We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
Are you looking for an inexpensive natural cleaner that can clean more things than one at your home? Well, don’t look too far. The solution might be at your home already.
Since its formulation in 1910, Murphy’s oil soap has gained a name as a natural and inexpensive hardwood cleaner. But what many of us don’t know is that the age-old cleaner is the cleaning solution for most of our modern needs.
Be it leather furniture or ceramic flooring, or if you have to clean stubborn fabric stains, Murphy’s oil soap can come in handy everywhere. Go through the variety of uses of Murphy’s oil soap, and you would know just why a bottle of it is a must-have in every home.
Is Murphy’s Oil Soap Safe?
Many people think twice before using a cleaning product because it can have adverse effects on their health. For starters, Murphy’s oil soap is non-toxic and biodegradable, and so, it’s entirely safe for use with children around.
Having said that, you must use the formula in the prescribed amounts. The concentrate is quite potent and can ruin your flooring if you don’t dilute it with warm water. You can use anywhere between ½ and ¼ cup of Murphy’s oil soap in a gallon of warm water as per the severity of stains.
You should keep it away from the reach of children who might ingest it. Protect your eyes from the concentrate and contact the doctor immediately if irritation occurs. The product doesn’t leave any residue and is completely safe and proven to use on wooden floorings.
21 Brilliant Cleaning Hacks Of Murphy’s Oil Soap
1. Cleaning Wood
When we say wood, we literally mean any kind of wood you have at home. Murphy’s oil soap perhaps specializes in cleaning wood, and it’s a different matter that it can be so versatile.
You can bring back your old cupboard’s shine, clean up hardwood floors, shine doors, windows and whatnot. When it comes to cleaning wood, there’s nothing better than Murphy.
Most importantly, Murphy’s oil soap eliminates the risk of ruining susceptible wood, which is a common issue with abrasive cleaners.
2. Clean Plastic Surfaces
Plastic surfaces are the easiest clean as they don’t react with cleaners as much as other surfaces. But why buy a different product when Murphy’s oil soap can do the job as good, if not better.
You can clean up the dirtiest of trash cans, wipe residues, and bring back the sheen of your plastic utensils in seconds. All you need to do is dab some soap in your microfiber cloth and wipe it off gently.
If you’re using it on large surfaces, save some cost by diluting the oil soap as per instruction on the bottle. In the case of utensils, it’s ideal for buffing the oil by cleaning from the dry side of the cloth.
3. Clean Leather
If you talk about the most sensitive yet durable products, leather would surely top the list. Your favorite vintage biker jacket now costs ten times more than the price you bought it in the 2000s.
Moreover, mildewed leather can stick dust and lose their durability as well as the sheen quickly. Instead of buying expensive leather cleaners, use murphy’s oil soap to clean your leather seats, sofa and clothes too. Keep it in your car for a quick wipe to clean off spilled food stains
4. Condition Laminate Flooring
A lot of us choose laminate flooring over wood to save some cost but bare the trouble of cleaning it now and then. The floor can squeak and crack if you don’t maintain it properly.
Murphy’s oil soap works as an excellent floor conditioner. Just use it in the same way you use it on wood by diluting it. Let it dry overnight, and you can notice the reduced squeaking in a day or two.
5. Clean Car Exteriors
Apart from keeping the leather seats shining, Murphy’s oil soap will also prove to be an effective cleaner for your car’s exteriors. Save yourself a shining job or spray paint’s cost by maintaining the car’s color.
Just use Murphy’s oil cleaner and wipe the surface thoroughly. Let it dry before taking it out or buff it by cleaning it with the dry side to avoid dust and grime getting stuck with the oil.
6. Clean Ceramic Tiles
Here is another reason why Murphy’s oil soap is nowadays as common as a toothbrush in every home. It can clean up most of the kinds of tiles and flooring. If you have ceramic tiles at your home, all you would need is baking soda, oil soap, and water to clean it.
Use your regular mop or cleaning pad with the dilute solution and bring the shine of old in your tiles.
7. Clean Walls
Having kids at home comes with a lot of trouble with joy. One of the issues we all deal with every day is the constant splashes and crayon stains on walls.
Kids are erratic, but Murphy’s oil soap isn’t. It works on the root of the issue and cleans up most kinds of stains on walls. Just pour some of it on a rag or foam and scrub the wall gently. Don’t go too hard; you don’t want to scrub off the paint with the stain.
8. Remove Carpet Stains
Cleaning carpets can be as tough a task as it gets because the stains can quickly seep into the fabric. Moreover, your procrastination can give the stains enough time to become permanent if not taken care of.
If that is the case, pour a small amount of concentrated oil soap directly on the stain. Let it settle for about an hour and clean it up using the vacuum cleaner to see the stain vanish. You can also add soap oil to your vacuum solution for overall cleaning.
9. Remove Cloth Stains
If you’re running out of stain remover liquid, use the evergreen Murphy’s oil soap instead. Apply it on the toughest of stains and let it settle and do its job.
Now use your regular laundry detergent and wash the clothes thoroughly. It might not remove the stains instantly but will do well lighten it gradually in 2-3 washes.
10. Clean Steel Appliances
Our appliances have as much say in our interior decor as the wall paint and accessories. You’re expensive refrigerators, oven, dishwashers, and so though invite a lot of smudges on daily life.
