5 Homemade Household Cleaners

Harmful chemicals have made their way into our homes in all sorts of household cleaners. If you’re looking at cleaning up your life from toxins; maybe you’re trying to go green or, maybe, you’re just trying to save some money. These 5 homemade household cleaners are eco-friendly and awesome for frugal fanatics. Please try them out for yourself. You may never go back to conventional cleaners again!

Learn how to Make Non-Toxic Homemade Cleaners on a Budget

You’ll obviously need ingredients, but you’ll need a funnel and glass tinted bottles as well. I bought both on Amazon for pretty cheap. The tinted glass is because most of these formulas call for essential oils. Essential oils can eat away at plastic so they should be kept in glass. Essential oils can also break down with direct sunlight, which is why the bottles are tinted.

1. All-Purpose Cleaner

A cleaner for everything! This is my go to cleaner for most things bathroom and kitchen, along with general cleaning of surfaces and walls. It works wonders and delivers some of the best cleaning of any homemade cleaner that I have used. The best part? It’s cheap and easy to make! These are the ingredients:

• 2 Cups White Vinegar
• 2 Cups Hydrogen Peroxide
• 1 Tablespoon Dawn Dish Soap (Classic Blue)

Simply add equal parts white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide into a tinted glass spray bottle, then add in a tablespoon of blue dawn dish soap. Shake until combined and it’s ready to use!

If you need more information on this cleaner, please feel free to visit my All-Purpose Cleaner post! It has a bit more detail in it.

2. Glass Cleaner

Glass cleaner is awesome in that it’s incredibly easy and completely non-toxic. If you buy the conventional cleaners at the store, you’ll end up with ammonia, which can be toxic, especially when accidentally combined with bleach.

This glass cleaner is simply three ingredients:

• 2 Cups White Vinegar
• 2 Cups Water
• 10-20 drops Lemon Essential Oil

That’s it! Simply combine equal parts vinegar and water into a glass spray bottle, now add in 10-20 drops of lemon essential oil. Mix until combined and spray away!

3. Wood Cleaner

Wood is wonderful and a pain all at the same time. You have to use special cleaners or you’ll harm the finish. Steam mops are a big no, and your run-of-the-mill wood cleaner contains some pretty potent chemicals. So, what are we to do? This easy cleaner will have your wood shining in no time!

• 1 cup White Vinegar
• 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Castile Soap
• 10-20 drops Citrus Essential Oil (I like orange)

Combine all ingredients into a tinted glass bottle. Mix until throughly combined. Now use with a soft cloth on your favorite wood surfaces for a beautiful shine!

4. Bathroom Tile and Tub Cleaner

Bathroom cleaning is the absolute worst household chore. Having to use too much “elbow grease” can leave your arms and shoulders sore. Worst of all, it doesn’t always work. The harshest household cleaners out there are the bathroom cleaners. Grout, soap scum, toilet buildup, the dreaded cement that was once toothpaste, all take residence in the bathroom. So, what’s a girl to do?

• 2 Cups Vinegar
• 2 Cups Hydrogen Peroxide
• 1 Tablespoon Dawn Dish Soap (Classic Blue)
• 20 drops Lemon Essential Oil
• Baking Soda

Simply add all wet ingredients together into a tinted glass spray bottle. Mix until combined. Spray on all surfaces and allow to sit for about 15 to 30 minutes. Rinse with hot water.

On hard tub grime, mold in grout or any other tough areas, sprinkle the baking soda on the area first. Then spray over the area and the baking soda. The affected area will begin to bubble. Use a toothbrush (or any other small scrubbing device) and scrub the area. Rinse clean. This works well on dirty grout, shower grime and even works in the toilet bowl.

A quick note, do not use this on granite, marble or stone of any kind. The vinegar will penetrate the rock surface and create pits.

5. Carpet Cleaner

Alright, cleaning carpets is such a pain. In a perfect world, I would never have carpet in my home. However, when you have babies and toddlers, carpet is easier to fall down on and a bit safer on the stairs. The catch 22 is, the carpet is also dirtier because of the babies and toddlers. Since I have small children and have to clean frequently, I figured out how to best do this in the least harmful way. This carpet cleaner has worked on everything from baby poop, to vomit and even cat pee.

You will simply need:

• A standard carpet cleaner
• White Vinegar
• Hot Water
• Baking Soda
• All-Purpose Cleaner (from above)

Fill your carpet cleaner with equal parts white vinegar and hot (I mean hot) water. I know there are plenty of carpet cleaners that have a “heated” setting, but it takes quite a long time for the water to heat up. This basically by-passes that step.

Sprinkle baking soda over any spots or stains on your carpet. Spray the spot and the baking soda with your all-purpose cleaner. The spot will bubble. Use a toothbrush to scrub the stain or spot. This should take the spot out. If the stain doesn’t come up, you may need to spray it again with the all-purpose spray, and scrub with the toothbrush once more.

After to have “spot treated” your carpet. Take your carpet cleaner and clean with the half vinegar/half hot water mixture. The stains and smells should all come up. Allow to air dry.

I created a detailed post on this cleaner, so feel free to visit it if you need additional tips or information. 

That’s it!

Now you can make your most-used homemade household cleaners in your kitchen, for cheap. And the best part? Their eco-friendly and non-toxic!