Swiffer bottle hack

Quick and simple.
Drill a 5/16" hole in the top (when upside down) of the bottle.
Hot glue a 5/16" nut around the hole you just drilled.
Once cool, insert your 5/16" bolt into the hole.
We refilled ours with half Mr. Clean, half water.

Enjoy.

Step 1 Glue 5/16" nut to the swiffer bottle

Drill a 5/16 hole in the bottle.
Glue (we used hot glue) nut over the hole.

Comments

[PoeDunkMae]

I haven't tried using the swifter bottle yet, as I just got my swifter and still have plenty of solution so far.  But I have made my own cleaning pads.

I just took some cloth diapers I had around the house from my kids, and I added velcro (trimmed the diapers down to size).

It works great.  My floors are all quite clean! 

Will have to try and reuse the bottle, and use my own cleaner that way! Sounds SO MUCH CHEAPER! 

[penwagner]

Awesome idea!! I have a whole box of these and I hate the cost of the refil pads. Thanks, I can't wait to try it.

[vqjohnston]

I like this idea better than unscrewing the cap. because you dont even have to take the bottle off and i bet if you put some tea tree oil or some natural antibacterial that would work just fine. I like the drilling a hole and using a rubber stopper idea too! nice job =)

[mamone]

Hubby drilled a hole in the 'bottom' of the bottle, just the size of a wine cork. Now we fill with vinegar and water and plug the hole with the cork. Works well.

[jcurtiswood]

This is interesting, but completely unnecessary. I refill my swiffer mop all the time with much less work by doing this:

1. Get a pair of channel-lock pliers.
2. Adjust the pliers to the width of the bottle cap so that you won't crush it when you apply pressure.
3. Twist off the cap.
4. Fill the bottle with floor cleaner.
5. Replace the cap.

The cap will screw back on without a problem and you won't need the pliers to remove it the next time.

[Wiccan Woman]

This is great, especially for those of us who end up with breathing problems from the perfumes that Swiffer uses, among others! Thank you!

[Remag1234]

I totally agree. I've been doing the same thing for years. There's always an extra bottle filled.

[Shingalana]

We've been doing exactly that for years! Very easy!

[dustinbikes]

 I went to buy a swiffer wet mop today after reading this instructable.  When I arrived at the store they had a clorox brand product called the ready mop that is the same thing pretty much....only difference is that the refills for the ready mop have a screw cap for super mega easy refilling action!! woo hoo

[hypergeek14]

My pappy did a very similar trick with his auto-shower cleaner.  But he glued the whole top of a gatorade bottle on, so he didn't need a funnel to fill it. 

[porcupinemamma]

You just made me think....I can use my wet pad swiffer on the shower walls!  wow!  Thank you pappy for me!! :0)

[stewartlab]

yeah just take channel locks and unscrew the top. No need to drill a hole. It just has a child safety latch on the top.......squeeze, then turn and the lid will come right off.

[NickGriffin]

Correct on the screw off cap-did it for years-one good thing about this Instructable is filling it *might* be done without removal.Great Idea, friend!

The problem with off-on repeats(taking the bottle completely off to fill thru the screw top)-the repeated piercings break down the rubber seal and it begins to leak at the seal.
Trust me-I know..:-) I have, however re-used a few times with success.

[Hal The Hacker]

wow if that is your real name, that is REALLY REALLY unfortunate :/ (no offense - I am sure you know who i am talking about)

[NickGriffin]

All right already-it is my name-so get over it already and get busy making things!

[Chromatica]

Too bad your name isn't Peter

[aaronjehall]

lol

[pansy123]

 been hacking my swiffer since the day my son brought it home 3 yers ago...i use a food injector to refill the original bottle with my own stuff,  and i made cloths from cheap terry washcloths from wally world!  wprks for me...and i pop em into the washing machine!

haven't been called macguyver for years for nuttin!

[heathbar64]

I was going to do something like this but when My wife got tired of buying the stuff, she just got rid of the swiffer. Saved me the trouble. she did make her own pads though. I think she actually sewed strips of velcro on them.

[Creamaster]

 You should rotate those photos. 

[macrumpton]

I just cut the ratchet bumps off the wet jet cap with a knife so I can fill it like a regular bottle.  It was kind of a pain (it took ten minutes), but it is very easy to fill, no funnel needed.

[ideasthatbloom]

Awesome idea...thanks!

[dmastachief]

Old cloth diapers, old towels cut into pieces, and old t-shirts cut up work in place of buying pads, too.  You can wash these in the washer and reuse, too!

[paulzer02]

OR... you could just drill a hole and plug it with a rubber stopper. If you plan to mess with the cap, that means  you have to remove the bottle to fill it so there will always be a problem getting the two 'hypos' to align with the original holes in the cap... which I found out the hard way.
I've been doing this for about a year after getting really tired of the odor.
I drilled a 1/4" hole, reamed it (to ensure smooth edges) to about .83"dia and plugged it with a rubber stopper (1"dia at the top) from Lowes. Simple.

[danahyatt]

Perfect for saving money. I've been filling mine since the first week.  Also the pads are now two small hand towels.  Bleach works good in the bottle.  No corrosion takes place with diluted bleach and it is great to clean tile floors.

[mochahontas]

Or you can also put the cap end of the bottle in boiling water. Then the cap can be unscrewed by hand.

[sbrown]

Or just turn the cap off? It comes off very easily on all my bottles

[PlasticsBdub]

This is a great idea.  Remember not to put bleach through the device or the metal tip for the pump could cause a reaction.  The bottle would probably just swell up but it may make a big mess.

[bheart77]

Good idea. 

I've been doing it a little differently for years now.  If you look at the cap from the top down there is about 1/2" that is flat, then it begins to flare out.  Take a sharp serrated knife (or small saw) and start cutting the area just before it starts to flare.  Cut this all around the cap until you cut completely through it..  Be careful not to cut the bottle.  This took me about 10 minutes.  Go slowly and be careful not to cut yourself.  Remove cap and pry off the flared part.  The top portion will screw on just like a regular screw on cap.  It's the area under the flared part that does the locking, not the top part.

[guydie5]

i like this more than removing the originall cap.

[guydie5]

uhg mind the spelling.

[Dark-Aries]

You know you can remove the lid with pliers to turn it right? I figured it when I didn't wanna buy another bottle...even simpler then drilling a hole.

[Tobashadow]

Or use a set of channel locks and unscrew the lid and reuse.

There are one way locks on the lid that after stripped off by unscrewing it turns it into a standard bottle top.

[KoolAidDisaster]

Brilliantly simple!

[AngryRedhead]

Stupendously useful info!!

 

[XOIIO]

Nice. Well done.