Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe: A DIY Guide

When you ask someone the thing they dislike the most, the answer may be housecleaning. It’s one of those jobs that just never seems to be finished. As soon as you get something to sparkle and shine, it’s inevitable that your pet springs in with muddy paws or your kid and their friends spill juice or milk everywhere. And then you’ve got to deal with the mess.

If you’re one of those folks who loathes cleaning up after everyone else’s catastrophes, don’t fret! Whether you’re shelling out for a pro cleaner, starting your own cleaning business, or looking to amp up your DIY cleaning, we’ve got just what you need: the best homemade all-purpose cleaner recipes.

These recipes use natural, non-toxic ingredients that you’ve probably already got on hand. They cost far less than those expensive brand-name products and they get the job done! 

Benefits of Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner

You might be wondering what’s the point of making and using a homemade cleaner in lieu of something you can just pick up at the store along with your eggs and milk. Here are a few benefits of sticking to the homemade stuff.

• Homemade products use ordinary ingredients, things you’ve probably got on hand already.
• Common ingredients for homemade cleaning products are non-toxic and safe to use around kids and your pet dog.
• It’s way less costly to mix up a homemade cleaner than to shell out $5, $10, or more on something in a fancy bottle on a store shelf.

So basically, you’ll spend pennies on the dollar, keep your family and fur babies safe, and you might not even need to shop for ingredients. That makes homemade cleaning products a total winner as far as we’re concerned.

Ingredients and Supplies to Make Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner

Here are the super-simple ingredients and supplies you’ll require if you want to mix up a bottle of homemade cleaning solution.

DIY All-Purpose Cleaner with Vinegar

Let’s begin with a very simple mixture that you can use to banish dirt from almost any surface in your home.

Step 1: Measure out ¼ cup of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of either castile soap, washing soda, or phosphorus-free dish soap, and two cups of distilled water. Boiled water is an absolutely acceptable substitution for distilled water. 

Step 2: Using your chosen funnel, pour all ingredients into a glass spray bottle and give it a little shake to combine.

Step 3: Some people like to add a little food coloring to distinguish the mixture from plain water or anything else you might have in a spray bottle.

You can see just how quick and simple it is to mix up an all-purpose cleaner. You can add essential oils to make it smell good. We’ll list out a few of our favorites later in this article.

Watch the video below to see how it’s done!

Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe with Dawn

What if you’ve got to attack a greasy surface? While vinegar can definitely banish small amounts of grease thanks to its acidic quality, you might need some additional firepower to get rid of built-up grease on your stove top. Here’s what you should do.

Step 1: Measure out these household ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon of washing soda
• 1 teaspoon Dawn dish soap
• 1 teaspoon of Borax
• 2 cups of distilled or boiled water

Step 2: Put all ingredients into a spray bottle, making certain to leave room to insert the sprayer without the bottle overflowing. Shake it up to combine the ingredients.

Step 3: Here again, you could add a drop of food coloring or some essential oil for fragrance if you want to.

This mixture can be used in your bathroom to clean your porcelain bathtub or sink, your mirrors, plus wall and floor tiles. You can use it in the kitchen to banish grease, or pre-treat the floor. You can even spritz it onto your kids’ dirty toys to get them sparkling! Just make sure to rinse them before giving them back.

Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner for Wood

You might be wondering, what about mixing up a cleaning product that’s safe to use on wood. Here’s our recipe.

Step 1: Measure out ½ cup of white vinegar, ¼ cup of olive oil (doesn’t need to be extra virgin, cheaper versions will do just fine), 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and (optional) one tablespoon of vegetable glycerin.

Step 2: Add the measured ingredients to a glass spray bottle and swish to combine them.

Step 3: If you want, add a few drops of lemon essential oil and swish again.

Step 4: Spray on wooden furniture or wooden floors and wipe with a dry microfiber cloth.

With this wood cleaner recipe, you’ll want to shake the spray bottle before using it every time. The oil will separate from the vinegar when it’s not being used in active cleaning.

All-Purpose Cleaner That Smells Good

We’ve already mentioned that getting out your essential oils and adding a few drops to each of these homemade cleaner recipes can help everything smell terrific. Here are a few essential oils to try.

• Citrus oils: lemon, grapefruit, orange, bergamot
• Herbal oils: rosemary, basil, mint
• Floral oils: rose, lavender, chamomile, geranium

You can mix and match, too. For example, citrusy lemon and herbaceous rosemary make a lovely-smelling combination, and so do grapefruit and mint. Feel free to have some fun with it!

When to Avoid Using Natural Homemade All-Purpose Cleaners

There are a few housecleaning situations where it may not be the best idea to use a homemade cleaner. In fact, you’ll be better served by choosing a commercial cleaner that you can buy at the store or order online. Here are some examples.

• After a serious illness. When someone in your home has been sick, particularly if they’ve had something contagious like COVID-19 or the flu, you’ll want to use something with bleach to disinfect your home and prevent germs from getting spread around.
• When you know bacteria is present. One example might be if you lost power during a huge storm and food in your freezer and fridge went bad. You’ll need to use something stronger to get rid of disgusting smells and kill any bacteria that might linger.
• When treating mold or mildew. These fungi can be challenging to kill, and if you don’t actually destroy them, they’ll return with a vengeance. You may need bleach or a specialized mold/mildew cleaning product instead.

We’d say that homemade products are fine and even preferable most of the time. They’re less expensive, non-toxic, and they get the work done!

FAQ

Conclusion

The bottom line here is that mixing up an all-purpose cleaner at home is easier on your wallet than buying branded products at the store. It’s also safer since the ingredients are mostly non-toxic. In other words, you can be a winner at both cleaning and budgeting if you take a couple of minutes to whip up some all-purpose cleaner using one of the recipes from our Pros.