We made a video a couple of years ago about 5 homemade cleaners, and, well, it alllllllmost broke the internet.  Almost.

I know that DIY cleaners are a big hit – they work so well and save money (and are secretly fun to make!).  So, I’ve come up with 5 more amazing Homemade Cleaners that you can make for pennies.  Here we go!

Natural Stone Cleaner

We will start in the kitchen and kick things off with a natural stone cleaner and this is great those of you who have quartz, granite or marble countertops.  There are major precautions you need to take when cleaning these in order not to ruin the finish nor the stone.

So, rather than purchasing specialty natural stone cleaners, which can get right up there price-wise,  all you need to do is mix:

  • 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol
  • 3/4 cup water,
  • a couple squirts of dish soap and
  • 10 drops of essential oils if you please.

Always remember to label your bottles! 

The rubbing alcohol dries quickly which helps with shine and offers you some disinfecting properties.  It won’t harm the stone, and the essential oils help make the mixture smell lovely and can also offer other antibacterial properties.  Simply mix and shake, spray on, wait a moment and wipe off with a microfiber cloth to reveal a beautiful shine.

I have used this on my quartz counters since getting them, and have been sharing this recipe for years.  Keep a bottle handy at all times in the kitchen and watch the savings roll in!

If you need to add some new cleaning tools to your arsenal, then look no further then Maker’s Clean Products. They offer affordable cloths and cleaning products to get you on the right track to a cleaner and fresher home.

Produce Wash

Produce wash can be expensive, but the concept of washing away most pesticides and bacteria is an attractive one.  What’s even cooler is that your produce actually tastes better when it’s cleaned thoroughly and that waxy residue is removed!

So to create your own dirt cheap produce wash, add:

  • 1 cup of water
  • 2 tablespoons of baking soda
  • 1/2 cup of white vinegar (pour in super slow to avoid eruption)

to a spray bottle or mason jar.  It’ll fizz up, so let it settle down.

When you’re ready to wash, place produce into a bowl.  Remember, shake the bottle before use! Now, spray or pour it all over your produce and leave it for about 5-10 minutes.  Then, depending on the produce, massage it in or scrub with your hands or a small palm brush, and rinse to remove those vinegary, baking-soda-ey flavours.  Voila, clean, flavourful produce!

This is great because vinegar and baking soda are safe to consume on their own, so we’re using super safe ingredients to clean our greens…and yellows, reds, whatever you’re eating.  I love this stuff and have a bottle handy in the kitchen.

Linen Spray

Linen spray helps freshen linens by offering up a gentle scent which can be calming and help you sleep, and also provide the room with a pleasant ambient scent. You can purchase linen spray from specialty home stores and of course, they’ll come bottled and labelled and cost a fortune. This stuff is so cheap and easy to make it’s laughable, and I really want you to have some of your own!  A quick note to pet owners, if your four pawed baby sleeps on your bed, ensure you research proper and safe essential oils for your pet first, since some can be harmful to pets.

So get out a spray bottle and add:

  • 1 part distilled water,
  • 1 part cheap, flavourless and colourless vodka, and
  • 30-40 drops of your favourite colourless essential oils.

Look for essential oils which have calming properties though, you don’t want to be spraying energizing EOs all over your bed and give yourself a case of the toss and turns!

Shake well, remove your blanket and lightly spray onto your linens.  Allow this to dry before getting into bed. Have yourself one peaceful sleep, enjoy!

Electronics and Touch Screen Cleaner

If you really want to save money, you have to make this recipe.  Rather than buying fancy screen and electronic cleaners, heck even glasses cleaners, make your own!  Use distilled water and at least 70% rubbing alcohol.  Distilled water has no minerals that could leave residue behind and you can usually get it at a big box store or drug store.  The recipe is simple!  Mix:

  • one part rubbing alcohol
  • to one part distilled water,

keep it in a bottle and start cleaning your electronics and glass!  The rubbing alcohol serves double duty of removing grease AND bacteria, and will dry super quick to avoid residue or streaks.

