Four Homemade Cleaners
This was easier than I thought it would be.
One of Betsy’s goals for the year was to ditch some of our standard cleaners that we use around the house and make them! Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about this project mainly because I wasn’t sure that homemade cleaners would really get the job done.
And my lovely wife is a bit of a neat freak so there’s no way she would use something that didn’t perform well.
So a couple of weekends ago she went out and bought a few staple ingredients and some empty spray bottles and we spent a few minutes mixing up four different homemade cleaners that have since replaced 90% of the cleaners we use around the house.
For the last few weeks we’ve been using them now and I’ve been so impressed by how well they are working, I thought I’d share them all with you in case any of you are interested in ditching the chemicals.
The Cost of Cleaning. The thing about homemade cleaners is that the initial start-up costs might seem a bit high. A tiny bottle of lavender oil (.5 ounces), for example, will run you $7-$8. But the thing to remember is that for each batch of cleaning solution, you’ll be using literally just a few drops of oil.
I would guess we spent around $30 on our homemade cleaning supplies for these four solutions, but now we have enough supplies to last us years. By the time we run out of lavender oil, for example, our cost per bottle for these cleaners will be reduces to cents.
Basic stuff.
Really Clean Cleaning. After using these solutions for a few weeks, what I’m most impressed with is their cleaning power. They really work. Not only do they work, but I get the strange impression that they are even cleaner than the standard products.
When you clean a counter with the all-purpose cleaner it’s squeaky clean and the whole room smells awesome, not chemical at all. I hate to say this, but having these easily accessible actually makes me like cleaning. DON’T TELL MY WIFE.
My ultimate decision to post on these solutions was just because they worked surprisingly well.
The Basics. Betsy and I did some research on books for home cleaning solutions and I would recommend these two to anyone who wants to learn more:
- Green Clean including vinegar, citrus fruits and baking soda (I guess unavailable for now on Amazon)
- Homemade: How to Make 100′s of Everyday Products
As far as ingredients go, a good number of ingredients you will probably have on hand already at home. Things like vinegar, baking soda, citrus, etc. Those are easy.
The tricky stuff are these items:
Some of these are a bit expensive.
Most of the recipes involve castile soap and a few drops of essential oils. These are the pricey items and the ones that you won’t need to buy very often even if you make a ton of these solutions.
For the recipes I’m giving in this post, you’ll need the below items. You can find all of these at your local supermarket or health food store or you can grab them from Amazon. I’ve included links to the amazon pages.
- Castile Soap - An all-natural soap that’s surprisingly strong. A few drops go a long way. We like the lavender scent, but they have others available.
- Lavender Oil – A natural anti-bacterial oil that smells wonderful.
- Tea Tree Oil – A natural oil that cleanses and disinfects.
- Washing Soda – Sodium Carbonate which is just a strong base that works great as a laundry detergent. It has a million uses around the house.
Mixing the Solutions. If you’re going to do this, definitely buy new, clean plastic bottles. Don’t use old bottles as the trace chemicals in them might react badly.
Also, I’d recommend getting some labels because while they are all different, these solutions all look a bit similar.
The Recipes!
Let’s start with an easy one.
Lavender Anti-Bacterial Spray
- 1 Cup water
- 20 drops lavender essential oil
Easy right?! It’s smells great and lavender is very high in linalool which is naturally antibacterial.
Just a few drops...
The next recipe is the one that we use the most which is the all-purpose cleaner. It’s our daily cleaner now on everything from counters to floors.
One note about this one is that it will bubble A LOT (think high school science volcano) so make sure you leave plenty of room in your bottle for an eruption and mix it over the sink just in case.
All-Purpose Cleaner (Watch out for a reaction! It will bubble a lot.)
- 3 Tablespoons vinegar
- 1/2 Teaspoon washing soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon castile soap
- 2 Cups hot water
I think you can see how little of each ingredient is used for a batch.
All mixed up.
The next formula is the one we use on the stove or any place that accumulates a lot of oil or grease.
Grease Cutter (Note that if you have a good eye, I messed up the label on this one for my bottles.)
- 2 Cups water
- 1/4 Cup castile soap
- 10 drops lavender oil
And finally the strongest of the solutions that we made which is for really scrubbing hard to clean areas like bathroom sinks and mildewed tubs.
Bath, Sink, Tile Cleaner (Again, watch out for some bubbling.)
NOTE: Ideally, mix this one in a SQUIRT bottle, not a SPRAY bottle. It’s pretty thick and almost a paste.- 2/3 Cup baking soda
- 1/2 Cup castile soap
- 2 Tablespoons vinegar
- 1/2 Cup water
- A few drops of Tea Tree oil
Labels definitely help.
