Natural Cleaning Recipes
by GLI Editors in Housecleaning
Why spend a fortune on cleaning products that introduce toxic chemicals into your living space? You can use simple ingredients, such as baking soda, lemons, and vinegar to make effective cleaners that work in every room of your house.
Besides being a snap to make, homemade cleaners cost mere pennies!
Common Natural Cleaners
Combined in various ways, these common household items work just as well as the most expensive and noxious cleaners on the market—and they don’t leave your living space smelling like a freshly sanitized hospital.
- Baking Soda. The cleaning powers of baking soda reach far beyond it’s role as a fridge deodorizer…
Baking soda works as a non-abrasive scouring cleaner on countertops and ovens, and in bathtubs and sinks. It also rids clothes of perspiration odors when used in conjunction with laundry detergent in the washer.
- The next time you do laundry, try adding 1/2 cup to a cup to your load.
- Before you vacuum, sprinkle it on your carpet as a deodorizer.
- Washing Soda. Also known as sodium carbonate, washing soda is a caustic cleaner that is far safer than other solvents. Wearing gloves when you use it, however, is still recommended.
- Washing soda is great at cutting grease, getting wax or lipstick out of clothing, and neutralizing odors.
- Lemon Juice. The acid in lemon juice neutralizes hard water deposits, dissolves buildup and dirt on wood, and tarnish on silver.
- White vinegar can be used in place of lemon juice. The infamous strong smell dissipates as the vinegar dries.
- Antifungals/Disinfectants. Grapefruit seed extract and essential oils such as lavender, clove, and tea tree oil have antiseptic properties and operate as natural fungicides.
- To keep mold at bay, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of essential oil to 2 cups of water in a spray bottle, or 20 drops of grapefruit seed extract to 1 quart of water.
Natural Cleaning Recipes
Here are a few quick and simple recipes to help you on your way to a spick-and-span, non-toxic living space. You can mix-and-match many of these natural products for use on a variety of surfaces…
Always perform a test for allergies before using new ingredients or essential oils. Simply dab a bit of the item on the underside of your wrist and watch for any indicators of inflammation.
All Purpose Surface Cleaner Mix together equal parts white vinegar and salt. Scrub surfaces with a natural cleaning cloth.
Cookware Cleaner Coarse salt does wonders for scouring copper pans and ceramic baking dishes.
Disinfectant Mix 1/2 cup of borax powder with 1 gallon of hot water. Add a few drops of fragrant essential oil such as thyme, rosemary, or lavender. Store the mixture in a labeled spray bottle.
Floor Scrubber To scrub out tough messes and stains, use washing soda and rinse well. For lighter washing, dilute 1 cup washing soda in 1 gallon of warm or hot water. Add a few tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice for extra shine.
- For tips specific to wood flooring, click over to Natural Options for Wood Floor Polish.
Furniture Polish Mix 1 cup lemon juice with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp water; lightly apply to furniture using a soft cloth. Let sit for a couple of minutes, then buff.
No-Streak Glass Cleaner For sparkling mirrors and windows, combine 1/4 cup undiluted white vinegar, 1 tbsp cornstarch, and 1 quart warm water. Divide into spray bottles. For a lint-free shine, wipe dry with a sheet of crumpled newspaper or a coffee filter.
Tile and Grout Paste 1 cup water and 3 cups baking soda mixed into a paste works great for cleaning tile and grout. Use a toothbrush to scrub the paste into grout.
Wallpaper Shiner Rub wallpaper marks with a piece of white bread until they disappear.
Wood Buffer Hide wood scratches by rubbing them with the meat of a walnut.
To dress up your homemade cleaners, use a pretty spray bottle or container and add a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil. These all-natural products smell so sweet and work so well that you can even give them as gifts!
Post-Cleaning Hand Soak
Once you’ve done your eco spring cleaning, you won’t need days of moisturizing lotion therapy to smooth out your hands again, but… it’s always nice to treat yourself after a hard day’s work!
For moisture treatment:
- Microwave or oven-warm a small bowl of olive oil. Kick back and soak your hands.
- Add some granulated sugar and scrub away the extra layer of dry skin that accumulated over the winter.