Dealing with oily hands can make them look cheap and steal away their sheen quickly. But using a steel appliance cleaner can hit your already restricted budget.
Use Murphy’s oil cleaner to wipe the dust off these surfaces. Your appliances will retain their glossy finish for longer, and you can even remove stains caused by abrasive steel cleaners.
11. Multi-Purpose Cleaner
With kids in our home, we can’t ever settle anywhere longer than an hour. Now and then they would spill food or drinks or make furniture and clothes dirty. We thus, can’t imagine lives without a multipurpose cleaner for a quick fix to these issues.
Murphy’s oil soap provides a viable option for one. You just have to add a few drops of oil soap, baking soda in warm water and put it in a spray bottle. The solution will clean your stair railings, shelves, door handles, switches, and whatnot easily.
12. Cleaning Car Wheels
Car wheels attract a lot of dirt and dust every second you’re traveling in it. And dirty car tires can not only rob your vehicle of its sheen, but they also tend to crack easily.
Just pick out Murphy’s oil soap from your dashboard, and apply it directly on tough stains. You can also dilute it by adding a quarter cup of oil soap in a liter of water.
It will also help clean windows, hub caps, and rim easily. You can also pour some of the soap solution while deep cleaning your car. It also acts as a good conditioner and will extend the durability of your tires.
13. Clean Paint Brushes
If you like to do most of your household paint jobs yourself, you’d know the trouble of cleaning paintbrushes. As much as we rinse them, the paint never seems to end.
Use Murphy’s oil soap to get rid of excess paint and make your brushes look like new. Instead of using thinners that break brushes, soak the paintbrushes in the oil soap for half an hour. It’s a nice trick to save some money for the artists out there as it conditions the brushes too.
14. Clean Jewelry
A lot of people take their jewelry for cleaning in shops as they can’t trust cleaning agents not to ruin the polish. Murphy’s oil soap is an effective jewelry cleaner and can shine your bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and more quickly.
Mix a cup of oil soap in a liter of warm water and brush it on your jewelry. Let the jewelry air dry or use an absorbent cloth to soak the excess oil, and your jewelry is ready to shine bright again.
15. DIY Cleaning Wipe
Dealing with jobs, personal life, and raising children can be tough. You’d need instant products now and then, be it frozen food, all-purpose cleaners, or cleaning wipes.
Murphy’s oil soap makes effective reusable wipes. Just add about a quarter teaspoon Murphy’s oil soap in a cup of water and pour the solution in your wipe cloths.
Let it soak and use them wherever necessary. You can rinse and let them dry after use to reuse them.
16. Cleaning Dog’s Fur
Dogs are adorable but high maintenance pets. They’d need a regular veterinary check, protecting them from fleas and ticks by cleaning their fur, and so on.
Save some pet maintenance costs by making a natural shampoo to clean up your dog’s fur. Pour a quarter cup of oil soap in about 4 cups of water and stir well.
Use a soft brush to apply it on your dog’s head and slowly go to his back. Rinse your dog with tap cold water for healthy, tick-free fur, and save your dog from diseases.
17. Clean Bathroom
Murphy’s oil soap can save you a lot of time in scrubbing the grime and dirt from your bathroom tubs, sinks, showers, and all. Mix four tablespoons of oil soap in half a cup of borax and add a few essential oils for fragrance.
Scrub your bathroom with the solution and a scrub pad and make it shinier. You won’t need to bathroom freshener for some time either as the essential oils freshen everything up.
18. Clean Steel Sinks
Stainless Steel Sinks can look like a boring outcast in an otherwise contemporary kitchen. Instead of contemplating on changing the sink, try cleaning it up with Murphy’s oil soap.
Let the oil settle on the sink and then clean it up gently with your scrub pad. Buff dry using the dry part of a microfiber cloth, and your sink will now effortlessly blend into your modern kitchen.
19. Remove Permanent Markers
If your kids get a hand on your office tools, they’ll likely end up choosing permanent markers as their new toy. And we bet they’ll use it everywhere other than a whiteboard or notebook.
Murphy’s oil soap can help eliminate stubborn permanent marker stains from furniture, walls, etc. Just apply some oil soap to a magic eraser and rub all the creativity your toddler showed at the wrong place. It will also save your toddler a beating as you can quickly fix their misdoings.
20. Clean Glass Stoves
Glass stoves indeed bring a modern yet understated elegance to any kitchen. But they are more susceptible to scratches and smudges than regular steel stoves.
Having your Murphy’s oil soap bottle can come in handy in cleaning up the stubborn smudges. You can not only clean up the sticky grease stains easily but also make your stove shine in seconds.
You must dry wipe your stove afterward to avoid unnecessary oily soap smudges.
21. Clean Banisters
Our hands contain more dirt and dust than any other part of our body possibly can. And these hands touch our stair banisters now and then.
We can’t help but touch our banisters the time. To clean the smudges and dirt from railings, we just need our bottle of Murphy’s oil soap.
Just add half a cup of oil soap in a gallon of water and apply it on your railings with a cloth or brush. And don’t forget to pay special attention to the crevices which gain a lot of dust.
Murphy’s oil soap hence is a handy oil soap you’d need in your office, car, and home. As we discussed, it can clean most surfaces without any damage. There’s a reason why it has sustained the market for 100 years and looks well poised for more.