To use this, lightly spray a corner of an optical microfiber cloth and wipe the surface once with the wet corner, and then quickly buff dry.  Gorgeous, right?   You MUST use this with a microfiber cloth, paper towel or cotton cloths can scratch the surface.

You might even want to find mini spray bottles at the dollar store and mix some up to keep at your office.

Bathroom Scrub (soap scum, hard water stains, etc.)

I know that most of the people really lament cleaning the bathroom – I know, because I’m one of them.  I recently I came across this great homemade recipe for a bathroom scrub that I must admit – makes cleaning the bathroom a lot easier!  In fact, it’s quickly become my go-to for the bathroom and I think you should try it.

In a container, I add:

  • One part dish soap to
  • one part baking soda
  • add a few drops of water until the mixture forms a paste
  • and sprinkle in a few drops of essential oils to make your cleaning experience more enjoyable.

Add the product to a sponge, pre-treat the dirty area, be it soap scummy tile walls, crusty bathtubs or a sad looking sink, wait a minute or two and then scrub, rinse and buff dry.  Soap scum and grime literally melts away – this product cuts through the nastiest of bathroom challenges.  I think you’ll love it!  Now, it can’t be stored, so only make as much as you need for each cleaning task.  This is the perfect product to replace a cream cleanser in the bathroom.

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I’d love to know, what’s your favourite homemade cleaner recipe! Share it with me, or any cleaning questions you have in the comments down below.

If you’re looking for more tips and tricks to keep in mind when cleaning around the house check out our E-Book Bundle! It gives you access to our E-Books My 3-Wave Cleaning System, 50 DIY Cleaning Recipes, and The Complete Guide to Essential Oils!

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on amazon.com.

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Melissa Maker is an entrepreneur, cleaning expert, founder of Toronto’s most popular boutique cleaning service, and star of the Clean My Space channel on YouTube (but she still hates to clean!). Every week, Melissa delivers new videos dishing expert advice on cleaning products, tools, DIY substitutes, and practical, timesaving solutions to everyday problems. Melissa has appeared on the Today Show, and has been featured in InStyle, Real Simple, and Better Homes and Gardens.

44 COMMENTS

  1. I was wondering if you have a recipe that will get grease from machines and oil also on the slacks that my Husband wears to work. Something I can either rub on with hands or scrub in with a tooth brush.

    • We have never tried this. Essential oils are extracted from the plant/herb in a very specific way, so I am not sure you would receive the same benefits, but if you are just after the scent then your method may work.

    • I launder all my rags and dish towels my in hot water, detergent and no or very little fabric softener (in the winter, the static cling is so bad I have to use fabric softener or else the lint, strings, etc won’t come off the micro fiber cloths.) Tumble dry to help remove lint.

  2. My favorite cleaner is a degreaser for laundry. Make a small solution of hydrogen peroxide and a few drops of original Dawn detergent, mix together and scrub spot with an old toothbrush and let it sit for at least 10 min. I need help with candle wax on a wall. (Candle got knocked over) I’ve used a plastic scraper, tries boiling water and wiping with a sponge. Nothing works to get the last of the wax iff. Help!!

    • Try putting a paper bag over the area and using a iron on top of the paper bag the candle wax will adhere to the bag make sure to keep it moving constantly

  3. I know how much you like to use essential oils and tea tree is one of your favorites so I thought I’d pass this along: Essential oils can be toxic to cats and cases have been reported of serious illnesses caused by tea tree oil, including flea treatments and shampoos containing it. I hope you see it, I know this is an old post.

    • Try Dollar Tree I get a lot of different things there, my spray bottles, storage containers, stuff like that and it is dirt cheap even now with prices going up.

  4. An O-cel-o dish wand half full of dish soap (Seventh Generation Free & Clear) and half white vinegar with a few drops of essential oil to clean the tub & shower. O-cel-o dish wands are more durable than Scotch-Brite’s and O-cel-o’s non-scratch sponge head really works, lasts way longer and still looks good while doing it (unlike Scotch-Brite’s). I don’t dislike Scotch-Brite as a brand, but O-cel-o wins the dish wand wars. However the Scotch-Brite Dobie sponge for dishes is pretty awesome and last longer than the non-scratching blue ones.

