Homemade Cleaning Products Recipes
One of the ways I save money is by not buying too many cleaning products. It’s not only less expensive, but often it’s better for the environment to avoid harsh chemicals. And with the right mix of ingredients, homemade cleaning solutions often work just as well, and sometimes better, than their store bought counterparts.
The three ingredients I always have on hand for cleaning are baking soda, vinegar, and Dawn dishwashing detergent.
You can clean almost anything with these three items.
- To clean windows, mix 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar, and up to 1/2 teaspoon of Dawn in a spray bottle. It cleans windows beautifully!
- For floors, add 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon hot water and mop away!
- My favorite bathroom cleaner is a spray bottle filled with 1/2 cup Dawn and as much vinegar as the bottle holds. It works better than any commercial tub cleaner I’ve ever tried!
- For cleaning toilets, mix 1/4 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup Dawn, and 1/4 cup water. Let sit on the toilet bowl for a couple of hours, swish with a toilet brush, and flush.
- Plain baking soda works just like scouring powder. It’s also great for deodorizing carpet. Just sprinkle on the carpet, let sit for a while, and vacuum up!
Here is a video of me showing you how to make a batch of bathroom cleaner with Dawn and vinegar.
Have you ever tried homemade cleaners? What is your experience? Do you have any great recipes? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
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By Lynnae McCoy, on Jan 29, 2008
I'm Lynnae, wife of one and stay-at-home mom of two. I'm committed to getting out of debt by being frugal with my choices in life.
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I once tried homemade washing gloop, but gave up, too messy. I now use one tablet per wash with some white vinegar instead of softener.
I haven’t bought cleaning products for ages, just vinegar, baking soda and an enviromentally friendly product called ‘Stardrops’. I’m not sure if its available outside the UK though
:)
For tough greasy stains you can try the gel type hand cleaner that mechanics use. You can get a big ole tub for a few bucks and it will last a looooong time. It really works, too.
I need a mop! I scrub floors because most of our apt is carpet and our kitchen and bathroom are so little…but I should really get a mop at some point.
I definitely use making soda and the like. The grittyness really helps with my sink and bathtub, for instance. And for blocked bathtubs–baking soda followed by vinegar!
On your mix for floors what about hardwood?? Do you use the vinegar mix on vinyl flooring? I just use AJAX (or equivalent brand) on toilets etc and it’s quite inexpensive…not sure about environemntally friendly since it has bleach though.
I am going to try your bathroom cleaner recipe…
Thanks!
I use baking soda for A LOT of things, it is great for deodorizing and can work wonders in a tub!
I always use Dawn for homemade bubble solution (dawn and glycerin =really cheap to make, fun to use bubble solution!)
Thanks for the recipes, I will have to try them out!
Take Care
LJ
great ideas….I need to get away from the cleaning by gadgetry syndrome!
and it is good for our environment too, cause vinegar is just a natural product. thanks for posting that.
take care,
Léonie.
I am wondering about the vinegar smell… is it strong, especially when mopping? I am trying to get away from ‘store bought’ cleaners and have laminate wood flooring through out most of my home.
Thanks,
Jay
yes the smell of vinegar depend on how much you put in your mop water. it only takes a little bit.
and another thing you can use vinegar for is fabric softener
3 c vinegar
1 bottle of your favorite smelling hair condition
6 cups of hot water
put all in a pitcher and stir.do not shake.
pour that into a empty soap of fabric softener bottle
use 1/4 to 1/2 cap per load
I use the vinegar to clean bathrooms and the smell can be overpowering. But I would rather use it than all the chemical cleansers.
The Dawn on Windows thing is an interesting idea. We have fairly hard water where we are and have a tough time with our shower glass.
I’m really glad I found this site. I’m 4 months pregnant and a clean freak. When the doctor told me no more cleaning with the current products I’ve been using (clorox, comet, and etc) I didn’t know what to do!
Thanks so much for posting these. I’m going to give away all my cleaning products and just use your solutions!
Thanks for this! I already tried the toilet bowl cleaner and I think I’m converted!
I make my own laundry soap! Here’s the recipe:
1 bar bath soap
1 cup washing soda
1 cup baking soda
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
Grind together in your food processor. Use 2 Tablespoons for a full load. I also use it for general housekeeping. It costs 2 or 3 cents per use.
I also use Dawn to fight laundry stains, and white vinegar as a fabric softener. (The smell disappears when the clothes dry.)
White vinegar is so versatile! I love using it as a rinse aid in my dishwasher, as well as for keeping ants off my counters. (Bugs can’t stand the taste of acid.)
