10 Homemade Cleaning Products You Will Never Have to Buy Again
If you are sick of spending lots of money on household cleaning products that are full of nasty, harsh chemical ingredients, why not look into making your own?
The benefits of making your own products are that the ingredients are probably sitting around in your house already, you can customise the scent with your own preferred essential oils, keep your house clean and your family safe from harmful toxins and best of all, you will save a heap of money!
A lot of the recipes use the same ingredients, so buying in bulk will also save you time and money. Why not get together with some friends and have a DIY session? You can share the cost of the ingredients, experiment with some new products and have fun at the same time!
Here are 10 DIY cleaning product recipes. You’re welcome!
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1. Homemade Cleaning Products — Dishwashing Liquid
We spend so much of our day washing up dishes. Even with a dishwasher, I am constantly at the sink. Make your own citrus dishwashing liquid and pop it into a cleaned-out dishwashing liquid bottle, or even a pump bottle for easy dispensing.
Homemade Cleaning Products Mixes:
- 1/4 cup soap flakes (such as Lux Flakes)
- 2 cups hot water
- 1/4 cup glycerine (you can get it from your Supermarket or Hardware Store)
- 10 – 15 drops of Lemon Oil or Orange Essential Oil
Mix all the ingredients together (except the glycerine) until the soap flakes have dissolved. Cool the mixture to room temperature, then add the glycerine.
Pour into a bottle and use a teaspoon at a time.
2. Homemade Febreeze
Get rid of yucky smells from furniture and fabrics with this DIY Febreeze spray. Just use your favourite fabric softener scent.
Homemade Cleaning Products Mixes:
- 30ml Fabric Softener
- 2 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda
- 500ml water
Add the ingredients to a spray bottle and shake well to combine. Use it sparingly on fabrics to refresh.
If the spray leaves a white mark from the bicarb – just brush it off with a toothbrush or similar.
3. Carpet Shampoo
Spot clean your carpets with this great carpet shampoo as one of your homemade cleaning products. You can even use your homemade dishwashing liquid for one of the ingredients.
Homemade Cleaning Products Mixes:
- 3 teaspoons washing up liquid
- 1/4 cup cloudy ammonia
- 1/4 white vinegar
- 500ml water
Mix all the ingredients together. To use, spray the carpet until just damp, then ‘dab’ the carpet with a damp (but not wet) cloth.
4. Window Cleaner
Use this window cleaner with vinegar for streak-free windows and mirrors.
Homemade Cleaning Products Mixes:
- 1/2 teaspoon shampoo
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 cups of water
Add to a spray bottle and use like shop-bought Widow Cleaner.
5. Pre-Wash Stain Remover
To get rid of stubborn stains like sweat, grease and grass stains, spritz a bit of pre-wash stain remover onto the stained areas just before you put them in the washing machine.
Homemade Cleaning Products Mixes:
- 1 cup cloudy ammonia
- 2 teaspoons Eucalyptus Oil
- 1 cup shampoo
- 1 cup water
Combine all the ingredients and place te mixture into a spray bottle. To use, spray any clothing stains just before placing the garment in the washing machine.
6. Laundry Powder
In my family of 4, we do a lot of washing. Make your own laundry powder and laundry liquid. Keep it fragrance-free for sensitive skin.
Homemade Cleaning Products Mixes:
- 1 box of Lux flakes (or 700 grams of grated soap)
- 1 cup of Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda)
- A couple of drops of eucalyptus or tea tree oil
Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix the ingredients until they are really fine. Store the mix in a sealed air-tight container.
To wash, dissolve a teaspoon in a 1/2 cup of boiling water and add it to the laundry section of your washing machine.
Note: I use this mix in my front loader and have no worries.
We have a few different recipes for homemade laundry detergent – see them here!
7. Toilet Fizzies
Get your toilet bowl sparkling white again with these toilet fizzies. Drop one into the toilet bowl, let it fizz, give the toilet bowl a quick scrub with the brush and flush!
Homemade Cleaning Products Mixes:
- 1 and 1/3 cups of baking soda
- ½ cup citric acid. This is found in the cooking aisle at your supermarket.
- 80-90 drops of essential oil. We used a mixture of orange, eucalyptus and lime oils.
- Small amount of water
- Small spray bottle
- Silicone moulds
In a mixing bowl add the baking soda and citric acid.
Using a fork flatten out any lumps. Slowly mix in, a few drops at a time, the essential oils. You don’t want to add it all at once as the mixture will start fizzing.
If you finish adding the oils and the mixture isn’t damp enough to form a ball when squeezed you may need to spritz the mixture with some water. Don’t make the mix too moist though as they won’t fizz when you need them to.
8. All Purpose Cleaners
I always have an all-purpose cleaner ready to wipe benches and table tops. I use tea tree or citrus essential oils. Here are a couple of different recipes to try.
Homemade Cleaning Products Mixes:
Eucalyptus Oil All-Purpose Cleaner:
- 15 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- water
Add the eucalyptus oil and the vinegar to a clean spray bottle. Fill with tap water and mix. Great for showers, bench-tops and basins.
Lavender Disinfectant Spray:
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 6 drops of Lavender Essential Oil
- water
All the lavender drops to the spray bottle and fill with white vinegar. Great for cleaning the bathroom and toilet or anywhere you would usually use disinfectant or antibacterial spray.
Orange Oil All Round Cleaner:
- 15 drops of Orange Essential Oil
- 3 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda
- Water
Add all ingredients to the spray bottle and shake well. Good for use anywhere you would use Spray and Wipe. Perfect for kitchen benchtops!
Soapnut Multi-Purpose Spray:
Homemade Cleaning Products Mixes:
- 25 grams of Soapnuts
- 500ml of boiling water
- Few drops of eucalyptus oil
Add the Soapnuts to the boiling water and let it steep for 30 minutes. Drain and discard the soapnut shells (or use them in your washing machine) and add the eucalyptus oil. Place in a spray bottle and use for all purposes.
9. House Cream Cleanser
This cream cleanser is great for scrubbing tiles and basins in your bathrooms. Again, use your homemade dishwashing liquid and add some more essential oils if you like.
Homemade Cleaning Products Mixes:
- 1 3/4 cups of bicarbonate of soda
- 2/3 cup of dishwashing liquid (the amount may need to be varied depending on the type of detergent so add slowly).
Mix the ingredients together to make a creamy substance. You may add about 10 drops of essential oil such as lavender, lemon or orange. Tea Tree Oil and Eucalyptus Oil are great too as they are natural disinfectants.
10. Carpet Deodoriser
Get rid of pet smells and freshen up your carpets with this deodoriser. The bicarb absorbs the nasty smells and you can use whatever essential oils you like to add a lovely scent to the air. Leave it on for 20 minutes and then vacuum.
Homemade Cleaning Products Mixes—
This recipe will do the average 4m x 4m room:
- 1 cup bicarbonate of soda (sifted well)
- 10 drops of lavender or eucalyptus essential oils
Now it is very important to sift the bicarb first. Bicarb can be very lumpy straight from the box and it won’t mix properly if not sifted – you will just get clumps of bicarb on your carpet. Place the bicarb into a container that can be sealed well. Add the essential oil, seal and give it a really good shake – for about a minute.
Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the carpet. Leave for at least 20 minutes (an hour would be great). Bicarb is fabulous for absorbing smells. Then vacuum well. Repeat as often as required.
