If you’re trying to maintain a safe and healthy home, the products you use for cleaning may be hindering your efforts. Many commercially produced products contain chemicals that contribute to poor indoor air quality. When you mix your own cleaning supplies, you’ll use non-toxic ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. Here are a few recipes for making your own homemade cleaning supplies.
Safety When Mixing Homemade Cleaning Supplies
There are a few rules to observe when making DIY cleaners. Never mix chlorine bleach or chlorine-based products with ammonia-based cleaners. The reaction between the two will generate toxic fumes. After making your homemade cleaners, label each bottle with the ingredients you used so you know what’s in them and so you can make easily make them again.
A Guide to Making Homemade Cleaning Supplies
Carpet or Rug Deodorizer
Ingredients:
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 cup baking soda
- Five drops of essential oil (any)
Freshen up your carpets and area rugs with a homemade carpet deodorizer. When making this simple but effective product, you can add any essential oil, depending on your scent preference.
Use a medium-sized bowl to thoroughly mix the cornstarch and baking soda. Add five drops of your choice of essential oil. Stir well to make sure the ingredients are combined and transfer the mixture to a mason jar. To make your own shaker, punch holes in the lid of the jar using a hammer and nail. Evenly sprinkle the DIY deodorizer onto carpets, allow it to sit for about 30 minutes, and then vacuum to remove.
All-Purpose Cleaner
Ingredients:
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar
- ¾ cup hydrogen peroxide
- 2 cups of water
- 20 drops lavender essential oil
- 10 drops tea tree oil
- One teaspoon of liquid castile soap
This homemade all-purpose cleaner can be used in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas of your home. Like other homemade cleaning products, this mixture will have your home smelling clean and fresh while helping to reduce germs on surfaces. Pour the ingredients into a spray bottle and shake gently until they have combined. Your all-purpose cleaner is ready for general cleaning around the house.
Tough-On-Grease Cleaner
Ingredients:
- ½ gallon of water
- ¼ cup of sudsy ammonia
The ammonia in this recipe works well on tough grime or grease. To make this easy and effective cleaner, pour ½ cup of sudsy ammonia into a large container. Add ½ gallon of water and stir gently.
With gloves on, dip a cloth into the mixture and clean grime off your oven rack, grill, or range hood. Rinse the surfaces with clean water. You can also directly soak your grill grates and oven rack in this cleaner. Add a little more sudsy ammonia if the surfaces are hard-to-clean.
Homemade Sanitizer
Hand sanitizer is an essential item for everyone. For small quantities of hand sanitizer, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Essential oil such as lavender or tea tree oil (You can use lemon juice in place of essential oil.)
- Aloe vera gel
- Rubbing alcohol
When mixing this product, maintain a 2:1 ratio of alcohol to aloe vera gel. This proportion keeps the alcohol content of your homemade hand sanitizer at around 60%, which is a good percentage for killing a variety of germs.
For the DIY hand sanitizer to be effective against pathogens, use clean surfaces and tools when blending the sanitizer. The alcohol should not be diluted since the high alcohol content is needed to kill germs.
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