Your blog is awesome, Lynnae–keep up the good work!
I make my own laundry soap using fels napah bar … One cup washing soap…one cup borax…and boiling water but it gets really congealed and I end up having to reheat and dilute it…any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong?
Nowadays with Dawn liquid so concentrated, do you really need 1/4 cup? It seems like about half of that would do the trick. Plus be easier to rinse.
Thanks for the tip. I love the idea of being frugal AND environmentally safe.
Hey,
:) I’m a huge advocate of homemade, natural cleaners. The one I talk about the most is the Very Vinegar Cleaner – so easy that it’s ridiculous!
In a clean plastic spray bottle (nothing that has contained harsh chemicals) pour about 1/4 cup or so of white vinegar. Fill the rest of the way with cold tap water, and for good measure – a small squirt of natural liquid dishwashing soap. Gently shake the bottle to combine. Voila – instant cleaner that is good for literally every surface.
I have a free listing of homemade cleaning recipes for all of you at http://www.happyslob.com/cleaningrecipes.html . Hope you save money by using these instead of harsh (and pricey!) chemicals.
Take care,
Christina
What’s the product equivalent to Dawn in the uk?
Can i buy it in the uk?
I’m out of toilet cleaner, so I’ll try your recipe. Does it have to be Dawn? Or can I use any dish detergent?
I’ve taken to adding about a cup of vinegar to the dishwasher. We also have hard water–the vinegar eliminates that haze on glassware and makes everything come out sparkling clean, especially if you use an enzymatic dishwasher detergent.
I’m also curious: Does it have to be Dawn? How about clear Ivory? Or a bit of laundry detergent?
For hard floors (but not real wood and prob’ly not laminate), spring for the cost of an inexpensive steam cleaner. I call it “a steam iron on a stick.” Cleans floors magnificently with nothing but water! No mopping, no dirty mopwater smell, and no hassle. Soooo worth the cost!
How do you clean tubs and showers with hard water? I have to use The Works because, well it’s the only thing that works at getting off the iron stains. We also do not buy or wear white unless it’s undergarments because they turn orange/brown with repeated washings.
I found these to be great ideas but can’t use dawn. I am allergic to dyes and fragrance. We clean with diluted tea tree oil. It kills everything that bleach does but is much easier on the skin and the environment. We also use vinegar for the bathroom and kitchen fixtures. When scrubbing the tub we make a paste with baking soda, laundry soap (All Free and Clear), and a few drops of tea tree oil or peppermint oil to kill bacteria.
I keep a spray bottle handy in my kitchen with 1/4 vinegar, the rest water. I spray my stove top, counters, everything with it. I LOVE it. Someone was asking about the vinegar smell. It dissipates quickly, and freshens the air. A trick to get a burnt-toast smell or actual smoke out of a room quickly is to wave a rag that’s saturated with vinegar! Also, you can leave out an open bowl of it for awhile or overnight. It’s awesome at air-freshening. Vinegar is an acid. So don’t spray it and leave it set on porous surfaces such as marble. In addition it can scratch and dull plastic over time (like the outside of your coffee maker.) Great post. I’m always happy to meet frugal people.
My favorite cleaner is the following:
1/2 cup vinegar
1/3-1/2 cup scented rubbing alcohol
fill the rest of the spray bottle up with water.
The scented alcohol covers the vinegar smell (I hate that smell) and speeds up drying time!
I forgot to mention in my comment above:
I have found both wintergreen scented rubbing alcohol and citrus scented. It is located in the pharmacy section of your favorite store. I have been able to get mine a the dollar store!
I keep these things on hand at all times:
Calgon water softener
vinegar
baking soda
murphy’s oil soap
wintergreen rubbing alcohol
regular (not ultra) Dawn
20 Mule Team Borax (cold water & borax gets stains out of clothes, even most old stains)
One reply to a question posted above about the lingering ODOR of vinegar. Yes, it does smell a wee bit like a pickle jar. But, it goes away really quickly. And you can mask it a tiny bit by adding a fresh squirt of lemon juice.
I’ve sort of gotten used to the smell of vinegar nad now equate it with = clean!
Take care,
Christina
Do any other dish soaps work as well as Dawn?
I would like to know about Dawn.U are using this in toilet cleaning formula.
I’m so excited to have found this site! I plan to try all these wonderful formulas. Thank you! Everyone calls me cheap and a tree hugger… I call it monetarily and environmentally conscious.