For an invigorating handwash:
- Place a tiny bit of powdery ground mustard in a bowl with some other herbs and essential oils, such as rosemary and thyme or lavender and mint.
- Add hot water and wait for the tingling sensation of mustard to warm your skin.
You’ll be so invigorated that you may be tempted to join in helping to clean your friend’s or neighbor’s house!
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Posted on Apr 27, 2008
all-natural products, allergies, favorite essential oil, fragrant essential oil, inflammation, microwave, natural products, oil, olive oil, tbsp olive oil, Tea tree oil, toxic chemicals
About the Author
GLI Editors
Green Living Ideas provides ideas, tips, and information to help you improve the environmental sustainability of every aspect of your life: home energy, green building and remodeling, cars, food, waste recycling—and everything in between. GLI's editorial voice is driven by founder Sean Daily and Editor-In-Chief Adam Shake, and written by an amazing staff of author and interns.12 Responses to “Natural Cleaning Recipes”
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Guest
Jun 27, 2008
Mix about 1 quart extra warm water and about 1/2 cup water softener. Just dip it or dip and scrub with brush. Try it. It works.
Guest
Jun 29, 2008
Using lemon juice – does that mean fresh squeezed lemon juice or is bottled lemon juice ok? Thank you!
Donna Farrell
Jul 13, 2008
[quote=Guest]Using lemon juice – does that mean fresh squeezed lemon juice or is bottled lemon juice ok? Thank you![/quote]
I\’ve never tried using the bottled, but I did notice that the bottled lemon juice often has other ingredients in it, so I\’m not sure if that would affect its ability to clean or not.
Juans
Dec 17, 2008
I\’d love to know ,where to get those green products near me ;by the way I live in Fairfax County Va. Honestly I couldn\’t find them ,so you can help me out ,would be great.
Thank you.
Paula
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Apr 11, 2009
I’d like to know if there is a good recipe for a carpet shampoo to eliminate urine stains and smells from carpet. Our dog is old, and is starting to revert back to puppyhood and is peeing on the carpets. If anyone knows one that would work with a steam cleaner I’d appreciate if you could help.
Sally
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Jun 29, 2009
Your blog was very helpful. Thanks for the great cleaning recipes.
Kelly
Aug 18, 2009
Paula – white vinegar and hot water works good in a steamer. The vinegar breaks down the proteins in the urine to remove the smell and the original stain from the urine. The dog then does not smell the original urine and should not repeat going to the bathroom there. I use about 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water in my Little Green steamer. The smell can be overwhelming so be sure to have your windows open to air it out or you can try diluting the solution down more with water. I don’t mind the smell as long as I know its clean and non-toxic!
sharkies!
Sep 15, 2009
vinager taste good but it has a wierd smell :(
but how the heck is vinager gonna help out planet??? and how is One little enviorment frendlt product gonna help us get outta this huge hole we dug ourselvs???????
GLI Editors
Sep 15, 2009
The general idea is that there’s potential benefit in using substances like vinegar in lieu of less human- and environmentally-friendly cleaning product options.
- Eds
Jenny L
Oct 06, 2009
Besides the “green” aspect of making your own cleaners, there is also a monetary benefit. We have saved a ton of money making our own homemade cleaners.
Sally
Oct 19, 2009
What a comprehensive list of recipes, thank you. Having just bought a brand new eco home (have a look at my house in hayle) I now have a great collection of enviromental cleaners to go with it and it hasn’t cost the earth. Thanks.
Melissa
Oct 22, 2009
Please, please, please make sure that if you add essential oils to these products that you use a true therapeutic/medical grade (and a warning – all companies are going to say there’s is therapeutic grade!!). As a veterinarian, I often recommend going green for your pet’s health. We see many problems related to repeat chemical exposure in pets.
However, animals are injured by synthetic or poorly collected essential oils (often those that you find in the health food store or grocery store). These are for perfume use ONLY. And, although we may think they smell nice, might be toxic to your pet.
I use a lot of essential oils in our practice – and there are only three companies I trust. Original Swiss Aromatics, Creer Labs, and Young Living.
Other than that warning – I love your recipes, and can’t wait to try them for our animal hospital – of course adding great quality essential oils to them!