Spray Bottles
A few years ago, when I first started making my own cleaners, spray bottles weren’t an issue. I just re-used the spray bottles from previously purchased cleaners. Those bottles really aren’t made to last forever.
It’s a big let down to have a spray bottle quit right in the middle of a job!
While spray bottles can be bought nearly anywhere from the big box discount store to the hardware store, they are not all created equally. I know, I have tried many, many spray bottles.
The super cheap spray bottles often don’t even last a year, and if you have to replace them frequently, are you really saving money? We won’t even discuss the space they take up in the recycle bin. (One at a time doesn’t seem like a lot, but imagine all of the bottles over a year or two in one place.)
Call me a cheapskate, I don’t care. It’s not in me to replace a spray bottle 2-3 times a year.
About 3 years ago, I bought a bag of 6 spray bottles (5 regular sprayers and 1 foaming sprayer) at SAMs Club for around $6 (yes, right around the same amount per bottle paid at the discount store). Some of them were used in my gardening adventures and some inside the house.
These bottles, except one that met an unusual fate, have been working ever since without fail. The two I use in my garden for natural insect repellant (hot pepper spray) and a baking soda mixture to use on powdery mildew that heirloom pumpkins sometimes develop, have been ravaged by the Arizona sun, tripped over & stepped on, dragged around in the dirt and they keep on working! Was at SAMs a few days ago, these bottles are still there.
So, when you’re looking for sprayers – and if you make your own cleaners, you will be looking – consider the longevity, not just the price.