When it comes to cleaning your home, what isn’t in your cleaning products might be the most important choice you make. Making your own cleaning products is the best way to avoid bringing toxins and chemicals into your family’s space. This DIY non-toxic all-purpose cleaner is a great way to start!
Keep reading for the DIY all-purpose cleaner recipe and to learn why you should make your own cleaning products!
(This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read our disclaimer.)
Why You Should Make Your Own Non-Toxic All-Purpose Cleaner
The most important reason is this: You and your family deserve a home and life free of harmful substances.
Related: Natural Baby Toys
But it doesn’t stop there! Here are 3 more reasons you should make your own natural all-purpose cleaner:
1. You’ll know exactly what’s in your cleaning products.
When you make your own cleaning products, you don’t have to worry about what’s in them. And that’s because you’ve selected all of the ingredients – nothing is hidden from you!
Natural products can work just as well as the typical ones you find in the cleaning aisle. I think people just often don’t know how dangerous many common household products are. And even if they do, knowing how to find safe and effective products isn’t common knowledge. And that’s why I’m sharing my easy DIY non-toxic all-purpose cleaner with you!
I never want to be an alarmist or use scare tactics when I’m sharing about why I’ve chosen to move toward a chemical-free home. But I am going to be honest about the facts, and one reality is that many of the companies that sell us cleaning products, makeup, and toiletries don’t have us as their number one priority – their profit margin is.
It’s less expensive for companies to make products with toxic ingredients than natural ones. It’s up to us to make sure that what we use isn’t hurting our (or our families’) health.
A major way to take control of what we allow into our homes is to DIY our own products.
If you want to dip your toes into the knowledge pool , read this article about the hidden chemicals in fragrances, which are found in everything from room sprays to laundry detergent.
2. Homemade cleaners are incredibly inexpensive.
Most homemade cleaning products don’t require fancy or expensive materials. In fact, most of the ingredients are common household items!
The all-purpose cleaner I’ll teach you how to make costs less than $1 to make. That beats any cleaning spray you’ll find at the store!
3. It’s super easy to make a DIY all-purpose cleaner!
No, you don’t need a chemistry degree to make your own claning products. For this all-purpose cleaner, you just need the right ingredients and a measuring cup (or, honestly, you can just eyeball it).
This DIY cleaner takes less than a minute to make, and it will be ready to clean your kitchen, bathroom, and any other room that needs a good scrub.
Non-Toxic Cleaner Ingredients
The thing I love most about this all-purpose cleaner recipe is that it requires just a short list of ingredients. You probably already have them in your home. But if you don’t, they are easy and inexpensive to find.
White Vinegar
White vinegar is truly a champion when it comes to natural cleaning. It’s an effective cleaner that’s safe on most surfaces. And vinegar is inexpensive and has a long shelf life. Plus, most households already have a bottle of vinegar just waiting to be turned into a cleaning solution.
Surfaces that are generally safe to clean with vinegar include:
- countertops and cabinets
- showers and bathtubs
- toilets
- walls
- floors
- doors
- windows
What not to clean with white vinegar: stone surfaces (granite counters, slate tile), hardwood furniture with a varnish that will be damaged by vinegar, solid wood furniture, and electronics.
Distilled Water
This all-purpose cleaner recipe calls for a 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water. I suggest distilled water because it has a longer shelf life than tap water. But if you’re going to use this cleaning spray quickly or you don’t have distilled water on hand, it’s totally okay to use tap water.
Essential Oils
Essential oils are an optional ingredient. Some people like to add them to decrease the vinegar smell in the cleaner. Depending on the essential oil, it may add additional anti-bacterial cleaning power.
Some popular essential oils to add to this all-purpose cleaner are:
- lemon
- peppermint
- lavender
- tea tree
Just make sure the essential oil you’re including won’t harm the surfaces you plan to clean.
DIY Non-Toxic All-Purpose Cleaner
Makes one 16-oz spray bottle. If your spray bottle is smaller or larger, adjust the recipe by using a 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water.
Materials & Ingredients
- 16-oz glass spray bottle
- funnel
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup distilled water
- 20 drops essential oils (optional)
Method
- Using the funnel, pour the white vinegar into your glass spray bottle.
- Fill the bottle almost all the way to the top with distilled water.
- If you’re using essential oils, add them.
- Screw the nozzle onto the bottle and shake to mix. Your non-toxic all-purpose cleaner is ready to use!
Why have you decided to move toward a chemical-free home? Tell me in the comments!
1 Comment