I must confess, for more than a year, my friend Elizabeth has been asking me to do a post on homemade household cleaners. As a result of her prodding, I am proud to present part 1 of a series on non-toxic cleaners for your home. We’ll start off with a cleaning spray for my favorite room of the house –the kitchen!
So, first questions first. Why make your own cleaning products? Why go through the bother? To save money and protect the environment, of course! You can pay upwards of $4 for a bottle of cleaning spray or, you can easily make it yourself for less. Below are the top ten reasons for a DIY cleaning spray:
- Save money
- Keep bottles out of the landfill -use just ONE bottle over and over again
- Conserve fossil fuel –why pay for a product that is mostly water to be shipped from miles away?
- Eliminate strong synthetic fragrances –that merely mask the dirt, doing little to get rid of it
- Make your home a non-toxic zone
- Refrain from adding harmful toxins to our waterways
- Stop supporting companies and manufacturers that produce harmful substances
- Eliminate consumption of unnecessary products from multi-national corporations
- Customize cleaning sprays with your favorite essential oils
- Make your own sprays in the comfort of your own home
I have mixed my own cleaning products for more than a decade. First, I enjoy doing so! Second, I want my house to actually be clean, not smell of strong synthetic fragrances. Third, I enjoy the scent of simple cleaners made from natural products. That’s why I created the kitchen counter spray that follows.
Elana's Kitchen Cleaner
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) spray bottle
- 8 ounces peroxide (3%)
- 8 ounces water
- 5 drops tea tree oil
- 5 drops lemon oil
Instructions
- Pour all ingredients into 16 ounce spray bottle
- Shake well
- Spray on counter surfaces and wipe with a clean rag
Below you can see the price difference between making your own cleaning product and purchasing it:
DIY Spray (initial cost includes price of bottle) | $3.57 for 16 ounces |
DIY Spray (refill cost) | $1.70 for 16 ounces ($.09 per ounce) |
Fantastic All-Purpose Cleaner | $4.86 for 32 ounces ($.15 per ounce) |
Seventh Generation | $4.19 for 32 ounces ($.13 per ounce) |
Other tips: If you have an old spray bottle lying around the house use that instead of purchasing a new one; to further save money (and trees) use rags instead of paper towels to keep your kitchen spic and span.
Easy solutions are at our fingertips. We can save money and protect the planet’s precious resources in the process, creating win-win situations that show us why the words economy and ecology share a prefix!
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Now go ahead, let us know your favorite eco-cleaning tip in the comments section below!
Update: Thanks to a comment from Lucas, I have modified the cleaning spray recipe above.
elana says
Diane -I use any and all essential oils, I love to play with the different scents. Tea tree, lemon, rosemary and lavender tend to have what I think of as extra disinfectant properties. In terms of your other question, I actually do use a mixture of peroxide and water to get rid of the mildew on the shower grout and it works quite well.
Joy -For clogged drains I use 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup vinegar, let them sit for 5 minutes then pour in 1 cup of boiling water. That might work if you give it a try. Per your hair, I have a friend who has similar hair to you and she swims daily for exercise. She greases her hair with olive oil, then puts a swim cap over it which seems to do the trick!
~M says
Hi Joy,
Applying conditioner to hair before swimming would also help because hair only can soak up so much…so if it becomes saturated with conditioner, it can’t soak up as much water with chlorine.
Also, my new stylist strongly encourages everyone, but especially us curlies with dry hair, to avoid sls in shampoo. She recommends Deva No-Poo (but since that contains gluten), I am going to try her other alternative, Kinky Curly, which is organic and available at some Whole Foods. It is also helpful to not wash hair every day.
Joy says
Hi Everyone,
I’m so glad to have found so many people who are exploring alternatives! I have responses and questions to several of the comments here~
1) I’ve used either baking soda or vinegar for various cleaning projects with success, but never mixed together.
2) Does anyone know of a safe way to unclog a slowly draining sink? I tried baking soda and vinegar mixed together, as suggested by http://www.wikihow.com, with no success. It just foams.
3) Although this is a little off-topic, it does involve another use for baking soda and vinegar. NPR reported about a de-skunking concoction a few years back. I fortunately have not had the opportunity to try it, but NPR claimed that it worked. Mix 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide with 1/4 cup of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap. Apply and let stand 10 minutes then rinse off with tapwater. Mix immediately before use and don’t store it. It gives off oxygen gas and will burst a closed container.
4) Lastly, does anyone know of something to reduce the drying effects of chlorinated water on my hair? Like ~M, my hair is wildly curly and dry. Swimming in a pool makes it crispy, even when I wear a cap.
Many thanks!
Diane says
Hi Elana;
Thanks for the great recipe. I will definitely be making my first mixture. Have you tried using any other essential oils such as rosemary, or does the lemon add to the disinfecting/cleansing properties?
I have been using baking soda as a scrub in my bathroom for a while now and it works really well (seems to keep the drains clear as well). I am still wrestling, however, with finding a natural cleaner for the grout in the shower. I hate using the commercial cleaners that leave me gasping for air, but nothing else seems to get rid of the “mildew” discoloration on my colored grout. Any ideas? I hesitate to try hydrogen peroxide as it is a bleaching agent. Look forward to hearing from anyone who has a solution!
