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Homemade House Cleaners That Are Safe

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DIY Cleaning Solutions

Christine Halvorson and Kenneth M. Sheldon
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Using ingredients you probably already have, here are 12 homemade house cleaners, including an all-purpose cleaner, drain cleaner, jewelry cleaner, and more! These safe DIY cleaning solutions will do the trick for almost every household cleaning job.

Mix up your own cleaners using some common household items! Not only does this save money, but you can often whip up these cleaners on the spot. Plus, you’ll know what’s inside your household cleaners. You don’t have to use toxic chemicals to get your home clean. 

In general, you can rely on the staples such as:

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  • Lemon juice: The acidity removes mineral deposits and wax or grease buildup
  • Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate): Cleans and deodorizes
  • Mild liquid soap (castile, olive oil soap)
  • White vinegar: Removes wax or grease build-up
  • Vegetable oil: Natural polisher
  • Borax (sodium borate): Removes mildew

WARNING: Never mix cleaning products containing bleach and ammonia, as dangerous fumes will result.

1. General-Purpose Cleaner

1 teaspoon borax
1/2 teaspoon washing soda
2 teaspoons vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dishwashing liquid
2 cups hot water

Combine all the ingredients. If you don’t have washing soda (generally found in the laundry section of supermarkets), use 1 teaspoon baking soda instead. For a more pleasant smell, use lemon juice instead of vinegar. Be sure to label the bottle accordingly.

2. Oven Cleaner

2 tablespoons dishwashing liquid
2 teaspoons borax
1/4 cup ammonia
1–1/2 cups warm water

Mix the ingredients together, apply to oven spills, and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Scrub with an abrasive nylon-backed sponge and rinse well.

3. Easy Scrub

3/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup borax
dishwashing liquid

Combine the baking soda and borax. Mix in enough dishwashing liquid to make a smooth paste. If you prefer a pleasant smell, add 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice to the paste.

4. Jewelry Cleaner

1/4 cup ammonia
1/4 cup dishwashing liquid
3/4 cup water

Mix all the ingredients well, then soak your jewelry in the solution for a few minutes. Clean around the stones and designs with a soft-bristle toothbrush. Buff dry. (Caution: Don’t use this with gold-plated jewelry; with soft stones such as pearls, opals, or jade; or with costume jewelry, because it could ruin the plastics or loosen the glue.)

5. Wood Floor Polish

1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix the ingredients well, rub on the floor, and buff with a clean, dry cloth.

6. Rug Cleaner

1/4 teaspoon liquid dish soap
1 cup lukewarm water

Combine the ingredients. Use a spray bottle to apply the solution over a large area, or use the solution to spot-clean non-greasy stains. (Do not use laundry detergent or dishwasher detergent in place of liquid dish soap, as they may contain additives that can affect the rug’s color.)

7. Toilet Cleaner

1 cup borax
1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice

Combine the ingredients to make a paste. Apply it to the inside of the toilet bowl, let sit for 1 to 2 hours, and scrub.

8. Mildew Remover

1 tablespoon powdered laundry detergent
1 quart chlorine bleach
2 quarts water

Combine all the ingredients in a pail. Wearing rubber gloves, wash off the mildew.

9. Floor Wax Remover

1 cup laundry detergent
3/4 cup ammonia
1 gallon warm water

Mix all the ingredients together and apply to a small area of the floor. Let the solution sit long enough for it to loosen the old wax, at least 5 to 10 minutes. Mop up the old wax (or scrape it up, if there’s a lot of it, using a squeegee and a dustpan). Rinse thoroughly with 1 cup vinegar in 1 gallon water and let dry before applying a new finish.

10. Furniture Polish

1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
1 tablespoon boiled linseed oil
1 tablespoon turpentine

Combine the ingredients in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake until blended. Dampen a cloth with cold water and wring it out until it’s as dry as you can get it. Saturate the cloth with the mixture and apply sparingly to a small area at a time. Let dry for about 30 minutes, then polish with a soft cloth. Note that this mixture gets gummy as it sits, so make just enough for one day’s work.

11. Glass Cleaner

2 tablespoons ammonia
1/2 cup alcohol
1/4 teaspoon dishwashing liquid
a few drops blue food coloring
water

Combine the ammonia, alcohol, dishwashing liquid, and food coloring, then add enough water to make 1 quart. If you prefer a non-ammoniated cleaner, substitute 3 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice for the ammonia.

12. Carpet Freshener

1 cup crushed dried herbs (such as rosemary, artemisia, or lavender)
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda

Combine all the ingredients in a large jar or other container with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well to blend. Sprinkle some of the mixture on your carpet, let it sit for an hour or so, and then vacuum it up. It will give the room a pleasant smell and neutralize carpet odors.

Are we missing any cleaning solutions that you’d like to have on hand? Please let us know in the comments below.

See our article on natural cleaning and the 6 ingredients that get the job done.

