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Cleaning with essential oils is one of the most effective ways to rid your home of harsh chemicals that are in store bought cleaners. Pure essential oils have antibacterial properties, antimicrobial properties and even antifungal properties! They are concentrated, smell amazing and when added with other natural ingredients are an incredible way to effectively clean every surface of your home. In this post we’ll discuss my favorite essential oils for cleaning and I’ll give you a few of my tried and true essential oil cleaning recipes. Ridding your cleaning routine of harmful products is one of the easiest ways you can upgrade your home. 

Green Cleaning with essential oils

I ditched commercial cleaners a few years ago after reading too much on the horrors of their toxic ingredients. Just read the warning labels on the back of your products. If my child will die if they drink it, I don’t want it in the house or sprayed all over everything!  

Making your own DIY green cleaning products is actually very simple and VERY cost effective.  Essential oils are antibacterial, antiviral, anti fungal and anti microbial and do an excellent job cleaning everything from counter tops to toilets!

Natural living doesn’t have to be expensive or hard. Homemade cleaning products are the easiest natural DIY cleaning recipes to make and some of the most effective. Grab a reusable glass spray bottle, vinegar, baking soda and a few essential oils and you can remake almost any cleaning product your home requires. 

5 Reasons Why You Should Clean w/ Essential Oils:

There are so many benefits of essential oils and it’s not just about adding them to DIY beauty products or diffusing. In my household I always use a simple homemade multi-purpose cleaner, linen spray, glass cleaner, furniture polish and a carpet deodorizer all containing essential oils. In my opinion, the best essential oils for spring cleaning are lemon, tea tree and lavender. The three smell beautiful together or apart but each have fantastic antibacterial qualities.

I also like to a peppermint spider spray and recently been using a baking soda soft scrub on sinks and tubs. The possibilities are endless and I really don’t think there is one cleaning product that can’t be made better with a few simple ingredients and essential oils. 

  1. Essential oils are safe for your household. They come from nature and while it would be dangerous to ingest or handle a large amount of essential oils without dilution, they are safe when diluted in a homemade cleaner. Keeping essential oil bottles out of reach is much easier than locking down an entire cabinet that is typically at the exact height of a toddler. 
  2. Essential oils have powerful cleaning properties because of their molecular makeup. Studies have shown over and over again that the antibacterial, anti-fungal, antimicrobial properties of essential oils are quite powerful. They are effective germ cleaners minus the toxic smell that comes along with germ killing products containing bleach. 
  3. Essential oils are extremely concentrated. A little goes a long way making them affordable choices. I use 10-15 drops per cleaner and since a typical 15 ml bottle of essential oil contains around 300 drops, you can see how economical using essential oils for cleaning can truly be. Especially since the rest of the bottle is typically filled with a very cheap substance such as white vinegar or even water. 
  4. Essential oils smell amazing without containing toxic fragrances. They will make your home smell good naturally. Not to mention they can mask and rid your home of unpleasant odors. 
  5. All essential oils have effective cleansing properties so you can curate the scents of each cleaning product you make. The most effective cleansing essential oils (lemon, lavender and tea tree) all smell amazing whether alone or when combined. 

The Top Essential Oils for Cleaning:

Where to Find the Best Essential Oils:

I get most of my oils from Plant Therapy. I like them because of their free, fast shipping, affordable prices, organic, high quality oils and huge variety. I also love Mountain Rose Herbs essential oils as well. 

Quick Tips for Cleaning With Essential Oils:

  • Add a few drops of lemon to your dishwasher, garbage disposal and trash can to freshen up lingering odors. 
  • ​Add a few drops of lemon to a small box of baking soda and place in the fridge to soak up odors.
  • Sprinkle baking soda in your kitchen sink or bathtub wet a sponge and add a few drops of tea tree or lemon to the sponge and scrub! 
  • Place a cotton ball with lavender inside smelly shoes.
  • Use orange essential oil to remove stubborn gunk and sticky residues. It’s a miracle worker!
  • Use lemon oil to remove permanent marker.

All-Purpose Cleanser:

Lemon, lavender, tea tree and Germ Fighter (Thieves) work really well.  I sometimes just use Germ Fighter when we are under attack during flu and cold season.  (you know when your kid gets in the car after school and thinks it’s so funny that so and so threw up on their shoe?)

Check out my homemade Thieves essential oil blend!

