Ready to get toxic-free cleaning using only the essentials? And by essentials, I mean essential oils.
Tiny but mighty, essential oils have enhanced physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being for thousands of years. Natural and heavily concentrated (hence the itty-bitty bottles they come in), essential oils serve the body, mind, and soul in the purest form possible. Their natural aroma and plethora of health-promoting properties are representative of the plant, root, herb, or seed from which they are derived.
Though often praised for their effectiveness in healing the human mind and body, essential oils also serve as the perfect alternative to the chemically-ridden cleaners stashed under our sinks, ready to be dusted off for spring cleaning—a yearly regimen both you and I have been putting off since March 20!
So, before you grab your Windex bottles, consider these easy, effective, and most importantly, ecological recipes for keeping your home and family clean and protected!
Toxic-Free Cleaning Recipes
All-Purpose Cleaner (except glass!)
3/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol
5-10 drops of Peppermint, Lemon, or Orange essential oil
1 squirt of natural dish soap (I like to use Dr. Bronner’s)
Pour all of the ingredients into a 16-ounce spray bottle and shake well. Ta-da! Spray on all of your marble, quartz, and granite counters and wipe clean with a microfiber cloth. You can also spray tables, bathroom sinks, baseboards, and window sills.
Rubbing alcohol is the star of the show in this get-up, as it helps kill bacteria and dries at a rapid pace—no streaks here! The natural dish soap is effective at removing dirt and grease stains, while the essential oils are antibacterial and offer a much more pleasant and safe odor to inhale, versus that of caustic chemical products that irritate the lungs.
Glass Cleaner
2 cups of water
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
2 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol
5 drops of Peppermint essential oil
Pour all of the ingredients into a 24-ounce spray bottle and give it a good shake to blend. Spray the solution onto a microfiber cloth and apply to all of your glass windows and mirrors.
White vinegar targets grime and filthy stains, while peppermint oil counteracts its strong odor with its antibacterial and ambrosial properties—they’re the perfect pair!
Vinegar-and-Vodka Disinfectant
1 1/2 cups of water
1/2 cup of white vinegar
1/2 cup of vodka (Yep, you heard me right!)
10 drops of Lavender essential oil
10 drops of Lemon essential oil
Pour all of the ingredients into a 24-ounce spray bottle and shake well. Spray all of your bathroom surfaces, countertops, tables, light switches, appliances, or doorknobs and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Finish up with a quick wipe of a microfiber cloth!
White vinegar and vodka inhibit germ growth, while lavender and lemon oils supplement the two by acting as antibacterial and antiseptic agents. Take that, Lysol!
Kitchen and Sink Scrub
1/4 cup of natural dish soap
1/4 cup of baking soda
5 drops of Clove essential oil
3 drops of water
Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl, and apply to kitchen sinks, pots, pans, cooktops, tile, tubs, and bathroom sinks using the gritty side of a kitchen sponge. Afterward, wipe clean with a wet cloth.
As the dish soap cuts grease and lifts dirt, the baking soda removes the dirt and digs out tough stains and scum missed by the soap. The clove oil is antibacterial and adds an exhilarating aroma, though you can swap it out for orange or rosemary for a lighter scent! Whichever oil you choose, this solution wins the race against Clorox Bleach in keeping your home disinfected and organic!
Hardwood Floor Cleaner
1 gallon of warm water
1/2 cup of white vinegar
2-3 drops of Lemon essential oil
Mix all of the ingredients together in a 2-gallon bucket, paying very close attention to your measurements—the acid in the vinegar can potentially dull your floor’s finish if you do not adhere to the recommended ratio of vinegar to water. After dipping a mop head in the bucket and wringing it out so that it is just damp, apply to your wood floors and repeat!
Mold and Mildew Shower Cleaner
2 cups of water
2 teaspoons of Tea Tree essential oil
1/4 cup of baking soda
Pour the water and the tea tree oil into a 24-ounce spray bottle and shake well. Heavily spray moldy areas in tubs, showers, and shower curtains, and let sit for 24 hours. Once the time is up, pour the baking soda into a separate bowl, and spray it with your solution until glue-like paste forms, as all of the ingredients combine. Apply to the moldy surface with a toothbrush, scrub, and rinse off!
The tea tree oil is key here because it is antibacterial and anti-fungal, ridding your surfaces of mold and mildew, while the baking soda paste removes any potential discoloration.
Having switched over to natural and DIY cleaning products just over the last few years, it was definitely an adjustment, considering most of my life I was surrounded by toxic cleaning products without giving it a second thought. What you can’t see won’t hurt you, right? Well, that’s not always the case!
Without realizing it, we buy some of the most poisonous products on the planet to clean our homes. Hundreds of scents, detergents, and item-specific household cleaners act as endocrine and immune disrupters to the human body, causing health hazards both immediately and over time. Severe burns, skin rashes, respiratory problems, irritated eyes, asthma, and even cancer are just a handful of their harmful effects.
Fortunately, harsh chemical formulas aren’t your only option when caring for your home. Have peace of mind without compromise when you clean countertops, wash sticky floors and brighten your bathrooms with these essential alternatives!
Quick tip:
It is important to buy 100% therapeutic-grade essential oils without added synthetics and contaminants or created by unethical production practices. Young Living Essential Oils, a trusted source and the leader in the essential oils movement, is where I acquire all of my essential oils and related products! Their Thieves Household Cleaner serves as a base for the majority of my cleaning needs.
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Just a friendly note….you mentioned Young Living being your trusted “go to” but you used a photo of a DoTerra oil?. I am a crazy Young Living oil user and sharer and it caught my eye….don’t mean to be the “oil police” ?. Thanks for the article! I wish all people understood that there is another way to clean.
Ha! Good catch – thanks for sending this over.
“Mold and Mildew Shower Cleaner” blend is what I searched! I have Tea Tree essential oil by the way, and it is good to try. Thanks for sharing, Julie.