Best DIY Kitchen Cleaner (No Vinegar)

Make your own DIY Kitchen Cleaner with 3 simple ingredients. It’s effective in cleaning dirt, grime, and stains, yet still eco-friendly too. Plus, it’s simple to make and cheaper than store-bought cleaners too. Find out how to make it with this guide. 

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Did you know many commercial cleaners are made with harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrances that can be harmful to children, pets, and the environment. Learn how to make your own DIY Kitchen Cleaner with instead. 

Why Make Your Own Homemade Kitchen Cleaner

Look under your kitchen sink, and you’ll likely find about bottles of cleaning solutions for kitchen counters, hardwood floors, glass and windows, carpets, and more. Look at the labels on those bottles and you’ll find a long list of ingredients that are likely harmful to your family. 

For instance, here are the ingredients of a popular household cleaner: 

Sodium hypochlorite, dimethicone/silica, PEG distearate antifoam, fragrance, lauramine oxide, sodium silicate, water, sodium hydroxide

It got an F rating on the Environmental Working Group’s guide to healthy cleaning due to the toxic ingredients in the cleaner along with the fragrance, which could be up to 300 different chemicals that make up that one ingredients. 

In a recent study, researchers found that cleaning products like multipurpose cleaners, glass cleaners, and air fresheners release hazardous levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that have been linked to respiratory problems like asthma, reproductive issues, and even increased the risk of cancer. They found that both conventional products had ingredients linked to increased VOCs. Most concerning was that these VOCs contributed to indoor pollution that was 2-5 times worse than outdoor air pollution. Researchers found that ‘green’ and ‘fragrance free” cleaners emitted less VOCs than conventional cleaners. 

It can be hard to know what to use. Be sure you read 7 Toxic Household Cleaners to Avoid + The Problem with “Natural” Store-Bought Cleaners.

Ditch the toxic cleaning products, and learn how to make your own kitchen cleaner DIY that’s fragrance free (or use essential oils as a natural fragrance) and a few simple ingredients.  

Why You’ll Love This DIY Kitchen Cleaner

• Effective all-purpose cleaner: This all-purpose castile soap cleaner can be used for virtually all surfaces of your home, including countertops, stove tops, baseboards, tubs, tile, faucets, refrigerator and freezer, and much more. It packs a lot of cleaning power in one simple spray bottle. 
• Made with natural ingredients: This homemade kitchen cleaner is made with just 3 simple ingredients: liquid castile soap, essential oils, and water. The castile soap is the surface cleaner that removes direct and grime, while the essential oils provide both a fresh scent and boost the cleaning properties. 
• Vinegar free: If you don’t love the smell of vinegar when you’re cleaning, you’ll love this cleaner as it’s vinegar free. 

Ingredients

Unlike store-bought cleaners, you don’t need a laundry list of ingredients to make your own kitchen cleaner.

• Water: Opt for filtered or distilled water. 
• Liquid castile soap: This is the natural cleaning agent in this recipe that’s mild, yet very effective at cleaning. It’s a coconut-based soap that is non-toxic and non-irritating.
• Essential oils: Optional to add a few drops of essential oil to give this cleaner a natural fragrance. Citrus essential oils like Lemon essential oil and Orange essential oil are powerful degreasers that give this cleaner an extra boost. A few drops of Tea Tree oil or even a few drops of Lavender essential oil can also be great for cleaning and give this cleaner a fresh scent. Find out how to buy essential oils at a huge discount. 

Step by Step Directions

• Add liquid castile soap and essential oils to a large glass spray bottle (16-20 oz bottle). 
• Fill the glass bottle with water and shake well. 

How to Use 

This DIY cleaning spray is effective for counters (even granite countertops), stove tops, kitchen cabinets, dining tables and chairs, bathroom counters, and even toilets. It’s my go-to household cleaner. Use it with a reusable kitchen cloth to save on paper towels.

Shake well before each use. Generously spray surface and use a paper towel or microfiber cloth to clean up crumbs, dirt, and grime. Repeat as needed until clean. You could also add a few drops of Lemon essential oil for tough stains or to degrease surfaces. It’s really effective for grease and dust-buildup. 

Tips for Using This Cleaner

Don’t mix castile soap with vinegar or lemon. 

The acid in the vinegar or lemon will cancel out the base of the castile soap. Lemon essential oil is fine to add to this cleaner because it not made from the citrus juice (the acid), rather it’s made from the rind. 

Use distilled water to make this cleaner. 

If you have hard water in your home, avoid using it to make this cleaner. The mineral deposits in the hard water may leave a film or residue on surfaces when you clean it and it’ll take a lot of elbow grease to remove it. This is not the castile soap, but due to the minerals in the hard water.

If you don’t have distilled water, you could boil the water and use it once it cools. Or use vinegar as a rinse after spraying. 

Use vinegar as a rinse after using this DIY cleaner as needed. If you notice a residue or film on surfaces, that’s actually not due to the castile soap, but due to the soap reacting to the minerals in the water. This film could build up to a layer of soap scum or soap residue.

Vinegar is a great solution for this. Use the DIY Kitchen Cleaner to clean surfaces first, and then use a vinegar spray (1 cup of vinegar per 1 quart of water). The acid in the vinegar will remove the film.

This works really well for hard water stains too, and on shiny surfaces like stainless steel, faucets, windows, and glass. 

Note before using vinegar as a rinse. 

While vinegar is an effective ingredient in many homemade cleaners, there are some instances where you want to avoid them. Avoid using vinegar on stone surfaces such as granite or marble, cast iron, aluminum, or waxed surfaces. The acid in the vinegar can etch, pit, and strip finishes or otherwise damage these surfaces. Be sure to check with the manufacturer of the surfaces or products you’re using to be sure.

Another option is to use Thieves Household Cleaner instead of this DIY kitchen cleaner as you won’t need to use vinegar as a rinse afterwards, and it is safe for granite, marble, cast iron, etc. 

Use a soft scrub first for soap scum and tougher stains. 

This Homemade Soft Scrub is simple to make and perfect for kitchen sinks, tubs, tile, and other surfaces. Or you could spray first, then sprinkle on baking soda and scrub with a sponge.

Use clean containers for storing homemade cleaning products. 

Never use bottles that once held chemicals. Label concoctions when you make them to keep your family safe, and ensure you use the right solution for the application.

Test a hidden area first. 

Before you spray a cleaner on any surface, test first in an inconspicuous spot to ensure the cleaner doesn’t damage or mar the material.

More Natural Cleaners You Might Like 

• 10 Natural Cleaning Recipes
• 12 Surprising Ways to Clean with Citric Acid
• Homemade Toilet Fizzies
• DIY Reusable Cleaning Wipes

Did you try this? Don’t forget to rate it and comment below to let me know how it went. You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Source
1. Formula 409, Guide to Healthy Cleaning, EWG.