DIY All-Purpose Cleaner – Works on Glass
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To make this cleaner you will need: water, vinegar, natural dish soap, and essential oils.
Who wants and all natural non-toxic cleaner without spending a fortune on it? We do, we do!
I love this cleaner so much that it gets used everywhere in the house! Kitchen, windows, bathrooms, the car. You name it we probably use it there. To get rid of a zit… (movie reference anyone??)…
Kidding of course, although with the ingredients included in this homemade all-purpose cleaner it may just work.
I’ve tried many recipes before and it seems like they all leave streaks or residue on glass. So I created my own years about 5 years ago and still love it to this day. Of course this is extremely frugal as it cost just pennies, and it is natural.
It really simple to make and it does amazing job at getting rid of tough dirt and grime. It also includes strong disinfecting essential oils so you can be certain it is getting rid of unwanted germs
Why make your own DIY All-Purpose Cleaners?
Safe cleaning products are really important to our family. Unfortunately, conventional cleaning products have a huge impact on our health and not in a positive way. When it comes to ingredients used, the FDA doesn’t have strict regulations and many companies don’t list all the ingredients the products include (source).
They can also have a huge impact on lung health and can greatly increase asthma. During my childhood, I had horrible asthma, and every time I would clean, it would flare up. It wasn’t until I was out of the house, that it became clear… the products we were using was playing a huge role in my asthma symptoms.
Most conventional cleaning products are ladder with “fragrances.” This is a general term for hundreds of potentially toxic chemicals. Chemicals found “fragrances” have been shown to be endocrine disruptors and carcinogenic.
Personally, we avoid synthetic fragrances at all cost and opt for essential oils to naturally scent things. Not only for long term health, but also I’m super sensitive to fragrances, and when I smell them, they make me nauseous and usually give me a headache. Even some so-called “natural” brands can contain synthetic fragrances.
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Tips for making DIY All-Purpose Cleaner
- Don’t use regular castile soap. Castile soap is does not mix well with vinegar.
- Use anti-bacterial essential oils like Germ Fighter (Thieves like oil) or Germ Destroyer (Kids safe version), tea tree, eucalyptus, or citrus oils for a fresh smell.
- If you don’t go through cleaning products super fast, than use distilled water.
How To Make DIY All-Purpose Cleaner
Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner Ingredients:
- 1 cup vinegar
- 2 cups water
- 1 squirt of natural dish washing soap like Ecover, Sun and Earth, or even a little squirt of Dr. Bronners sals-suds (Don’t use regular castile soap as it doesn’t mix with vinegar well).
- 10-20 drops of anti-bacterial oils for disinfecting like Germ Fighter, Germ Destroyer, or tea tree.
- Other essential oils like lemon or orange to make it smell all pretty (optional) just put add drops until desired smell is accomplished
Directions: mix all ingredients in a spray bottle and go to work! Thats it! Easy as pie!
Step- By-Step Direction To Making DIY All-Purpose Cleaner
Step 1:
Add vinegar to spray bottle.
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Step 2:
Add dish soap.
Step 3:
Add essential oils and water.
Step 4:
Get to cleaning.
Note: If you have granite counter tops, skip the vinegar and add 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol.
How To Use Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner
Use anywhere that you would normally use an all purpose or glass cleaner. Spray on and wipe off.
DIY All-Purpose Cleaner Video
Want More Natural Cleaning Tips? Check these out!
- Make your own Natural Furniture Polish
- Natural Cleaning Tips to clean your house from top to bottom.
- Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner
DIY All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe
DIY All Purpose Cleaner
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Ingredients
- 1 cup vinegar
- 2 cups water
- 1 squirt natural dish washing soap like eco-cover sun and earth, or even a little squirt of Dr. Bronners sals-suds (Don't use regular castile soap as it doesn't mix with vinegar well).
- 10-20 drop essential oils tea tree oil or other anti-bacterial oils for disinfecting
Instructions
- Directions: mix all ingredients in a spray bottle and go to work! Thats it! Easy as pie!
Notes
DIY All-Purpose Cleaner FAQ
What essential oils works best for disinfecting?
Germ Destroyer, Germ Fighter, tea tree, eucalyptus, rosemary, are all great disinfectants.
What is the best homemade cleaner?
This one… Ok, a little bias over here, but we’ve used this recipe in our house for 7 years and it has worked wonders for us.
I don’t want to DIY! Are there good natural store-bought options?
Yes! There are many natural store-bought options. They will not be as frugal as this one. Recently, I was introduced to Branch Basics and have fallen in love. It works amazing. It’s crazy how well it works. You could also try
Have you ever made your own DIY all-purpose cleaner before?
Can you specify exact measurements for the dish soap? Thanks so much!
I would say 1/2 tablespoon!
Just wanted to let you know you have use this for over a year. I teach a monthly class on budget friendly ideas and I just linked this site on my blog under Tuesday’s Tips.
what kind of vinegar? white or apple cider?
Where do you get tea tree oil at?
You can get it at Hobby Lobby (in the candle making section), Walgreens, online at mountainroseher.com, I’ve heard walmart, or at a local health food or Whole foods type store!
Thank you so much for this, its such a great idea! I’m trying to cut out all unnecessary chemicals, this is just perfect 🙂
So glad it could help! Me too! I have some previous posts that may interest you! Thanks for stopping by!
I have always wondered about adding essential oils to window cleaner. Now I know!
Tara @ http://simplymadehome.blogspot.com/
Glad I could help!
Wow. This has got to be cheaper, that’s for sure. Thanks. Following you also. Looking into Pinterest. Linda
And it is so much better for the environment! Its like killing 2 birds with one stone. Thanks for following Linda!
I love homemade cleaners, I’ve been using them for most of my life. One thing I like to do to make vinegar smell nicer, my husband doesn’t like the smell, is put orange, lemon or both into a half gallon glass jar of vinegar. Then I shake it when I think of it and after 2 weeks use it.
Thats a really good idea Amy! Thank you for sharing! My husband hates it too and today asked why I always made everything with it. I told him its awesome at cleaning. He likes it clean so I know he will put up with it 🙂
something i’m trying is taking your lemon or oranges or grapfruit peelings in vinegar let them set then blend them up then strain you have natural smelling vinegar.
Thats also a great idea! How long do you let them sit before blending?