Cleaning
About The Author

The Editors

Under the guiding hand of its first editor, Robert B. Thomas, the premiere issue of The Old Farmer’s ÃÛÌÒÁµÈË was published in 1792. Read More from The Editors
 

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Comments

Yvonne DeProspero (not verified)

11 years 5 months ago

My husband had a lung removed in the latter part of 2009, we spent 4 months in the hospital. I worried about how to keep things clean and sanitized so I asked the girl that was cleaning the rooms. She told me the crap they use at the hospital wasn't any good for home use, it would do more harm then good. So I read a bottle of hand sanitizer and bought the ingredeance made my own cleaners, out of alcohol & aloe, for sanitize the bathroom and the kitchen. While I was looking for something to wash the clothing in I found baking soda & vinegar cleans and whitens as well as softens. I hope this help someone out there. None of this has a harsh smell either :) As for an oven cleaner I use a paste made up of poroxcide and baking soda,aply a good amount let set of a while and when I go back to wipe it off it looks like new:) I hope all of these little things may help some one out the reading this.

Lenie (not verified)

11 years 7 months ago

I just wanted you to know that I have linked your site to my blog "Frugal for Everyone". My blog deals with cutting the cost of groceries but since April is spring cleaning time along with Earth month it made sense to combine being frugal with being environmentally smart. Using natural clean-ing products accomplishes this.

BC (not verified)

12 years 2 months ago

A friend shared what has become my favorite 'all purpose' spray cleaner. 1 part each of alcohol, vinegar, and water (I use 2 parts water and still works great!). We hated the vinegary smell so put the alcohol in a quart canning jar and added peels of 5-6 lemons and limes. Let it sit for about 10 days, strained and refrigerated. Now we use that alcohol in the recipe and it works and smells wonderful.

bobbie s. (not verified)

12 years 6 months ago

I never use fabric softner, instead 1/2 cup vinegar. No vinegar smell on clothes, if you want add some essential oils to vinegar. If static is a issue wad up some aluminum foil into a ball and put in the dryer. I also make a all purpose cleaner by soaking lemon peel in vinegar for about 10 days the straining, works great as a daily shower cleaner no scrubing.

Josephine (not verified)

12 years 8 months ago

Hello,
This is somewhat embarrassing. I have a son with autism and he rocks back and forth all day and the room smells of sweat. Furthermore, he smokes. I cannot stand the smell in my living room and I will not even have visitors over. I have tried vinegar in bowls but it does not work. Does anyone know of a POWERFUL room deodorizer? I would appreciate any help!!!!

Have you tried boiling lemons or cinnamon sticks. I have done the cinnamon sticks for the fall and then added some lemon slice see it's wonderful

Michelleinct (not verified)

11 years 3 months ago

Hi Elyzabeth!
A great way to get rid of smells around the house without overpowering perfumes is 3 cups HOT water, 3 heaping tablespoons of baking soda, and 1/8 cup fabric softener. Mix all 3 ingredients together in a spray bottle until the baking soda is dissolved and you're good to go. If the smell is REALLY tough you can add 1-2 tablespoons of white vinegar. I find it usually does the trick without having to use vinegar though. Hope this works well for you!!

Josephine, Because your child has autism, he may be very sensitive to perfumes and chemicals. We'd suggest consulting with your doctor or You may find this autism Facebook community a great place to start: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Autism-Support-Network/150100405892 This is another wonderful community: http://www.facebook.com/CareAutism We wish you all the best. Kind regards, TOFA

sam j (not verified)

12 years 8 months ago

Homemade Stain Remover (Shout)

2/3 cups Dawn Dishwashing Liquid
(I had Palmolive on hand, so that's what I used)
2/3 cups ammonia
6 Tblsp baking soda
2 cups warm water

Mix everything together and pour into a spray bottle. I got this one at Wal-Mart for about a buck. (I actually got SEVERAL of them for the array of natural/homemade cleaners I have started using. My inventory continues to expand!)

Before you go to use it...if it's been sitting for awhile...give it a good shake. As you can see in this picture...it does tend to separate a bit. But after a quick shake it's good to go. To use: spray on stains as you normally would. I usually let mine "soak in" for a few minutes at least. Then launder as usual.

In this case, since the chocolate stain posed a bit more of a challenge...I took a few extra seconds (literally, that's all it took) and rubbed the fabric together where I'd sprayed and when I was finished was somewhat shocked to see the stain was practically already GONE! It's still there....but barely visible. My old bottle of "real" Shout never did that!

Yes Dawn Dishwashing Liquid is a great stain remover. My sister use to go to a Chili Cook Off and the cooks there use Dawn on their chef coats to remove the grease and stains. I guess if anyone should know what to use on kitchen messes on clothing it would be professional cooks. My sister uses it to pre-treat all her dirty clothes before throwing them in the washer. Once I ran out of my regular cold water wash for my delicates and ended up using Dawn instead. It must have a water softener as well as a degreaser in it because my white delicates came out a bright white. They were whiter than white. I also am a dedicated user of Dawn now.