Another homemade cleaner is lemon juice. I use lemon juice in my garbage disposal for the scent or you can add a little of it anywhere you want a nice lemon scent. ALSO, lemon juice works wonders on RUST STAINS. I use a small amt of lemon juice on my clothes that are stained with rust (and may work on other stains too) and let the garment set out in the sun. Wash / Launder as usual and rust is gone. I even used lemon juice on my patio furniture this spring to remove rust circles from cans, etc.
Just found out how to get oil/grease spots out of my shirts from cooking. A little dab of Dawn dish detergent, rub in and wash. Spot GONE! I couldn’t believe it! The oil/grease spots wouldn’t come out with Shout or other spot removers typically available at the grocery store. Dawn works like a charm every time and saves me money too!
Many tasks are fine with just vinegar alone…. but obviously baking soda is another thing that is just as versatile….
I like using vinegar to clean glass… the smell makes me wanna clean glass all day (weird I know!!)
I am curios. Do you really have to leave the cleaner on the toilet for two hours? Is this only for staining or does it take that long to disinfect? Is there a faster way, I have a four year old with a teeny tiny bladder and there is no way our only toilet could be unusable for two hours not even at night! Thanks in advance.
Olive oil and lemon juice work well as an alternative to Pledge or other dusting sprays for wood.
Rubbing alcohol and water is great for getting spots out of carpet. It works faster and better than Resolve, and it dries quickly too.
Been using some of your “recipes” since August and I love em. Thanks for the info!!
hey here in Australia we get Dawn if that helps..
Peroxide works great on fresh blood stains. Pour and scrub, then wash as normal.
Nothing is wrong with making your own products. All you need is two basic ingredients as you said: vinegar and baking soda. They can handle almost any household cleaning task you can think of.
I’m so glad I found this post! I made the bathroom cleaner last night and cleaned my tub with it…it worked great! I’m going to try some of the other ideas from the comments, too! Thanks so much!
Rust Stain Removal: i have a pool with a deck that had some rust stains on it from patio furniture and other stuff….i found that rubbing a vitamin ‘C’ tablet on the rust stain works great! had to look a bit to find the ‘larger’ tablets as the small ones are hard to rub in as they crumble immediately….i wore gloves after scraping my finger tips a few times…..
also works on rust stains in your pool, just rub it in the best you can and while pretty tricky, try and lay one on the spot (this can usually only be done on your steps or hot tub as the motion of the water will move it very eaily
I paid a company to come out and clean my windows. I found that when they got there, they had an oblong sponge on a stick plus a squeegee. I asked the man what solution he used. He has been doing this many, many years and this is his only business. His answer surprised me. He said he puts a few drops of DAWN dishwashing liquid into water, applies it with the oblong spong on the stick, then squeegees the window. That’s all he uses!
He made my windows crystal clear.
Great site. I enjoy being told how to save money.
I live in the southern California desert and the concrete deck surrounding my swimming pool is stained with a white chalky substance.
Any suggestions to clean that stuff?
Thanks,
John
You reminded what a great product Dawn is (I’m a waitress and grease stains come right out of my uniforms) It also reminded that newspapers work great on windows instead of paper towels and peroxide is a great pretreater for clothes (it can yellow whites if it sits too long). Rubbing alcohol can also remove ink stains.
I had to clean my apt kitchen today and what better way to clean than to use Vinegar and baking soda. I liked the way it cleaned. I thought I was the only one but has anyone ever thought of making it into one product and adding some scented oils to it or even lemon juice. All three would clean, deodorize and sanitize!
Leslie said:
“has anyone ever thought of making it into one product and adding some scented oils to it or even lemon juice. All three would clean, deodorize and sanitize!”
What quantities of each would you use?
Now, is this Dawn you use the ultra formula or the “original” original?
how do you clean granite and natural stone surface.
i have been buying a really good cleaner made by METHOD HOME.
They have a website, a company based in Boston. They are available
at Lowes, Target. I just buy the REFILL bottle around $ 7.
I would really love to cut the cost of cleaning the GRANITE counter
top, and the Natural Stone floor to the bare minimum, if I could…
any suggestions of successful trial in the past?
Lynnae, thanks for this website. I will copy and paste some
of the suggestion above. Yes, indeed, cleaning supplies are the
most expensive items when I do my grocery, and the cost seems to be
going up. I almost fainted the other day, CVS has PALMOLIVE with
OXY for $ 1.00 (special price), the bottle seemed very small, its
a 10 oz indeed. I will def try to do my own cleaning supply in the
future…
Any suggestion on Granite and Natural Stones?
Thanks a lot!