Like I said, we’ve been testing these out for the last few weeks now and I really love all of them. My favorite is the all-purpose cleaner and the antibacterial spray which just leaves everything really clean and smells fantastic without being overpowering.
If you’re looking to cut out some chemicals from your cleaning products and save some money (in the long term), you should try these out!
Anybody make their own cleaning supplies? If you have a good tip or recipe, leave a comment!
Comment Pages
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I will have to try these. The recipe we use to make our all purpose cleaner is 84oz of water, 42oz of vinegar, 2 tsp of biodegradable soap (we use Dawn), and 2 tsp of essential oil – this will make 1 gallon. We make it in a large container and pour it as needed into a spray bottle for easier use. For our floors we use 50% water & 50% apple cider vinegar. We love the results of both cleaners.
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Allison replied: — December 3rd, 2011 @ 3:01 am
Is the water/apple cider solution ok to use on hard wood floors? I like the sound of it.
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Victoria replied: — February 15th, 2012 @ 12:12 am
My family uses warm water/apple cider vinegar on our hard wood floors and have never had a problem. We fill up a 5 gallon bucket, fill it with warm water, and pour some vinegar into it and then get to mopping! Great as a floor cleaner.
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Jenny replied: — December 6th, 2011 @ 3:53 pm
Dawn isn’t really a good, natural soap. Plus, they don’t have environmentally friendly practices. I use Dr Bronners. It’s amazing!
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Awesome post, thank you! Where did you find your bottles? I’ve looked but can’t seem to find any!
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Tatiana replied: — October 18th, 2011 @ 7:42 am
And also the labels. Obviously, you wouldn’t want the regular shove in the printer type because as soon as they get wet, eww nasty.
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Nick replied: — October 18th, 2011 @ 8:05 am
I think my wife just picked them up at Target honestly. The printer paper is from a label maker but it’s just a normal sticker really. If you were worried about it getting wet you could put some plastic tape over it. Good luck!
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Thoughts on lavender and tea tree oil as endocrine disrupters? I have since stopped using them, and switched to grapefruit seed extract, lemon oil and oregano oil. Just food for thought.
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Tina replied: — October 28th, 2011 @ 11:50 am
Check out the NIH website on Tea tree oil :http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/113.html The endocrine disruption was found in young boys after repeated topical application of lavender and tea tree oil containing products (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa064725). I find it interesting that a fraternal twin in the study given the same potions did not have any symptoms suggesting that there may be a range of responses to the oils within the population. Also, this response has only been documented in pre-pubescent boys.
Since these homemade cleaning solutions are not intended for use on the body, and given the very small quantities of oils used they are very unlikely to cause a problem. I would avoid inhaling them though, since ingestion of essential oils is not good for you.
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Tina replied: — October 28th, 2011 @ 2:31 pm
Sorry to kee coming back to this but you peaked my interest (hi! I’m a scientist!).
Further research on pubmed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18255254
would indicate that the bioavailable compounds in tea tree oil, those which can be absorbed through the skin, are not estrogenic. Extrapolating from cell culture studies to actual events in vivo is extremely difficult, believe me, I study breast cancer in this way and struggle every time I do an experiment in a dish to see what possible bearing it has on the disease.
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I just wanted you to know I just made up my first
batch of all purpose spray. I used the peppermint oil
and peppermint Castile soap. I’m amazed how clean it gets
everything. I’m loven it. Which one would you recommend
to use on the floors?
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Put a marble in the bottom to make mixing easier :)
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I read on Dr. Bronner’s Grandaughter’s Blog that combining vinegar and castille soap is not good. The solution leaves behind a film. It’s better to clean with a soap solution, then rinse with vinegar. Has anyone had experience with this???
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keri replied: — January 22nd, 2012 @ 1:16 pm
I have read the same thing… several people ran across the same problem. said when they mixed the ingredients -in any combination they ended up with oil blobs throughout their spray bottle. a big mess.
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Nick replied: — January 22nd, 2012 @ 5:35 pm
Hmm.. I can’t say we’ve had that problem. Could be that it’s a very small amount in the recipe.
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keri replied: — January 23rd, 2012 @ 7:48 am
Hello. I’ve been reading about this .. this is the best explanation .. and it’s from Dr. Bronner’s granddaughter, not that she’s a soap expert – just a mom.
http://lisa.drbronner.com/?p=292
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keri replied: — January 23rd, 2012 @ 7:51 am
BTW – love the site. Love the Random button !!