All-Natural Air Freshener:

  • Add 1 tbsp. of cheap vodka or witch hazel to a glass bottle
  • Add 30-50 drops of essential oils
  • Top off with water

I use 30-50 drops of lemon and lavender in the spring and summer.  I love adding citrus essential oils but now that my cats are 100% indoors, citrus oils and tea tree are not a good idea (certain essential oils are poison to cats. Learn more HERE).  

I use this spray anywhere and everywhere.  I freshen up upholstery, spray over comforters and sheets, spray over clothes that smell stale and of course we have a bottle in each bathroom.

DIY Cleaning Products

Shower Spray:

  • 1 cup of Dish Soap
  • 1 Cup of White Vinegar
  1. Heat the white vinegar in the microwave then add to a 16 oz. spray bottle. 
  2. Add dish soap.
  3. Replace cap and thoroughly shake. 

Spray on shower tile and even glass shower doors. Let sit for 30 minutes then using a brush, scrub until soap scum is gone. Rinse thoroughly and that’s it! It works so well.  

This recipe did not come from me. I found it on One Good Thing By Jillee. She’s amazing with diy cleaning recipes and has such a large following that comment on the efficiency of each recipe. 

Wood Polish:

  • 2 tbsp. Fractionated Coconut Oil
  • 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 4 drops Lemon Essential Oil

Mix all ingredients into a spray bottle and shake.  To use, spray on wood surfaces and remove with a dusting cloth.

Carpet Deodorizer:

  • 2 cups baking soda
  • 30 drops lavender essential oil 

Add both ingredients in a sifter canister like THIS.  Gently sprinkle evenly over carpet, wait at least an hour then vacuum thoroughly.    I like to do this as soon as my girls go to school then vacuum up before they get home.  We’ve had a couple of stomach bugs as well as a few animals having accidents so this little DIY comes in handy!

Sinks & Tubs:

As mentioned above, create a soft scrub by sprinkling baking soda on the surface of tubs and sinks. Wet a sponge, use a few drops of essential oil on the sponge and get to scrubbing. The combination of baking soda and essential oil can be quite potent. If the sponge doesn’t do the job, you can always use a brush. 

Toilets:

  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 3/4 cup Borax
  • 15 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil 
  • 5 drops Lemon Essential Oil 

I use this recipe for super bad toilets.  We live on a well and wells don’t contain chlorine or fluoride so toilet rings are inevitable.  I find this recipe is the most effective.

To Use: Dump all ingredients into the toilet bowl and scrub.  Allow to set in the toilet for several hours then scrub again and flush.

If you are on city water and don’t deal with super dirty toilets, you can make a simple spray solution of white vinegar and about 20 drops of lemon essential oil.  Spray outside of toilet, the seat and inside the bowl thoroughly.  Sprinkle baking soda inside the bowl and use a toilet brush to scrub.

More Cleaning Recipes:

I hope this has been a helpful post.  Adding essential oils into your cleaning routine is a safe and natural way to rid your home of a lot of harmful products. Commercial cleaning products are so incredibly toxic not to mention the money adds up and there’s literally a product for everything. Making your own natural cleaners cuts down on products and is a great way to simplify under your sink! If you aren’t into DIYing, I also love using THIS multi purpose product and wrote a post HERE on how I use it.  

xx, Jenni

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Green Cleaning with Essential Oils

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Jennifer Phillips

Jennifer Phillips

Jennifer Phillips worked as a licensed aesthetician for over 8 years before creating the green beauty blog, Jenni Raincloud and her natural skin care line, J. Raincloud Organics. Jennifer has been blogging full time for 9 years and loves to gain and share knowledge on how to achieve beautiful skin the natural way.

3 thoughts on “DIY Green Cleaning with Essential Oils”

  1. Jenni,
    First of all, I am crazy about your nail polish! Have to have it! I’ve been using a cleaner like your all purpose cleaner for years and it really works. Eucalyptus oil is one I through in sometimes…it just smells so clean and refreshing. And I’m going to try the cleaner with the vinegar and dawn. My tub could use a little help. Thanks as always for the great ideas!

    1. Elizabeth-Thanks!! I hadn’t thought of eucalyptus-that’s a good one! I’m not sure what my polish is-it was super cheap from Target and I don’t like to use it because I’m not sure if it’s free from most of the harmful ingredients. I’ll see if I can find a safer hunter green!

  2. I am so inspired by your recipes and information. I love the carpet deodorizer; it really makes the whole house smell great. Since I have dogs, I like to vacuum up a tablespoon of it directly into my vacuums weekly. Then when I am vacuuming, it permeates into the vacuum filter, bags, or canister making my chore a lot more enjoyable. I enjoy using the citrus oils to combat old vacuum smells.

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