- Benefits of homemade cleaning products
- Popular ingredients in homemade cleaning products
- 4 homemade cleaning product recipes
Have you always been curious about making your own cleaning products? If so, you're in luck - today we're sharing 4 of our very own, tried and tested homemade cleaning products that are super easy to make and amazingly effective.
Our four fantastic concoctions will show you how easy it is to get your floors, bathroom, worktops and dusty shelves clean with just a few ingredients you probably already have in your cupboards.
Not convinced?
Benefits of homemade cleaning products
Unsure if homemade cleaning products are worth the time, or energy? There are numerous benefits of making your own cleaning supplies, including:
- More environmentally friendly - the harsh chemicals in traditional, shop-bought cleaning products can cause real harm to the environment. Whilst water plants do a good job of cleaning our water before it's released into the environment, they can't remove everything, and it's not unusual for traces of chemicals to find their way into rivers and cause problems for aquatic wildlife. Homemade cleaning products contain just a handful of ingredients, the majority of which are natural - good news for the fishies.
- Safer for children and pets - shop-bought cleaning products often come with some rather severe health warnings. Whilst we try to keep our kids and pets in sight at all times, it isn't always possible - homemade cleaning products are much less corrosive and, therefore, if accidents do happen, much less risky.
- More cost-effective - £2 here and there soon adds up, and before you know it, your cleaning is starting to really cost you. Homemade cleaning product recipes are often extremely simple, only requiring a few, budget ingredients.
- Better for skin - have you ever accidentally spilt bleach on your hand? Modern cleaning products can be extremely irritable to the skin and leave your hands looking red and dry. Homemade cleaning products often contain mainly natural ingredients, meaning they're much gentler for the skin. If bleach has left a smell on your hands, check out our other article for tips.
Not only that but, they'll also give you:
- Better air quality - have you ever had to leave the bathroom when cleaning your shower due to the intense fumes? Studies have shown that indoor air can be more polluted than outside air! This is mainly down to the volatile organic compounds which cleaning products emit, which don't dissipate. Homemade products might not smell as good, but they don't affect the air quality anyway nearly as much.
- No secret ingredients - have you ever taken the time to check the ingredients on the back of your limescale remover? You may be surprised at what you find! The long list of ingredients is likely to feature things you've never heard before. We're often told that 'healthy' food includes only ingredients we can recognise - the same can be said for cleaning products. Going homemade means you know exactly what's going on and what risks you're running by using the products.
Popular ingredients in homemade cleaning products
Many people think that homemade cleaning products will require a whole cupboardful of special ingredients, but that's just not the case. Many homemade cleaning products contain similar ingredients, most of which are 100% natural and extremely cheap to buy.
Our 4 homemade cleaning product recipes contain just a variety of the following 5 ingredients.
Olive oil
We're always told how good olive oil is for us. Not only can it benefit us on the inside and out, but it's also pretty good for our furniture!
It's extremely nourishing properties are great for shining and buffing furniture, making even an old cabinet look new.
Lemon
The tang of citrus fruit is pretty useful when it comes to cleaning. The acidic nature of lemon juice, in particular, is amazing at breaking down limescale and making quick work of built-up grime.
Distilled white vinegar
Distilled white vinegar is truly magnificent. If you can look past the smell, this extremely cheap product will do wonders for your home.
Its acidic nature is surprisingly powerful for cutting through gunk, grime and limescale too.
This budget product is about to become your new best friend.
Washing up liquid
Washing up liquid is often underrated. Not only is it great for cleaning dishes, but a whole other host of sticky situations too. Plus, it smells glorious!
Essential oils
Essential oils are often added to homemade cleaning products to enhance the smell of the mixture. Alongside this, many also have additional benefits including anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.
4 homemade cleaning product recipes
It's time to get the ball rolling! Below you'll find 4 of our very own, tried-and-tested, homemade cleaning product recipes.
They're quick, they're cheap, they're easy - what's stopping you?!
1. An all-purpose cleaner (that will leave your surfaces shining)
A good, reliable all-purpose cleaner is a must-have in every home. They do exactly what they say on the tin - or bottle, in this case - and can be used to get everything from glass to metal spick and span.
All you need to make your own homemade, all-purpose cleaner is:
- Distilled white vinegar
- Essential oils
- Water...
...so there really aren't any excuses!
2. Homemade natural wood polish (that will save you a fortune!)
When it comes to wooden furniture, nothing beats a bit of nourishing polish.
Our homemade wood polish is fantastic at both removing dust and dirt and also renourishing and shining furniture.
The secret's in the olive oil, which along with distilled white vinegar, lemon and essential oils, makes this completely natural homemade cleaning products a real winner.
3. Homemade bathroom cleaner (that gets AMAZING results)
Bathrooms are one of the hardest places to clean in the home. All those soap suds, that limescale and not to mention toilet scum are pretty time-consuming to get rid of.
It's amazing what a difference a good bathroom cleaner can make, and ours is just the ticket.
Vinegar, washing up liquid and essential oils are all you need to cut through just about anything and leave your bathroom smelling fresh.
4. Homemade floor cleaner (great results with just 3 ingredients!)
Floor cleaners can be one of the most expensive cleaning supplies to buy. This seems a real waste of money, especially when a homemade version does the job just as well.
Best of all? You're just 3 ingredients and a few pennies away to flawless flaws!
We hope you 'll find our homemade cleaning product recipes useful! Tell us about your results in the comments below.
This article would have been so helpful if the amounts of the ingredients were listed & which essential oil you should use!
Hi there, Harmo! If you click the orange subheading above each cleaner, it'll take you to another page that lists all of the ingredients quantities and gives you more details about each cleaner. Thanks for getting in touch.