Natural Cleaning Alternatives: Recipes

In part 1 of this, I introduced you to 6 main ingredients that are fantastic natural cleaners and talked about chemistry even though I am absolutely not a qualified chemist. The internet is a wonderful place...

I do realise, though, that just listing ingredients isn't very helpful when it comes to actually creating one's own collection of natural cleaning supplies. This blog post lists recipes for every possible cleaning product I can imagine is in your cupboard, but truthfully, if you just want to make one product then make the All-Purpose cleaner. It really works and many recipes are similar to that, just a little bit tweaked.

Air freshener

Room Spray

Main ingredients: Water, Alcohol, Essential Oils

This is very simple and will require a spray bottle. Fill a bottle with water and add essential oils of your choice. I like the smell of bergamot very much. Then add a little bit of alcohol (the higher the percentage the better) to the mixture, so that your spray will dry more quickly. It also helps kill germs I believe.

You can use vinegar as an odour absorbent or deodoriser, but I find it is more of a bad odour replacement. It's all well and good saying a tupperware box no longer smells of curry, but is the smell of soggy bread and vinegar better? I think not.

If you want to try it out, soak a slice of bread in apple cider vinegar and put it in your tupperware for a few hours. I can confirm it won't smell of curry anymore...

All-Purpose cleaner

If you're going to make one natural spray, start with this one because it crosses over with so many other sprays I mention. This is perfect for any surface (except marble, for that use ethanol), it can be used for your kitchen, bathroom, toilet, windows, mould and much more.

Main Ingredients: Window Cleaner, Essential oils OR Plants OR Rinds

Mix equal parts vinegar with equal parts water. For a nicer smell you can either put a fair few drops of your favourite essential oil in there OR you can steep something fragrant in pure vinegar for ten days before mixing it.

I've used lavender from plants that were about to die or rinds from oranges or lemons.

Anti-bacterial

For a proper disinfectant you will need hydrogen peroxide. This is not a disinfectant but it is a pretty good spray if you want to give something a quick once-over.

Main ingredients: Ethanol or Witch Hazel, Water, Tea Tree Oil

Take approx. 250ml of water and combine it with two tablespoons of either Alcohol or Witch Hazel. Then add around 15 drops of Tea Tree Oil. This is not to be used on wood, but alcohol is safe for other surfaces and it's ideal for marble.

For wood I would refer to the All-Purpose cleaner, because vinegar is a better option.

Carpet stain remover

Main ingredients: White Vinegar, Salt, Bicarbonate of Soda

For Coffee or Tea stains: combine equal parts water and white vinegar and pour small amounts onto the affected area.

For wine or general stains: pour salt on the stain and leave it alone for about 10 minutes. The salt will lift the stain through the process of osmosis!

For bodily fluids of any kind: pour baking soda on the stain and vacuum up. Also good if your carpet smells a bit whiffy and needs a quick freshen up.

Copper cleaner

Main ingredients: Lemon, Salt

Believe it or not, copper, a notoriously difficult material to clean, only needs two ingredients. Take half a lemon (a used one is a good idea, that way you get a second use out of it) and dip it into some salt. The coarseness of the salt and the acidity of the lemon will be great for tough dirt and will give your copper a nice shine. Rinse with water.

Chopping board cleaner

Rub a lemon on it!

Drain cleaner

Main ingredients: Bicarbonate of Soda, Vinegar, Boiling water

Add lots of bicarbonate of soda to your drain, then follow it with some white vinegar. Exact measurements not needed here. This will fill up like the volcano experiment you did at school, which will get in the tough to reach spots in your drain. Leave that for 10 minutes or so then pour boiling water down. Make sure your pipes are not plastic. If they are they use hot water instead.

Floor cleaner

Main ingredients: Water, White Vinegar, Bicarbonate of Soda

Mix 150ml of vinegar in 3 litres of water for a hard floor solution. For stuck on dirt, liberally throw bicarb all over your floors after applying the cleaner and leave it to activate for a little while. The acid and alkaline will fizz as they meet and you would think they would neutralise, but in my experience this works very effectively. Do add a decent amount of bicarb though to give this the best chance of working.

Furniture Polish

Main ingredients: Vinegar, Olive Oil, Lemon

For this you will 50 ml of vinegar, 150 ml of olive oil and a squeeze of half a lemon. You can add lemon essential oil if you want a stronger polish smell. Olive oil is brilliant for making furniture shine and the vinegar should get rid of any residue of grit from your surfaces.

Hand soap

Soap bars are always a good option, The Body Shop have some nice ones but out of the 6 ingredients I mentioned in my last post on cleaning, castile soap is great for your hands!

Microwave cleaner

Main ingredients: Lemon

Mix around 150ml of water with the juice of one lemon. Place the whole lemon, cut into quarters into the bowl of water and turn the microwave on for 3 minutes. Leave the mixture in the microwave for a further five - so that the juice can evaporate - and wipe everything down with a cloth. Any stuck on grime should wipe straight off!

Mould cleaner

Main ingredients: White Vinegar Or Apple Cider Vinegar if you prefer the smell

Dilute vinegar with some water, I would say 2/3rds to 1/3rd respectively. Then spray directly onto the mould, wait a few minutes and rub with a rough sponge.

Oven/Barbecue cleaner

Main ingredients: Bicarbonate of soda, Salt, Water

Mix around 50 grams of bicarbonate of soda with a mixture of salt and water. You want to get a paste that you can scrub around without it being too dry so add the coarse salt and water gradually. Cover your oven or barbecue and leave to work overnight. As an extra, the use of a wire brush will really help on fatty dirt when you come to clean in the morning and there's any residual grime.

Silver cleaner (for taking away tarnish)

Main ingredients: Aluminium Foil, Bicarbonate of Soda

Place foil onto non-metal dish (like glass or pyrex), pour 1 litre of water into the dish and add 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda.

Then let your tarnished silverware rest in the mixture for half an hour or longer if your silver is very bad.

Give them a gentle rub with a cloth and put your sunglasses on...otherwise you may be blinded by your new and improved cutlery set.

Stone cleaner

This one is easy, use some alcohol and feel free to dilute however you feel comfortable with water.

Washing up liquid

All you need is castile soap.

Weed killer

Main ingredients: Apple Cider Vinegar

Pour this on weeds to prevent weed regrowth.

Window cleaner

Main Ingredients: Window Cleaner, Essential oils OR Plants OR Rinds

Mix equal parts vinegar with equal parts water. For a nicer smell you can either put a fair few drops of your favourite essential oil in there OR you can steep something fragrant in pure vinegar for ten days before mixing it.

I've used lavender from plants that were about to die or rinds from oranges or lemons.

This is the exact same recipe as the All-Purpose Cleaner if you were wondering why this sounded familiar.

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And that is it! Good luck with your new cleaning routine.