Cleaning products are some of the most essential items in your home. Making sure your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and other rooms are clean can help your space feel homier and help you feel more relaxed. When everything’s clean, people often feel their mental space is better as well.
However, cleaning products are expensive, and there are so many to choose from! Yet, making your own products for cleaning is a great DIY skill to save a ton of money! In this article, we’ll discuss why many people make their own cleaning products and how you can easily make them yourself!
Why Would You Want to Make Your Own Cleaning Products?
Many regular pantry items, such as baking soda or vinegar, work just as well as expensive cleaning products and cost almost nothing to obtain. Not only do these staple items work as well as expensive cleaning products, but they are also better for the environment and contain fewer chemicals.
Putting aerosol sprays and harmful chemicals into the air can damage our ozone layer and ecosystem. So during a time when we should put sustainability at the forefront of our minds, it’s a great idea to make your own cleaning products and reduce your carbon footprint.
What Kinds of Products Can You Replace With Homemade?
In the list below, we’ll discuss several examples of effective cleaning products you can replace with homemade versions. However, this list is not exhaustive. The truth is that you can replace virtually any cleaning product you own with a more affordable, more environmentally-friendly homemade version.
All-Purpose Cleaner
All-purpose cleaner is exactly what it sounds like. You can basically use it to clean anything. From wiping down your counters to dusting coffee tables to clearing off the stove, you can do it all with an all-purpose cleaner!
To make a homemade, scented all-purpose cleaner, you’ll need one part white vinegar, one part water, lemon rind, and rosemary sprigs. Simply combine the ingredients and pour them into a spray bottle. For best results, let the ingredients infuse for about a week before using.
Kitchen Cleaner
Your kitchen is probably one of the messiest places in your home, and corners like your oven, fridge, and microwave can probably use some cleaning TLC. To make an effective kitchen cleaner from homemade ingredients, combine four tablespoons of baking soda with a quart of warm water.
Baking soda is amazing as a deodorizer, and after cooking a big meal, that’s precisely what your kitchen will need. To scrub stainless steel appliances or sinks, you can also form baking soda and water into a paste.
Glass Cleaner
Glass cleaners like Windex definitely give your windows and mirrors a newfound shine, but they also leave behind harsh chemicals in the air. So instead of opting for a store-bought glass cleaner, make a homemade one using two cups of water, half a cup of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, and a quarter cup of rubbing alcohol.
You can also add a few drops of essential oil for a pleasant fragrance. However, this is optional. Not only will your windows and mirrors be squeaky clean and streak-free, but your bathroom will also smell fresh after using this cleaner!
Brass Cleaner
You likely have some brass around your home, whether you realize it or not. Household things made with brass are typically either decorative items or collectibles, cabinet or drawer pulls, or they may even be lighting fixtures.
Try this two-ingredient brass cleaner and polisher to keep these items from getting tarnished so they can continue to shine. All you need is lemon juice (or white vinegar) and table salt! Just dampen a sponge using your liquid of choice and then sprinkle on the table salt. Scrub the brass items down, rinse them off with water, and they will look as good as new!
Bathroom Cleaner
Bathroom cleaners are designed for porcelain sinks, countertops, tubs and showers, and tile floors. However, many bathroom cleaners contain ammonia or bleach, which can be abrasive to your bathroom and your lungs and throat if not used properly.
To make one cleaner that will accomplish all of these bathroom tasks using homemade items, try this: Fill a jar or spray bottle with one and a half cups of baking soda, half a cup of warm water, half a cup of liquid soap, and two tablespoons of white vinegar. You could also add a little bit of lemon juice if your bathroom is particularly grimy.
Heavy-Duty Scrub
Sometimes, you just need a robust, heavy-duty scrub for things like rust stains on porcelain or spots on stainless steel sinks and appliances. While you might think you can only get these stains out with harsh chemicals, you can often do the same with this two-ingredient scrub.
You’ll need half a lemon and half a cup of Borax powder to make it. Then, just dip the lemon into the powder and scrub your surface before rinsing.
Grease Cleaner
If you cook a lot, you likely have a lot of built-up grease in your oven, stove, or sink. To get rid of grease using a homemade cleaner, you’ll need to use this two-ingredient solution to cut through heavy oils and fats.
Use a half cup of sudsy ammonia and enough water to fill a one-gallon container. Then, dip a sponge into the solution and wipe down all necessary surfaces before rinsing with water. Make sure not to use this solution on aluminum, as it can darken it.
Stain Remover
Some form of stain has likely been present on every clothing item you own at some point, but some stains are much trickier to remove than others. For a last-ditch effort at tough stain removal, combine one gallon of hot water with one cup of powdered dish detergent and a cup of liquid chlorine bleach.
While this method will only work for white clothes, you can place all of these ingredients into a large stainless steel, plastic, or enamel bowl and soak your items for 15-20 minutes to remove the stains. It’s worth a try. Some people swear by this method for cleaning food-stained baby clothes.
Marble Cleaner
While you cannot use many cleaners on marble or granite because some chemicals will corrode them, this two-ingredient marble cleaner does the trick. You only need two drops of mild dishwashing liquid and two cups of warm water. Rub the mixture over the marble and then rinse with clean water to remove any soap residue.
Laundry Detergent
Making your own homemade laundry detergent is simple, cheap, and effective for high-efficiency machines. You’ll only need two ingredients to make laundry detergent: Sal Suds (or another comparable concentrated all-purpose cleaner) and baking soda.
Just use two tablespoons of the cleaner with a quarter cup of baking soda for one load. You can also add a quarter cup of white vinegar to the mix if you need to brighten your whites.
Do Homemade Products Really Work?
Not only do homemade cleaning products really work, but they are also much safer, gentler, and cheaper than their store-bought counterparts. So if you want to stick to your budget while still keeping your home fresh and clean, explore our list and try your hand at making your own cleaning products. You’ll thank us later!
