edith.reisen/housekeeping/homemade_cleaners

Homemade Non-Toxic Cleaners

Table of Contents

  1. Principles
  2. Supplies
  3. All Purpose Cleaning Paste
  4. Dishwashing Detergent [Liquid]
  5. Dishwashing Detergent [Powder]
  6. Disinfectant Wipes
  7. Hardwood Floor Cleaner
  8. Handwashing Soap
  9. Hydrogen Peroxide Spray
  10. Laundry Detergent [Liquid]
  11. Laundry Detergent [Powder]
  12. Lemon Rind Disinfectant Spray
  13. Linen Spray
  14. Handsoap [Foaming]
  15. Handsoap [Liquid]
  16. Shower Cleaner
  17. Toothpaste [Gel]
  18. Toothpaste [Powder]
  19. Vodka Disinfectant Spray
  20. Appendix
    1. Recommended Industrially Produced, Non-Toxic Products
    2. Storing Essential Oils
    3. Essential Oil Shelf Life
    4. Further Reading

Principles

Practicality in time, cost, labor and supply is essential for a practice to be seriously adopted in a household. Good homemade household cleaners should be non-toxic, make use of a shared set of supplies, require minimal labor, and be cheaper to produce than industrial alternatives.

Non-toxic

Shared Supplies

A recipebook that makes use of a consistent, shared inventory allows households to reduce financial, organizational and mental overhead by stocking them in bulk.

The fundamental supplies needed to produce the majority of these cleaners are listed in the following section. Omitted are common household items — distilled water, white vinegar, lemons, etc. — and one-off items needed for specific recipes, e.g. Hydrogen Peroxide Spray

Minimal Labor

Labor or time intensive recipes are impractical and reduce the cost-value comparison in moving from industrial products (including non-toxic products). A recipe should be able to be completed in 10 minutes or less.

Cheap

The primary barrier to using natural cleaners is price. Industrial, mainstream cleaners aim for cost-effectiveness in their chemical composition with disregard to health effects without regard for health, allowing low costs of production. However, those products are subject to less obvious marketing considerations - fragrance, shelf life and market value.

In practice, it's generally cheaper to produce cleaners yourself than purchase them in the store - for many that choose to, the fact that they're non-toxic is a byproduct.

The large weight of the cost and effort that prevents well-meaning households from living healthy is not in the market, but in the research needed to uncover best practices. Following is a comprehensive and curated list to cover the cleaning needs of a normal household.

Supplies

All Purpose Cleaning Paste

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Stir ingredients together to make a creamy paste. Store in a glass spray bottle.

Optional: Add Lemon Essential Oil for fragrance. Thin mixture with extra castile soap if desired.

Use:

Apply paste and scrub.

Dishwashing Detergent [Liquid]

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Heat 3 tbsp water and 1tbsp salt in a small pot, stirring frequently until everything is dissolved. Remove the pot from the heat and pour the mixture into a small bowl, and set aside.

Add washing soda and 1 1/3 cup distilled water to the post and heat just until dissolved. Pour into a dish soap dispenser along with the Sal’s Suds, then add 1 tbsp of the salt water mixture and stir. It will turn cloudy and thicken.

Optional: Add a second tbsp of salt water mixture if you require a thicker solution.

Use:

Three pumps per load of dishes.

Note: I have found it is overall cheaper to purchase industrially produced, non-toxic dish soap in bulk than follow this DIY recipe.

Dishwashing Detergent [Powder]

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Bring water to a boil. Pour washing soda into a large glass bowl, then stir in boiling water. Continue stirring until dissolved, then cool to room temperature. Stir in Sal’s Suds until well combined. Store in a glass bottle.

Use:

1 1/4 tbsp per large sink of water.

Note: I have found it is overall cheaper to purchase industrially produced, non-toxic dish soap in bulk than follow this DIY recipe.

Disinfectant Wipes

Ingredients:

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, add the soap, water, vodka and essential oils. Stir well to combine. Set aside cleaning solution.

In a medium glass container with a sealable lid, place two washcloths and pour 1/3 of the cleaning solution evenly over them. Repeat until all wash clothes and solution are used. Put the lid on the container and turn container around and over so that the cloths are fully saturated.

Use:

Remove wipe from container, and wring excess liquid over other wipes. Use to disinfect and clean any surface. Launder as any kitchen towel.

Note: Due to the high time-investment and ingredient cost in this case, purchasing industrially produced, non-toxic wipes is recommended.

Hardwood Floor Cleaner

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Pour into a standard spray bottle and swirl lightly to combine.

Use:

Spray and wipe with microfiber mop.

