Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe: A DIY Guide

A basic homemade all-purpose cleaner is just ¼ cup white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of castile soap or phosphorus-free dish soap, and 2 cups of distilled water in a spray bottle. For grease, swap in a mix of ½ teaspoon washing soda, 1 teaspoon Dawn, 1 teaspoon Borax, and 2 cups water; for wood, use vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice. These cost pennies compared to store brands. Two rules: never mix a vinegar cleaner with bleach (it makes toxic gas), and skip these DIY cleaners when you truly need to disinfect — reach for a registered product instead. Here are the recipes.

Why make your own cleaner?

• The ingredients are ordinary things you likely already have.
• They’re low-toxicity and gentler than many commercial cleaners (though see the note on essential oils and pets below).
• They cost a fraction of a $5-10 bottled cleaner.

Ingredients and supplies

Safety note: never combine a vinegar-based cleaner with bleach (or bleach with ammonia) — those mixes release toxic gas. Make and use one type of cleaner at a time.

DIY all-purpose cleaner with vinegar

A simple mix for most surfaces (avoid it on natural stone like marble or granite, and on unsealed wood, where the acid can etch or dull the surface).

Step 1: Measure ¼ cup vinegar, 1 tablespoon of castile soap OR washing soda OR phosphorus-free dish soap, and 2 cups distilled water (boiled water works too). Note: vinegar and castile soap partly cancel each other out, so for a soap-based cleaner, pair the soap with washing soda rather than vinegar.
Step 2: Funnel everything into a spray bottle and shake gently.
Step 3: Optionally add a drop of food coloring so you don’t confuse it with water.

The video below shows the process.

Grease-cutting cleaner with Dawn

For built-up grease, vinegar alone won’t cut it — add more firepower.

Step 1: Measure:

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

Step 2: Combine in a spray bottle (leave room for the sprayer) and shake.
Step 3: Add food coloring if you like.

Use it on porcelain tubs and sinks, tile, and greasy kitchen surfaces. If you spray it on kids’ toys, rinse them well afterward.

Wood cleaner

Step 1: Measure ½ cup white vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and (optional) 1 tablespoon vegetable glycerin.
Step 2: Combine in a glass spray bottle and swish.
Step 3: Optionally add a few drops of lemon essential oil.
Step 4: Spray on and wipe with a dry microfiber cloth.

Shake before each use — the oil separates from the vinegar at rest. (For sealed hardwood floors, test in a hidden spot first; many wood-floor makers recommend a pH-neutral cleaner over vinegar.)

Making it smell good (and a pet caution)

A few drops of essential oil make any of these cleaners smell great — citrus (lemon, grapefruit, orange, bergamot), herbal (rosemary, basil, mint), or floral (rose, lavender, geranium). Lemon-rosemary and grapefruit-mint are nice combinations.

Important if you have pets: many essential oils — including citrus, tea tree, eucalyptus, and pine — are toxic to cats and dogs, and cats are especially sensitive. If you have pets, either skip the oils or keep treated surfaces and the oils themselves well out of their reach, and ventilate the area. If a pet ingests or reacts to an oil, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.

When to skip DIY cleaners

Homemade cleaners clean well, but they don’t reliably disinfect. Use a registered commercial disinfectant instead when:

• Someone’s been seriously ill — after something contagious like flu or COVID-19, use an EPA-registered disinfectant or properly diluted bleach.
• You know bacteria is present — e.g. a fridge or freezer where food spoiled after a power outage.
• You’re treating mold or mildew — these often need bleach or a dedicated mold product to keep from returning.

For everyday cleaning, though, the homemade recipes are a great, low-cost choice.

FAQ

Conclusion

Mixing your own all-purpose cleaner is cheaper and gentler than buying branded bottles, and takes just a couple of minutes. Match the recipe to the job, keep oils away from pets, never mix cleaners with bleach, and reach for a commercial disinfectant when you genuinely need to kill germs.