How To Make Your Own Cleaning Products

This article is on how to make your own cleaning products, using everyday household items that have minimal impact on the environment.  The additional benefit of these products is that they are dual use and rather inexpensive to buy.  It is extremely easy to make your own green cleaning products using my cleaning products recipes below.

Each of the cleaning products recipes shows the various uses for baking soda, uses for Borax, uses for castile soap, uses for lemon juice, uses for white vinegar and uses for salt.  Many of the green cleaning recipes will combine these simple ingredients to make your own home made green cleaning products which have minimal package and provide loads of convenience.  All you need to do is scour your kitchen and laundry room and grab some clean, dry spray bottles and rags and you’re ready to go!

Baking Soda

Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a common kitchen staple used for baking.  However baking soda has a variety of uses throughout the home, due to its mild abrasive properties.  It scours, deodorizes, and mildly scrubs surfaces.

To clean counter tops, sprinkle with baking soda and wipe with a damp cloth.  Rinse with clean water.  To deodorize a carpet, garbage can or counter top composter, sprinkle baking soda and let sit for 15-30 mins, then rinse with clean water.  For a carpet, leave on 30 mins then vacuum.  Add baking soda to laundry to remove perspiration and bad smells.

Mix baking soda and white vinegar in hot water to pour down a clogged drain.  It will eat away the hair and unclog the drain.  This treatment may have to be done 2 times before effective.

Borax

Borax, or sodium borate, is a common laundry additive, disinfectant and mild abrasive.  It also serves as an eco-friendly pest control measure, and will repel and kill fleas, ants, roaches and mice.

It is a common ingredient in home  made cleaning products.  It is also an effective pot scrubber.  A mixture of lemon juice and Borax will remove rust and a past eof lemon juice and Borax will remove stains from stainless steel and porcelain.

Mix ½ c of Borax with 1 gallon of hot water, add essential oil like sweet orange or grapefruit, and put in a spray bottle for a disinfectant cleaner.

Castile Soap

100% pure castile soap is a good household cleanser.  It can be scented, or plain, whichever is preferred.  It is a mild surfactant that will remove oil from clothes, counter tops and dishes.

Mix 3 T castile soap with 2 L water and add 20-30 drops of tea tree oil to make a disinfecting counter top cleaner.

It is a good soap to use on hand washing items that are hung on a line or rack to dry.  It is also a good dish soap.

Club Soda

Excellent for stain removal from carpets and upholstery.  Can be used with lemon juice on items that are not affected by fading or contact with the sun.

Hydrogen Peroxide

It is an anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-mold and anti-bacterial, so it is a good addition to any cleaning kit.

Hydrogen peroxide is a good replacement for bleach to whiten whites in laundry.  It can be used to disinfect cutting boards and counter top compost bins.

½ c of hydrogen peroxide mixed with hot water is an excellent solution for cleaning kitchen floors.

Add a ¼ to dish water to sanitize dirty dishes.

Fill a spray bottle with one part hydrogen peroxide to the remainder of water and use as a spray to sanitize fruits and vegetables before eating.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is an all purpose astringent and will brighten whites and degrease, neutralize hard water deposits and tarnish on silver.  One of the major benefits of lemon juice is the pleasant smell.  Another of the uses for lemon juice is as an anti-bacterial.

A combination of lemon juice and salt is good for scrubbing down a cutting board.  It is also a good mixture for cleaning a coffee pot.  A paste of lemon juice and salt is an excellent brass cleaner.

To make furniture polish, mix 1 cup lemon juice with 2 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp water, and apply sparingly to furniture using a soft cloth.  After it sits for a little while, buff. 

Place straight lemon juice on hard water stains to soften them enough wipe away.  Let sit for 10 minutes before wiping.

Kosher or Table Salt

Salt is a good scourer and deodorizer.  It can be easily mixed with other household ingredients to make an effective cleaner.

To clean the refrigerator, sprinkle and even amount of salt and baking soda and wipe down shelves with a wet cloth.  Rinse with clear water.  This will scrub and deodorize in one easy step.

Spills in the oven and on the stove will wipe up easier if sprinkled with salt. 

Rubbing glasses or a coffee pot with salt will help remove hard water stains.  Clean with soap and dry as usual after scrubbing.  It will not scratch glass.

White Vinegar

White vinegar cuts grease, kills mildew and mold, stains and wax build up.  It is an acid, so use sparingly. 

For a good all purpose cleaner mix ½ c vinegar with ¼ cup baking soda into ½ gallon.  Store in a large container and add to spray bottle as needed.

White vinegar can be added to laundry rinse water instead of fabric softener.  

Use a mixture of white vinegar and water to clean windows.  Wipe with newspaper for a streak-free shine.  This works on any glass surface.  Don’t forget to recycle your newspapers afterwards!

The smell of white vinegar dissipates when it dries.

So there you have it – the basics of making your own natural cleaning products using these easy green cleaning recipes and ingredients.