A simple DIY two ingredient all purpose natural cleaner using apple cider vinegar and lemon essential oil is what I use around here for most messes. Generally if I cannot pronounce something I won’t clean with it. Apple cider vinegar made from our own apple peels and cores, leaves behind a sweet scent with a splash of citrus throughout my home, void of typical all purpose cleaning pollutants this all purpose cleaner is my go to.
A source of toxins in our homes comes from the very products we in fact use to clean our homes. Many cleaning products contain ingredients that can irritate your skin, eyes, nose and throat. They can also be poisonous if swallowed, even in small doses.
Chemicals in these products used for all purpose messes often times include ammonia, ethylene glycol monobutyl acetate, sodium hypochlorite or trisodium phosphate.
A simple DIY two ingredient all purpose natural cleaner using apple cider vinegar and lemon essential oil is what I use around here for most messes.
Two ingredients, apple cider vinegar and an essential oil, pretty simple and inexpensive. I don’t have a personal preference on essential oils, really I use a variety of brands, but I’ve found a scent like lemon to be a good mix with vinegar.
On it’s own apple cider vinegar has a slightly sweet acidic scent to it, but it dissipates quickly and it’s cleaning abilities are perfect for an all purpose natural cleaner. I like to mix mine and keep it in a glass bottle, these ones from Amazon not only came packaged nicely, but are the perfect size for your everyday mess cleanup.
I use these dissolvable labels for everything. Nothing irritates me more with my glass items than a label that sticks forever, and only comes off enough to leave a sticky mess. These dissolvable labels are amazing and I use them for so many things on our homestead. A little warm water and they come right off.
Over the summer and fall we had an insane amount of apples here, so the kids and I spent many afternoons prepping and making our own apple cider vinegar. It has a much sweeter apple scent to it than store bought apple cider vinegar.
Using Apple Cider Vinegar & Lemon for General Cleaning
To use apple cider vinegar for general cleaning, follow these steps:
- Fill a glass spray bottle 1/2 of the way full with apple cider vinegar.
- Fill the rest of the spray bottle with water.
- Add 10-15 drops of essential oil of your choosing, I use lemon.
- Shake the mixture until it has a clear, consistent light brown color.
- Spray down countertops, stoves, bathtubs, toilets, sinks, and furniture with the mixture for general cleaning. I leave mine to sit for 3-5 minutes for heavier messes.
How to Use Natural All Purpose Cleaner in Your Home
Depending on where I’m cleaning my methods vary. For toilets I will spray it all down and leave it for a half hour to an hour in the toilets before scrubbing clean. This is gentle on our septic, as well as our overall health.
For the kitchen, bathroom counters, kitchen floor spills I spray leave to sit for a minute or three and then wipe away with a damp rag. For cutting boards, and kitchen utensils I spray and leave it to dry, no wiping needed.
I love to use this natural all purpose cleaner to clean our laminate floors, I mix this solution into my steam mop as well, leaving my floors streak free and clean.
For our garbage disposal I sprinkle baking soda, and pour apple cider vinegar right into the sink, making a volcano explosion for the kids enjoyment, an excellent way to get rid of the stink that comes along with a garage disposal.
Seriously simple, inexpensive, and easy for any DIY’er.
With the cost of well everything lately, minimizing your output expenses by replacing some household cleaners is a simple option, as well as a confidence booster for beginning to bring healthier items into your home.
Why is Apple Cider Vinegar A Good All Purpose Cleaning Agent?
Vinegar has been proven to effectively kill the following:
- E. Coli
- Salmonella
- Listeria
An interesting fact for us Americans, throughout the American civil war and right up to the first world war, soldiers used apple cider vinegar as a disinfectant to clean and disinfect wounds. If you’d like to nerd out and really see how and why apple cider vinegar has some pretty serious attributes in our history you can nerd out here.
Sometimes the simplest of things, pack a serious punch.
Lemon Essential Oil For Cleaning
- Lemon essential oil is an excellent way to give yourself a quick olfactory boost with the energizing, and clean scent that is associated with citrus.
- Cleans and purifies.
- Non-toxic
- Safe around animals and children.
One of the very first steps into our self-sufficient lifestyle was creating different cleaning products for our home. Not only did it help me begin purging unsafe products in our home, but also encouraged me to ditch more store items, and begin creating my own.
An oldie, but a goodie.
Happy Cleaning!
Danielle
The Introverted Homesteader