The Cleaning Supplies You Should Be Buying Refills For To Save Money

It seems like groceries are only becoming more and more expensive, with everyone looking for ways they can cut back on their spending. Perhaps you have toned down the number of snacks you buy or cut out how many organic items you throw into your cart. Still, your grocery bill isn't just comprised of food. It also has things like cleaning supplies on it — and thoroughly cleaning a house can require a lot. Things like stain removing solutions, multi-purpose sprays, and dish soaps are recurring charges, and we're not about to tell you to cut them out of your bill. However, you can save money on them by buying refills rather than new bottles. 

More and more brands are offering refill versions of their products, allowing you to buy a giant jug of their liquid and top off the spray bottle from the original purchase. Not only does this mean you're throwing away less plastic into the landfill, but the bulk purchase is usually cheaper than buying a new individual bottle, saving on your bottom dollar. It's an easy way to make your home more eco-friendly while reducing weekly costs. Curious about where you can scrimp and save? Here are all of the cleaning supplies you should be buying refills for.

You might be able to buy your laundry detergent by the gallon, but stain remover sprays come in decidedly smaller quantities. If you have a messy baby, a dirty hobby, or are just accident-prone with more stains than not in your laundry pile, investing in a refill bottle will help you save. In particular, we love Shout's Triple-Action Laundry Stain Remover Refill.

A single bottle holds 60 ounces and costs $6.58, which is nearly 11 cents an ounce. In comparison, buying a new 22-ounce spray bottle would set you back $5.58 at Walmart, which averages out to 25 cents per ounce. Instead, get the bulk refill, top off your empty spray bottle, and use it like you normally would for more than half the cost!

Multi-surface sprays are an asset in any cleaning arsenal. Rather than switching between various products in a room, you can just stick to one gentle spray. (Though there are some things you shouldn't clean with an all-purpose solution, like porous stone, so make sure to read the fine print). That's where products like Mrs. Meyers' Lemon Verbena Multi-Surface Spray come in. Safe to use on everything from furniture to tiles to floors to countertops, it lets you quickly move throughout the house to bust grime. However, since it can be used on so many things, you'll be burning through it faster than your other cleaning products. Because of this, it's best to get a refill bottle rather than buying another spray bottle.

There are cost savings with bulk buying. For instance, a normal 16-ounce spray bottle costs $4.89, averaging out to around 30 cents per ounce. However, the Multi-Surface Concentrate is $9.99 for 32 ounces, and this particular bottle is a concentrate. This means that you have to dilute it with water, so you're really getting much more than 32 ounces of product. Specifically, you're supposed to dilute 2 ounces of product with 1 gallon of warm water, creating a whopping 16 gallons of multi-surface spray in total at only about 8 cents per ounce!

Dish soap is one of those cleaners you don't want to run out of, especially if you don't have a dishwasher. Everything from cups to utensils stack up quickly throughout the day, and having a giant mountain of dishes can feel overwhelming. Because of this, most of us use dish soap on a daily basis, which means that our stash is constantly getting depleted. Therefore, it can help your wallet to invest in a larger refill bottle than to buy individual soap bottles. Plus, soap pumps are notoriously unrecyclable, thanks to all the small parts needed to make them — so the less of those you buy, the better.

Luckily, most brands have refill bottles. Take Dawn Platinum, for example. The Dawn Platinum EZ-Squeeze costs $4.99 for 18 ounces, averaging out to 21 cents an ounce. The Dawn Platinum Refill bottle, however, costs $13.59 for 74 ounces, which is 18 cents an ounce. This makes washing your dishes easier and more affordable! 

Keeping our floors clean can take a lot of work, especially if you have pets or kids. Everything from spills to sticky fingers to muddy paw prints can marr the floor, forcing you to chase after the mess with a mop. Because of this, your floor cleaner stash can deplete quickly. Most people opt to mop their floor weekly or bi-weekly, making it a perfect candidate for refill bottles.

Take Bona Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner, for instance. A frequently used item in the cleaning cupboard, this spray is great for stone, tile, and laminate flooring, allowing you to wash your entire house without having to switch products. A 22-ounce bottle costs $6.97, averaging out to nearly 32 cents an ounce. However, the Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner Refill is $19.97 for 128 ounces, costing about 15 cents an ounce — or half as much! 

If you have ever battled a streaky window or mirror, you know firsthand how important your bottle of Windex can be. The powerful blue liquid contains small amounts of ammonia, which helps reduce those telltale smudgy lines. However, you can quickly run through a bottle since it can be used on everything from your windows and mirrors to your glass furniture, car windows and headlights. In other words, Windex is a great contender for refilling. As with other spray bottles, purchasing refills for your glass cleaner versus new spritzers is better for the environment. 

While the cost savings aren't as impressive, they are a welcome bonus. A regular bottle of Windex costs $3.99 for 26 ounces or about 15 cents per ounce. However, for 2 liters of Windex Original Glass Cleaner Refill, you pay $6.99. Despite the extra cost upfront, you end up paying 10 cents per ounce, saving you a little dough.