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Nick replied: — January 23rd, 2012 @ 7:53 am
Oh awesome. Thanks for the link Keri and glad you like the site!
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Trish Mastriano replied: — February 16th, 2012 @ 5:59 am
Vinegar is an acid & castile soap a base; they essentially cancel each other out. It is not harmful to mix them, but you are defeating the purpose by mixing them.
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I have made my own laundry soap and other cleaners but have had the HARDEST time finding essential oils to sent them with. Where has anyone found them at?
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Nick replied: — November 12th, 2011 @ 12:53 pm
Hey Natalie,
You can find them at health food stores normally like Whole Foods or also Amazon has a huge selection online. Just search on amazon for whichever oil you want.
Like here’s Tea Tree Oil for example. They are pricy, but you don’t use very much. They last for a really long time.
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Sonya replied: — February 7th, 2012 @ 12:47 pm
Tea tree oil can be found at Wal-Mart in the pharmacy section near the vitamins. The Wal-Mart I was at had the vitamins/minerals/etc in alphabetical order so the Tea Tree oil was easy to find. The bottle cost $8, but will last a long time because it is a 2 oz bottle. I had to buy Dr Bronner’s castile soap and lavender oil online. I bought mine at http://www.puritan.com. I just received it today, and the lavender oil was buy one get one free.
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Amanda replied: — December 5th, 2011 @ 12:42 pm
Natalie-
Store bought essential oils can’t be quite pricey. Places like Hobby Lobby and Michaels sells them for about $6 for 1/4 of an oz. However buying them from a soap maker’s website is soooo much cheaper. I made homemade lye soap and buy all my essential oils from http://www.brambleberry.com They have an amazing selection and its about $5 for 2 oz. And that goes a LONG way with recipes that only require a tsp.
Amanda
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Mrs Routley replied: — January 21st, 2012 @ 10:19 pm
walmart! In the aisle that has the potpourri it’s cheap, and works!!!!
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carla cox replied: — February 3rd, 2012 @ 6:20 am
Essential oils can be found in health food or vitamin shops mostly.
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You can also find them at craft stores in the soap and candle making aisles. They are still pure essential oils, but usually a bit cheaper than the health food stores.
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In our own way we can be able to make cleaning solutions that are really environmental friendly for we do not need to buy anymore strong chemicals that are being sold in the market. With these tips we can be able to apply in our place and can be able to see its end result that would surely be a great surprise for everyone.
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I tried both the lavender water and the tub & tile cleaner. They both worked really well. I used Dr. Bronner’s castile soap in the tub & tile cleaner and a few drops of tea tree oil. If you are trying the tub & tile cleaner and having a hard time getting it all off so that there is no residue, I would suggest filling a mop bucket a 1/4 full of warm water and then dipping in a hand towel (or a medium sized piece of an old towel), whiping a small section, dunking it in the bucket, ringing out and repeating. You may need to dump and refill the water once or twice. I find the towel whipes the cleaner off way better than a scrubby or J-cloth. Thanks for the great ideas for cleaners.
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A dear friend (RIP) gave me this window wash recipe years ago.
2 Tablespoons Prell Shampoo
2 cups Rubbing Alchohal
Put in 1 gallon container & fill with distilled water. Pour into spray bottles.
Use newspaper to clean.
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Mixing the vinegar (acid) with baking soda or washing powder (bases) lessens the efficiency of both ingredients. The foaming reaction is the interaction of the acid and base, leaving a solution that is weaker than the ingredients. You are in essence watering down effective cleaners into something less.
If these ingredients are to be used together, they should be mixed at the time of use as when cleaning/unclogging drains. You can also sprinkle baking soda on your counter and then spray it with vinegar before wiping it off.
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Our household also makes our own laundry detergent powder. We got the recipe from the same book it looks like you used (Homemade: How to make…). It’s just borax, soap flakes, washing powder, and baking soda. We wash in cold water and have no complaints so far!
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Thank you for sharing these! I’ve been using them all for several months and just realized I needed to come back and leave feedback. They all clean wonderfully–I especially love the tub and tile cleaner. It’s just awesome! Thanks!
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Thanks so much. Found this on Pinterist. Made my first batches today & love them. Was amazed at how well they clean. I did not have any film, but did re wipe everything w/ the antibacterial spray. I chose to use an orange oil for that. My youngest son breaks out w/ hives w/ lavender products. read that citrus should be as effective.
Thanks again. My & my kids’ skin thank thank you as well.