Ams
I like to use lemon juice to clean hard water build up in the sinks. I just let the juice sit there until the stains start to break up and then rinse it away. Plus, there’s nothing more fresh and clean smelling than lemons!
And another tip…for jewelry…I scrup rings and such with toothpaste to bring back that like-new luster!
Do you think lemon juice will work on bathtub stains. I have like white bulid up rings around the tub that no matter how hard I scrub it will always come back once I’am done.
Window or glass cleaner used by my mother for years and now by me.
Equal parts of white vinegar, methylated spirits and water. Shake well before each use. Keeps well. Rub on and then “polish” off with a dry cloth.
Thanks! It’s crazy how many, sometimes expensive, chemicals we use everyday. I decided to make my own when my sensitive cuticles started to bleed because I didn’t have gloves.
Hello! I have found that when you are wearing cleaning gloves, your hands tend to sweat inside them. I used to work at a meat packing plant and that is where I learned this: When wearing rubber cleaning gloves purchase gloves that are a size larger than you need. First, you put on white cotton gloves and then over the cotton gloves you put the rubber gloves. Insulates your hands against heat and the strength of your cleaners; you can make your water as hot as you want! Great for dishes!
I like to use lemon Joy to clean windows, you can add to a bucket of water if you’re doing alot or put some with water in a spray bottle, cuts all the film off and you have sparkling clean windows. Used this in my housecleaning business when doing windows.
Laundry Soap-
4 cups water
1 Fels-Naptha laundry soap bar
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
Grate bar soap, and put in small saucepan with the water. Heat until melted. Meanwhile, fill a 5 gallon bucket half full with hot water. Add Washing soda and Borax and then melted bar soap. Stir to combine, and then fill the bucket the rest of the way. Cover with lid and let sit overnight. Fill a used laundry soap bottle half full of the soap and then top off with water.
This makes 10 gallons of laundry soap, and all you need is 1/4 cup for front loader machines (approx 640 loads!) or a little over half a cup for top loader machines(180 loads!) I have tried a few other homemade laundry recipies, but this BY FAR is the best I have tried. And it smells good because of the bar soap.
Thanks for providing the liquid version of this laundry recipe. I keep trying to get my mom to try it but she does not have enough room to store the gel detergent. This is definitely a super concentrated cleaner so thanks for the tip on how you dillute yours with the used laundry soap bottle and the ratio of water to soap.
can you use this in a washing machine that uses HE detergent only??
i think it is a smart way and you could even save more money.
i wounder how vineger smells does it smell strong or not strong.
It is strong when wet but as evaporation continues the smell is slightly less. Vinegar mixed with baking soda makes a nice apple smell. You can try that if you cannot handle the smell of the vinegar. You may want to try using the vinegar a few times and see how you like or dislike the smell as it does take a while for the smell to lessen when used alone.
My tip for cleaning drains: I pour a half cup to one cup of baking soda (just depends on how much I can get down and how long it has been) down my sink drains followed by a cup or two of white vinegar to clean out the drains. They smell wonderful for days afterwards and they drain much better. The best part was no more sewer smell when I still lived with city sewer services.
several years ago,my family started to use face clothes as dish rags.they work like a sponge and you cut down on the usuage of dish soap.also try using vinegar on your cookie sheets and other baking pans,you will love the results.beats using heavy chemicals that do not rinse off the way you what them to. thanks for the tips and recipes.
Wow. I am glad I stumbled here! I have been making my own laundry detergent for a while, just started using my own dishwasher detergent and looking for recipes for dish soap (not dishwasher!). I have a blog with products that I make and sell with patterns and how to’s for sharing! I recently fell in love with a swiffer cover pattern that is completely reusable (I have used mine over 50 times easy at this point) and costs only a few dollars to make! Works for mopping, dusting, sweeping, and more. I think this blog is great for sharing and helping each other out in this crazy economy! I am going to share a linkback with my blog readers! Thanks for all the information!
Great way to make your own swiffers!!!! My tip is to use a large dish cloth or old wash cloths they tuck perfectly into the slots, my best find yet is old cloth diapers. You can find them at thrift stores for .10 cents or you can buy a bundle from wally world for under 10 bucks if the thought of used diapers is an issue. I use them wet or dry and toss them in my washer when I wash towels. I love my swiffer and cloths, but will never buy dispossables again!
INTERESTING use of Dawn. We hired a highly reputable company to clean our windows and they did a fine job. I asked what product they used and they said they take a gallon of water and mix in a few drops of DAWN. They apply it with a sponge and then use a squeegee to remove the water and then polish with what looked like cheesecloth or a diaper. The cost was $450 for them to wash inside and outside window surfaces, so now I’m doing one room a week — at least the inside windows.
