6 DIY Cleaning Products to Get You Through the Pandemic
We live in strange times when toilet paper is as precious as gold and grocery stores sell out of disinfectant wipes faster than they do ice cream. If you’re trying to keep your home spick-and-span but have encountered trouble tracking down important household cleaning supplies, there’s good news: You can make your own!
Here are a few ways you can quickly and easily replace your cleaning-cabinet staples using a few everyday items that may already be hanging around the house.
The Essential Ingredients
Next time you head out to the store, make sure you have these key ingredients in your basket. They will figure in many of the DIY cleaning-product recipes.
- Baking soda. It cuts through grease and acts as a natural deodorizer, which is great for pet messes.
- Castile soap. Vegetable- or olive oil-based soap can help loosen and clean dirt and grime.
- Distilled white vinegar. It works wonders on mold, soap scum, coffee, rust, and tea stains. It has a lot of other uses too.
- Essential oils. Tea tree, lavender, eucalyptus, orange, peppermint, and other varieties help make your homemade cleaners smell great. They also contain chemicals that may help kill bacteria.
- Hydrogen peroxide. It works like bleach and is less toxic.
- Lemon. The acidity makes lemons a powerful antibacterial and antiseptic — and they smell nice.
- Rubbing alcohol. It’s a microbial agent and can kill bacteria, fungus, and viruses. (Anything under 60% alcohol won’t kill bacteria.)
1. All-Purpose Cleaner
Once you make this delicious-smelling all-purpose cleaner, you’ll wonder why it took you so long to start dabbling in DIY cleaning products. This recipe from Better Homes & Gardens works great on all surfaces and packs disinfecting power that attacks germs. Keep a bottle around so you can spray down surfaces after you bring mail or groceries into the house.
Ingredients:
¾ cup hydrogen peroxide
½ cup distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon unscented liquid castile soap
10 drops tea tree oil
20 drops lavender essential oil
2 cups water
Materials:
24-ounce spray bottle
Sponge or cloth
Instructions:
Combine ingredients in your spray bottle and shake well. Spray onto surface and wipe clean with a sponge or cloth. For extra-tough stains or for removing mildew, you should spray, sprinkle baking soda on top, let it sit, and then scrub clean.
2. Hand Sanitizer
This easy recipe from Wired is perfect in a pinch. Hand sanitizer was one of the first products stores ran out of, and it’s a good idea to have your own supply on hand. (Get it? On your hand?) Anyway, here’s the recipe.
Ingredients:
Rubbing alcohol
Aloe vera gel
Tea tree oil
Materials:
Small pump bottle
Instructions:
Make a 3:1 mixture of rubbing alcohol and aloe vera gel and add a few drops of tea tree oil. That’s it!
3. Disinfectant Wipes
Jill Nystul is a veritable wizard when it comes to experimental DIY household cleaners, and she is continually testing and tweaking her recipes on One Good Thing by Jillee. Her homemade disinfectant wipes are the perfect thing to keep handy for whenever you need to disinfect surfaces, doorknobs, or light switches. The best part: Unlike the store-bought version, you can wash and reuse these.
Ingredients:
2 cups rubbing alcohol, 70% or higher
1 teaspoon dish soap
20 drops essential oil, such as lavender, lemon, or a blend
Materials:
1-quart glass jar
10 to 15 clean cloth rags or microfiber cloths
Instructions:
Combine ingredients in your jar, cap the jar, and shake well. Uncap and add cloth rags or microfiber cloths to the jar until they stop absorbing the liquid (about 10 to 15). Replace the cap and turn the jar upside down. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes until the cloths have had time to absorb all of the liquid. Then they are ready to use!
4. Glass Cleaner
Just like other surfaces of your house, it’s important to keep your windows and mirrors clean — and the telltale finger smudges seem more ominous now. The trick to this Natural Living Ideas recipe’s effectiveness is the orange essential oil, which contains d-limonene, a chemical that helps cut through dirt and grime on glass.
Ingredients:
¼ cup white vinegar
½ teaspoon dish soap
8 drops orange essential oil
2 cups water
Materials:
Spray bottle
Cloth
Instructions:
Combine the ingredients, shake, and spray. It’s that simple. For tougher spots, allow the mixture to sit on the surface of the window, glass, or mirror for a few minutes before wiping off.
5. Bathroom Cleaner
There’s nothing more satisfying than a gleaming-clean bathroom. This very simple cleaner from Money Crashers can cut through the toughest grime and mildew. The best part? All you have to do is let it sit, then rinse it away. Since it requires hot vinegar, you can’t store it — so don’t make it until you are ready to tackle the job — and you’ll want to be careful when assembling.
Ingredients:
¼ cup liquid dish soap
¼ cup white vinegar
Materials:
Spray bottle
Funnel
Cloth
Instructions:
Heat vinegar in a microwave-safe container until it is extremely hot, then carefully pour it into a spray bottle, using a funnel for extra safety. Add the dish soap and swirl to combine. Spray onto tough mildew or soap scum and let sit at least 30 to 45 minutes. Then, rinse and wipe clean with water and a cloth.
6. Oven Cleaner
Everyone seems to be doing a lot more baking than usual. Unfortunately, that means more cleaning too. The oven is one of the toughest appliances to clean in the house, and it doesn’t help that the longer you put off cleaning it, the harder those hard-to-reach stains bake on. This simple cleaner from Bob Vila can do battle with the worst oven grease.
Ingredients:
½ cup baking soda
2-3 tablespoons water
½ cup white vinegar
Materials:
Spray bottle
Instructions:
Mix baking soda and water in a bowl to create a spreadable paste. You can adjust the amounts of water and soda to get the consistency right. Spread the paste on the interior of your oven and let sit, preferably overnight. Once the mixture has set, add vinegar to a spray bottle. Spray on the soda paste. The baking soda will start to fizz. Wipe clean with a damp cloth and rinse.
Freshen up your home further with these seven homemade lemon cleaners.
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