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I found this wonderful site on Pinterest. However, I’ve bought different 2 different bottles to try and find one that will work for the bathroom cleaner. Any suggestions? I know it says squirt bottle but I can’t find that at Target or Kroger.
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Kathy G replied: — January 19th, 2012 @ 6:57 pm
Try looking in the area where they have water bottles. A lot f them have squirt tops on them. Also in convenience stores in the coolers are all kinds of bottled water, again they too have lots of them with squirt type lids.
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Melody M replied: — January 20th, 2012 @ 8:34 pm
squirt bottles are often found in the health and beauty aids section with the travel size stuff.
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Nick replied: — January 22nd, 2012 @ 9:34 am
Glad you like the site Jessica! Thanks for swinging by. As a few others have said, check out health and beauty sections of stores. I’m almost positive that my wife found these at target.
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HL replied: — January 26th, 2012 @ 8:16 pm
Jessica, most dollar stores have squirt bottles in the kitchen section. If you don’t mind red or yellow, you can pick them up cheap there.
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Thank you so much I am going to try these this weekend. Jessica R. Maybe a recycled dish soap bottle would work?
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My hubby and I make our own laundry soap, and I would love to try this. We have saved so much already with our own soap, I’m sure this would be even more!!!!
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I have made all of these cleaners and they work fantastically…..as for mixing the Castille and vinegar, I have no blobs or globs and everything is coming out shiny and clean. The detergent is great also….no complaints so far. I have a daycare in my home and if I can expose the little ones here to a few less chemicals I am all for it!
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Thank you so much for sharing these! I made all four, and I love them! I recently dismantled the refrigerator in a house I just started renting because it always smelled funny, and found a horror – very old, caked on, mystery items. I sprayed my all purpose cleaner on, let it sit, scrubbed, and it came off pretty easily. The fridge smelled wonderful after the massive cleaning. :)
I have found that the de-greaser is great for my Foreman Grill. I spray it on, and the grease and bits slide right off. I don’t have to scrub and worry about damaging the non-stick surface.
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I also make all my own cleaners and it’s such a wonderful feeling to know that you’re contributing to a healthier lifestyle for your family, as well as helping the environment! Only problem I see with a few of these cleaners is the use of baking soda with vinegar. An acid (vinegar) and an alkali (baking soda) mixed together negates the effectiveness of both substances. Mixing them creates carbonic acid, which is unstable and immediately falls apart into carbon dioxide and water. That’s why, if you scrub your sink/tub/what-have-you with baking soda or a baking soda paste, it dissolves perfectly by rinsing with vinegar.
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Where can u buy the Castile Soap at? Any retail stores? Where abouts in store is it at?
thanks!
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Nick replied: — February 15th, 2012 @ 8:14 am
Paula, I think I’ve seen it at target. The brand I like is Dr. Bronners. It’s usually with all the other cleaning supplies. You can also use the store locator on their website to find where it’s sold in your area.
http://www.drbronner.com/
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Tori replied: — February 18th, 2012 @ 10:20 pm
I’ve seen Dr Bronners at Target in cosmetics as well
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Thank you so much for these recipies! I am going to try them tonight, i use a libman freedom mop and i cant wait to put the all purpose cleaner in it!
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I buy Castille soap at Trader Joe’s, I find it is cheaper there. However, they only seem to sell one fragrance at a time, (ex: lavendar or peppermint) but not at the same time.
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Thanks for these recipes. FYI: My “Cleaning Bible” is called “Salt, Lemons, Vinegar, and Baking Soda” by Shea Zukowski. I find it is full of extremely useful tips.
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Is is ok to use these cleaning recipes on granite countertops?
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Nick replied: — February 18th, 2012 @ 3:47 pm
I think so! They are pretty mild and all-natural. There’s no harsh corrosives or anything, but I can’t say that it’s 100% okay because I’ve never personally tried it.
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Is there any other oil that can be subbed for the lavender oil? Not really a fan of that scent. I know, weird huh? It only smells like hot weeds to me.
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Nick replied: — February 21st, 2012 @ 1:48 pm
I think we used lavender oil because it’s supposed to have natural anti-bacterial properties.
Maybe check out this page for some other options? http://www.naturesgift.com/antibacterial.htm
I would go with lemon or eucalyptus.
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How long is the shelf life on these? Do you make them everyday? Or use them for weeks at time?!
I am excited to try these! Thanks for posting!
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Nick replied: — February 22nd, 2012 @ 1:19 pm
We use them until they run out! I think my wife makes a new batch once every few months.
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