some essential oils to the sponge. I put about 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl and add 5 drops of essential oil. Then I use this scented water to get the sponge damp to do the cleaning. It adds a nice boost of fragrance and it can add extra anti-bacterial power too (especially if you use an oil such as tea tree or lavender).
Another option to give your DIY magic eraser a little more cleaning power is to get it damp by spraying it with a homemade cleaner. My homemade All Purpose Cleaner that uses borax, vinegar, and soap is a good choice for this.
My experience so far has been that these generic sponges hold up about as long as the name brand magic erasers do.
So if you like cleaning with magic erasers too, this strategy of buying melamine sponges is definitely worth giving a try. Rather than spending about $1.50 per sponge for the name brand, you can spend something closer to 30 cents per sponge, or even 10 cents per sponge if you’re willing to buy a large pack.
Using this handy workaround will make you feel like you just found a way to make your own magic erasers!
Here’s a few options to check out: (affiliate links)
More Thrifty Cleaning Ideas:
- Make Your Own Goo Gone
- Make Your Own Foaming Dish Soap
- Make Your Own Swiffer Covers
- Make Your Own Cleaning Sprays
http://www.spongeoutlet.com has great prices on magic erasers
Great Tips! Thanks so much. I look forward to giving them a try.
I hope you like them if you give them a try Darlene!
Amazon is out of the regular $5.99 Magic Erasers. If I got a package of the extra thick ones, could I cut them in two or four pieces? Are they easy to cut? Also, you mention Tea Tree. Are you thinking of the everyday Tea Tree I have on hand in a little bottle? And where would I get Lemon oil? What store or department would I get that in? Sorry, a lot of questions. You can tell I’m not the crafty type, but this one got my interest. Thank you Bev!
I often cut these apart with no problems. I’m usually cutting them across the width to make two pieces, but I think you could also cut them across the thickness to make them thinner. You can often find essential oils now in larger stores in their pharmacy area. Both tea tree and lemon are common ones stores often carry. I hope you give this magic eraser strategy a try!