Handwashing Soap

Ingredients:

  • Castile Soap — 1 cup
  • Distilled Water — 1 cup
  • Lemon E. Oil — 5 - 10 drops

Preparation:

In a jar, add the distilled water then the Castile soap and Olive Oil (or Almond, Coconut, Jojoba, etc.), followed by optional Lemon Essential Oil for smell. Cover and shake. Pour into soap dispenser

Use:

Shake lightly then pump a small amount into hand. Rinse with water.

Hydrogen Peroxide Spray

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Replace Hydrogen Peroxide bottle's lid with spray bottle lid.

Use:

Follow up any cleaning with a small spirt for strong disinfection.

Laundry Detergent [Liquid]

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Pour washing soda into a large glass bowl, then slowly stir in 2 cups of the boiling water until washing soda is dissolved. Stir in 1/2 cup Sal’s Suds until well combined. Then slowly stir in remaining 2 cups of boiling water. Cool to room temperature. Store in a glass bottle.

Use:

1/4 cup liquid detergent per load.

Laundry Detergent [Powder]

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Grate Castile Soap Bar into tiny bits. Mix all ingredients into large container and stir.

Optional: Add epsom salt for fabric softening.

Use:

1-2 tbsp onto laundry per load.

Lemon Rind Disinfectant Spray

Ingredients:

  • Fresh Lemon — 4 - 6
  • Vodka — to fill
  • Glass jar

Preparation:

Wash and peel lemons, and place the rinds in a glass jar to fill. Pour vodka to fill. Allow to steep in a cool dark place for 4-6 weeks. The solution is ready when it takes on a deep yellow color. Strain the rinds and pour remaining liquid into a glass spray bottle.

Use:

Spray area to disinfect, wait 10 seconds dwell time, wipe if desired.

For shorter prep time, longer dwell-time see: Vodka Disinfectant Spray

Linen Spray

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Use:

Foaming Handsoap

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Mix the liquid castile soap with the water in a 1:5 ratio. Store the solution in a bottle designed for pumping foam.

Use:

1-2 pumps while washing hands.

Liquid Handsoap

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Mix the liquid castile soap with the Olive Oil in a 50/50 ratio. Olive Oil can be substituted with any natural cooking oil, such as a Coconut Oil, Avacodo Oil or Almond Oil. The oil provides viscosity to the soap and benefits to the skin. Store inside a pump bottle.

Use:

1-2 pumps while washing hands.

Shower cleaner

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Mix ingredients in a standard spray bottle and swirl to combine.

Use:

Spray mixture onto toilet, sink, shower or tub, wait 5 minutes dwell-time, and rinse.

Toothpaste [Gel]

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Use:

Toothpaste [Powder]

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Use:

Vodka Disinfectant Spray

Preparation:

Combine hot water and soda in a glass spray bottle, and shake well to dissolve. Then pour vodka and essential oils into the bottle, and shake to combine.

For a longer prep, no-gloves, no-rinse, low-dwell time solution, see Disinfectant Spray (Lemon)

Use:

Wearing gloves, spray the area, and wait 5 minutes dwell time, then scrub until clean, followed by rinse.

Appendix

  1. Recommended Industrially Produced, Non-Toxic Products
  2. Storing Essential Oils
  3. Essential Oil Shelf Life
  4. Further Reading

Recommended Industrially Produced, Non-Toxic Products

Storing Essential Oils

Essential oils do not become rancid. However, they oxidize, deteriorate and lose therapeutic properties over time. Some lose aromatic quality as time passes, but not all.

To maximize shelf life, essential oils should be stored:

  • In dark glass such as amber or cobalt to block detoriative sunlight.
  • With a tightly sealed lid to prevent oxygen from entering.
  • In a cool, dark place. For best results, store in the fridge.
  • Filled close to the top, limiting the headspace for oxygen to enter.

It should also be noted that essential oils will disintegrate plastic and rubber, and so shouldn't be stored in a bottle or with a dropper of that material. An alternative to using a rubber dropper are orifice reducers.

Signs an essential oil has detoriated:

  • The aroma has changed
  • The essential oil has thickened
  • The essential oil has become cloudy

Essential Oil Shelf Life

Shelf lives of common Essential Oils:

1-2 years 2-4 years4-8 years
Citrus Basil Sandalwood
Neroli Bergamot Vetiver
Lemongrass Blue Tansy Patchouli
FrankincenseCardamom Cedarwood
Tea Tree Cinnamon Copaiba
Pine Chamomile Elemi
Spruce Oils Clary Sage Ginger
Lemon Fennel Helichrysum
Lime Geranium Myrrh
Mandarin Spearmint Pepper
Orange Lavender Rose
Rosemary Melissa Valerian
Tea Tree Neroli Vetiver
Oregano Wintergreen
Peppermint Ylang Ylang
Rosalina

Further Reading

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