  5. I love these affordable and eco-friendly cleaners. I myself have been using a lot more in my daily cleaning routine. Loved the comment about the vodka being cheap – don’t wanna waste it!

  6. I wish your website had been available 52 years ago when I was first married. Cleaning still overwhelms me, but, with your help, not any more.

  7. Great video and great recipes! I recently started making my homemade cleaners and it’s so easy and fun. And they clean so well. Your recipes are really a good addition to those I make for my home cleaning.Thank you for the useful information and hints!

  8. I’m going to make the linen spray when I get home today! Is vodka the only beverage you can use? Thanks so much for sharing.

  9. Do you have a carpet cleaning solution recipe? I made one today that I came across on Pinterest and it was a major FAIL. The recipe called for vinegar, oxy clean, a drop of dish soap and hot water. Once mixed together and poured into a spray bottle, it started to bubble uncontrolably and the whole solution started shooting out the sprayer causing a giant mess all over my floor! What a mess! I didn’t even get to try it on the carpet! lol

  10. Hi I have a friend whose kids have managed to get whiteboard marker on her beige carpet. It has been on the carpet for about a month, and seems well set in. Do you have any ideas on how to remove it.

    Les.

  11. Hi!
    I have an urgent question as to if I can use fragnance oil instead of essential oil in making fabric softner with white vinegar??

  12. Hi Melissa ! First, Thank you for these awesome and precious advices !
    My question: can I clean my stove with the Natural Stone Cleaner “recipe” you shared?

  13. I just found your site and LOVE it! Thank you for sharing all of your tips. I have an Ikea kitchen and quartz counters too. You mentioned that you use the natural stop one cleaner on your quartz; will it not harm or remove the shine like a vinegar/water solution?

  14. I am wondering why the bathroom cleaner cannot be stored? A side note mold does not like baking soda so if people are having mold issues this recipe should also help with the mold

  15. What brand spray bottles do you use? I have used cheap ones and expensive ones (I love the look of the casabella ones) but they all break within a few months, especially the more sleek looking ones. Help!

  16. Thank you for these “recipes”. I am putting them together today! Have you considered doing “Printables”? That would be great!

  17. Hey Melissa! Absolutely love your DIYs!! Is there an alternative to using vodka or any other beverage for the linen spray recipe?

  18. Melissa! If you use rubbing alcohol on your iPhone/iPad screen it will remove the Oleophobic coating, That’s why it’s better to use just distilled water.

  19. Thanks for these tips Melissa, vinegar is one of my all time favourites when it comes to cleaning. I use it for everything from windows to removing carpet stains and even as a weed killer in the backyard! Love the produce wash idea – I hadn’t thought of using vinegar for that!

  20. I wish I had known these thing’s in the 1960’s. I make my own window cleaner.
    1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup viniger, & 1/3 cup none sudsing ammonia. A few drops of blue food coloring. Cleans windows inside & out . You might want less potent so adjust by increasing water & less viniger & ammonia. I prefer this to store bought. Love your videos. Keep them coming. Cheers

  21. I enjoy your videos! I have tried some of your other homemade cleaners and will not be purchasing toxic commercial ones anymore. I wonder, have you ever thought of putting out a “cookbook” for all your homemade cleaner recipes? I would purchase it for sure!

  22. I think you are special and I am so glad I found you. It was by accident; I just asked the computer the right question. One thing I should alert you to is Concrobium. I looked high and low to find it. HDQ happens to be in the city I live in, San Jose, CA, but I did not know that. I found a place to order it online. When it arrived it scared me to death. I noticed it is distributed in my city and I called them. It seems there are more than one products available. The one I sent for called for goggles and hazardous suits (did not know this but it was written on the can). I told him this was much too scary and wanted to return it. He said I had ordered the “big boy” which is for professionals only and one must leave one’s home for a period of time. There are less toxic versions available. You might want to contact the company so you alert your viewers to some of the pitfalls
    Pat Alligood USA

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