Why make a homemade DIY all-purpose cleaner instead of buying one at the store? Besides avoiding all that excessive plastic packaging, the unfortunate reality is that many cleaning products contain a shocking amount of toxic chemicals and in the U.S., manufacturers are not required by law to disclose ingredients in their cleaning products.
Major YIKES.
This is why cleaning items are, in my opinion, among the best things to make yourself or buy from all-natural, trustworthy brands.
I’ll be getting to the easy DIY recipe soon but first, if you’re not a DIY-er or prefer buying your cleaning products from a brand, check out Environmental Working Group‘s (EWG) ratings. Their research and ratings are super comprehensive and they’re the best resource I know of for verifying if a product is safe and healthy to use.
EWG has a rating list for All-Purpose Cleaners and a rating list for Kitchen Cleaners, where products can score A – F. The F rating is, as you might have guessed, the worst, and the A is the second-best rating a product can get. The very best products earn the coveted EWG Verified seal. Not all brands are going to be on EWG — especially smaller ones — but definitely always check their ratings out before purchasing from a larger brand!
Okay, now to the DIY recipes! Both homemade cleaner recipes are super easy — they will literally take you less than 2 minutes — and they both use ingredients you probably already have!
DIY Cleaner Recipe 1: White Vinegar
Ingredients and Supplies:
- One part white vinegar
- One part water
- Optional: Drops of essential oil (I like a citrus scent best! It covers up the vinegar smell well.)
- Spray bottle
- Measuring tool
There’s a lot of flexibility to this simple recipe, but if you’re not sure how much to use, start off with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of white vinegar. The number of drops of essential oils can be adjusted to your preference — and if you don’t mind the smell of vinegar… you could even omit the essential oils completely.
Directions:
- Measure out the water and white vinegar amounts. (You can start with 1 cup each for a small spray bottle.
- Mix the water and vinegar into a spray bottle.
- Put in essential oil drops slowly and keep testing to see what amount you like! I did 5 drops of a lemon and grapefruit essential oil per cup of the cleaner mix and it worked out well! As mentioned before, you can also leave out the essential oil completely if you don’t mind the smell of vinegar.
Yup, it’s THAT easy! I wasn’t kidding when I put “super easy” in the title of this post!
Note that this vinegar-based cleaner should not be used on granite or hardwood floors! Also, some people have sensitivities to vinegar, so here is a super easy recipe for a DIY all-purpose cleaner without vinegar.
DIY Cleaner Recipe 2: Liquid Castile Soap
Ingredients and Supplies:
- Liquid castile soap (I love Dr. Bronner’s Fair Trade and Organic Castile Soap! You can find this brand online and it is sold at many stores like Target, Whole Foods, or your local natural foods shop.)
- Water
- Spray bottle (or you could even use your existing castile soap bottle if there isn’t too much left in the bottle!)
- Measuring tool
Directions:
- Measure out 1/16 parts castile soap for every 1 part water (For example: measure 1/4 cup castile soap and 4 cups water or 1/8 cup castile soap and 2 cups water).
- Mix the castile soap and the water into a spray bottle.
That’s it! Many castile soaps, including Dr. Bronner’s actually already come with scented options, so you’ll have a nice smelling cleaning (no toxic fumes here!) without having to add any essential oils.
Have you ever made your own cleaner? Would you try making your own?
You May Also Want to Check Out:
Sustainable and Zero Waste Kitchen Guide