Erika Pitera says
Thanks, Elana! I’m anxious to try it out – good granite cleaner is really expensive, and I’m always looking for more natural alternatives.
elana says
Hi Erika -I can speak from experience; I use it on the granite countertops in my kitchen and it works very well –no abrading :-)
Erika Pitera says
Thanks for the great tips! Does anyone know if the peroxide is safe for granite countertops? I know I’ve read several places not to use vinegar or citric acids like lemon juice because granite is so porous, but I don’t know the verdict on peroxide. Can anyone speak from experience?
~ Erika
elana says
Jessica- I keep a separate laundry basket in my little laundry closet for the clothing made of synthetic fabrics, do them on gentle and hang them to dry.
Even though mine aren’t 2 years old anymore, I’m still easily distracted –I totally get it!
Elana
Jessica says
It serves as a fabric softener – still use reg detergent. In the dryer I make sure to take out anything polyester after a few minutes and that insures no static cling. The drawback in what I do is that if I forget I have to add an extra rinse cycle and that wastes water. With a two year old running around I’m easily distracted. Gizmar’s technique may be the solution to that issue.
My husband does all kinds of vinegar shots – I am not that hard core – I add a couple tsp ACV and some agave sweetner to water and sip. Yum!
Cathy says
I hear you on hubbies that are slow to accept new things. Don’t give up, though! My hubbie is ***SLOWLY*** coming around on many things, including finally using rags instead of paper towels. He is still addicted to Windex’s Multi-Purpose kitchen spray, though. I actually have “his” bottle and my bottle of vinegar and water both under the sink! I am excited to try Elana’s recipe for kitchen spray, but a little concerned that if I get the spray on my clothes it will bleach them.
Its interesting when it comes to people’s attitudes on food. My husband and I used to get into huge fights over food and him not being willing to try new things until one day we sat down and really starting communicating on why we felt the way we did. I found out that he looked at food as something that he expected to be familiar and safe, and it was actually stressful to him when things were not what he expected. (I look at food as an adventure, constantly wanting to try new recipes, so no wonder we had conflict in this area!) We came to a compromise that I would only try something “new” once a week and would give him the heads up before hand so he wouldn’t be surprised. This works well for us. The cool thing is that he is slowly starting to like more types of foods, too, but not being pushed or guilted into it by me. Additionally, I have to say that when he is out of town for work, I go crazy and try lots of new recipes!
elana says
Claire -You are very welcome; glad you are finding my blog helpful. I really like your comments especially the one about baking soda getting rid of the chlorine; when we go to the pool in the summer, the boys and I smell of chlorine for days, it’s yucky. I am going to make up a shower gel with baking soda (probably use Dr. Bronner’s for the base). Thanks for the great tips!
Shari -Thanks for the vinegar info –wow that is amazing that you may make your own. If you do, please stop back over and let us know how it turns out! Thanks also for the last sentence of your comment, gave me goose bumps –is so nice to be “gotten.” xo Elana
Gizmar -Kudos to you for your household-wide vinegar and water campaign. Also, nice tip on DIY dryer sheets that are completely reusable!
Moi -I think peroxide is safe –I use it to gargle when I have a canker sore and I also bathe in it when I have a cold coming on…That’s my take. This very alternative site even goes as far as suggesting it is beneficial to take intravenously –not that I’ll be doing that any time soon!
Courtney -Thanks for another stirring and beautiful comment! We will have our own “mini-retreat” (in a commercial kitchen) here in Boulder on Saturday, June 28th 3-6 pm. I really am looking forward to meeting you in person! xo Elana
Jessica -Great tips. I am going to purchase the Better Basics Book. When you use the white vinegar in the laundry do you use it in place of detergent? Or as a “fabric softener?” I am a big lover of the Bragg’s cider vinegar; I have friends who drink it straight on a daily basis –I like it in my salad dressings and in some other dishes as well. Thanks for the great tps :-)
~M says
Thanks, Courtney!! It’s so nice to see someone be able to use a tip to their benefit! Sometimes, my mom wonders whether I’ve gone off the deep end in my commitment to be frugal and green, but it’s sort of a game I play with myself. :) For people who use rags (whether T-shirts or otherwise) as cloths, I’ve heard it can be helpful to toss the dirty ones into a basket or bin that is kept in the cabinet under the kitchen sink; when the bin is full, do laundry! My apartment is small enough that I just put them in a delicates bag (for easy sorting), which I store in my laundry basket. And your comment about our retreat had me laughing out loud, which is not allowed while studying for the bar! :)
Moi, I’m curious what you think could be potentially unsafe regarding peroxide…this is the same type of peroxide that is used on open cuts and scrapes and that can be gargled with (when mixed with water).
Does anyone know whether vinegar is drying to hair? I have super dry, curly hair that grows like a weed (both down and out) and soaks up tons of conditioner.