Creating Homemade Natural Cleaning Products

Cleaning the home is a part of my weekly routine. To keep this rhythm as pleasurable as possible, I like to create my own homemade natural cleaning products.

In order to keep cleaning my home a task that I enjoy, I like to create my own homemade natural cleaning products. Most of what I can purchase in the stores is full of ingredients that I don’t know or don’t like (hello artificial fragrance!). By creating my own natural cleaning products at home, I can control the ingredients that we use in our home.

How do you make natural cleaning products at home?

You only need a few simple ingredients, some water and a container/spray bottle in order to make your own homemade natural cleaning products. The staple supplies needed for making your own cleaning products can be found at your local supermarket or hardware store. If you prefer online, we all know Amazon carries it all!

Basic supplies:
– White vinegar – 5% or 12%
– Baking soda
-Castile soap
-Dish soap
-Spray bottle or small jar

With those 5 supplies you can make enough cleaning products to cover all your daily cleaning needs. Nothing special, no harsh chemicals, no weird scents.

Making homemade natural cleaning products

So, what exactly can you make with these 5 select ingredients? I have 3 different products that I always keep in my cleaning basket. I have an all purpose spray, a shower cleaner, and a scrubbing paste. With those 3 products I can clean most of the areas in my home.

All purpose cleaning spray

This spray is just what it sounds like. It is my go to homemade cleaning product that I reach for daily. I use it with a dry cloth for cleaning my mirrors and windows. I use it with a damp cloth for wiping down counters, door handles, and the outside of the toilet. I use it as a spray on the taps and shower heads to help prevent hard water build up where the water comes out.

This homemade all purpose cleaning spray has 2 ingredients and could not be easier to make. You will need a spray bottle for this spray. I have been slowly upgrading to amber glass spray bottles, simply because I like the way they look. Before that I had a plastic on from Dollarama. You could even clean out a spray bottle that was bound for the recycling container. Whatever you have will work.

This homemade all purpose cleaning spray is made up of 1 part white vinegar, 2 parts water. A part can be any measurement you choose, as long as you use the same measurement for all the ingredients. For me, I fill my spray bottle 1/3 of the way with vinegar, then fill the last 2/3 with water.

You could add essential oils to the spray, if you would like it scented. If you choose to add them, you will need to shake the bottle before each spray to distribute the oils through out the cleaner.

Homemade shower cleaner

Just like all the other cleaners I use, this shower cleaner is truly simple to make. For this cleaner you will need a spray bottle, dish soap and vinegar.

The key ingredient in this natural shower cleaner is time. It is used to remove hardware build up from glass showers. If you don’t have hard water (lucky) and you don’t know what I am talking about (super lucky), you probably don’t really need this cleaner.

When the glass in my shower is starting to look dingy, or like there are minerals sticking to it, I bust out this cleaner. Simply spray the homemade shower cleaner, all over your shower glass, shower wall and even your taps if they are starting to accumulate build up. Then walk away.

You are going to want to clean the rest of the bathroom before you do this. The vinegar smell is very strong, and I do not like to be in the bathroom while this cleaner does its magic. I will often use the spray in the morning and then finish scrubbing the shower late in the afternoon. I use a dish brush to scrub the glass while I rinse off the cleaner.

So, how do you make this magical cleaner. It is 1 part dish soap, 1 part vinegar. For me, I will fill my spray bottle half way up with vinegar, then add the dish soap to the top. Replace the spray nozzle and tip back and forth gently to combine.

Because of the large amount of soap in this clean, it will make your bathtub or shower area very slippery. If you choose to clean your shower while you are in it, please be so very careful not to slip and fall.

Natural scrubbing paste

Lastly is my homemade natural scrubbing paste. I use this for cleaning out the kitchen and bathroom sinks, bathtubs and toilet bowls. You can either make this paste as needed directly in the sink or premix a batch and put it in a jar, then scoop out as needed.

To make the homemade scrubbing paste you are going to mix together equal parts baking soda and castile soap. You want to mix them together to make sure there are no dry spots in the baking soda. Add to a large mouth jar and cover until needed.

To use this cleaner you are going to scoop the paste with a wet rag and then rub on whatever it is your need to clean. Add more as needed, but you really don’t need too much. Rinse with hot water once you feel like your surface is clean.

I find this cleaner is excellent at getting the toothpaste and other build up out of the bathroom sink. It will degrease your kitchen sink and make it shine. It’s also fantastic at getting the soap build up out of the bathtub. If you were going to use only one of the cleaners in the article, I would pick this one.

Are homemade cleaners effective?

I have been using natural homemade cleaning products in my home for the better part of a decade, and in my experience they are just as effective as the commercial cleaners. I have yet to find something to clean that truly requires the harsh chemicals sold at the supermarket.

I think what needs to happen with homemade and natural cleaning products is we need to adjust our expectations. Many commercial cleaners contain bleaching agents that simply mask the stains or dirt marks.

Homemade cleaning products require either more time or more effort in cleaning. This does not make them less effective, just different. In the end you will have something that is truly clean and not just bleached to look clean.

Do you make your own homemade natural cleaning products? Have a recipe you’d like to share? Add a comment below…