Josie
You should really think about building up this site into a dominant player in this market. You clearly have a good grasp of the areas everyone is searching for on this site anyways and you could potentially even make a buck or two off of some ads. I would dive into following recent headlines and raising the volume of blog posts you put up and I bet you’d start receiving some good traffic in the near future. Just a thought, good luck regardless!
I’m usually not the guy to post my opinion on people’s write ups, but for this post I simply had to do it. I’ve been browsing through your site a lot nowadays and I am super impressed, I think you might potentially emerge as one of the main voices for your niche. Not sure what your schedule is like in life, but if you started devoting more effort to writing on this site, I’d guess you would start receiving a bunch of visitors eventually. With advertisements, it might emerge as a nice second revenue stream. Just something to ponder. Good luck!
Good info, will have to try the dawn and vinegar in the spray bottle.
Hello. I have some questions. I am looking for a recipe for homemade jubilee kitchen wax. It has been off the market shelves for years and I still miss it. Anyone have any idea of how to make it at home? Also what cleanser are people using on marble floors? You can’t use vinegar (my old standby) because of the possibility it will pit the floors. Also here is a good hint. When you clean your windows dry them with old newspaper. It shines them like nothing else.
I haven’t tried it but my husband says car wax works the same especially for anything fiberglass. Barb
Cleaning with vinegar can be tricky. You need to have enough water in the mixture to eliminate that vinegar smell yet still clean effectively.
If you ever get watermarks on your finished wood furniture, take a little mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip) on a soft cloth and wipe it over the watermark and watch the mark disappear before your eyes. Works on any kind of finished wood furniture.
Thanks for the reminder. I always forget about these little tips which save me bundles. Mayonnaise works good on getting egg and glue out of doll hair too.
I’ve used white vinegar in my laundry for about 10 years. It’s softer, brighter and I can use less detergent and softener, plus it helps prevent blacks from fading. It keeps the laundry smelling and looking so fresh and clean. I use Dawn on all laundry stains, even if it’s been through the dryer already! I cover the stain and let soak, maybe for a few minutes, maybe for a few days. It’s the best stain remover ever and has saved so many clothes. (as a wife and mom of 4 it’s needed) dilute fabric softener with water and moisten a lint free rag, use as a dryer sheet over and over. I also keep a spray bottle with 50/50 vinegar and water to spray on the tiles, tube and sink once a day. It prevents build up’s. Used coffee grounds mixed with some mineral oil makes a great wood furniture buffer/cleaner/shiner. Instead of heavy cleaners in the carpet cleaner I use 3/4 vinegar, 1/4 hot water with 2 lids of fabric softener. My carpets are clean and smell wonderful. With 4 kids and 5 pets I hate the idea of them laying on the strong carpet chemicals. Mix baking soda and a little dawn to use as a scrub. If you have a musty/smelly basement or garage… cut an onion in half, place on a plate and put in the room to help absorb odors. Have smelly teenage boy (or husband) gym shoes? cut up an old pair of panty hose/stockings/toole etc, fill will baking soda and stuff in the toe of the shoes with a dryer sheet. Depending on what cleaner I’m making I might add either liquid fabric softener or a few drops of a scented oil (or fresh lemon) to add a nice scent. Don’t be afraid of the vinegar smell! it’s been my best cleaning friend and won’t make the family or pets sick. How many times have you or the kids coughed due to strong chemical smells? My husband used to laugh at me for the vinegar and Dawn in our laundry. When he had to make budget cuts in his hotel he mixed spray bottles of Dawn and water to use as a stain remover and used vinegar (except when using bleach) when washing pool towels. He was surprised to find that it worked better than the expensive sprays and the pool towels were softer :)
Does anyone have a recipe (homemade) for dusting spray for wood?
Quick question: is the Dawn brand liquid dish soap required, or can it be any liquid dish soap? Thanks for all these tips!
I just wanted to say thank you for your idea on the oven cleaner! I really liked using it and felt it was very safe for myself and my family! Thank you for your suggestion! I have also used newspaper when cleaning glass with glass cleaner. You can wipe it off in any direction and you do not have streaks! Yea! Thank you!
I know my Grandma used to always use baking soda for cleaning and scrubbing things but I had no idea it could be used to deoderize things!
It’s amazing to see a product with so many uses, thanks for teaching me something new.
Joy
A sea salt scrub is great for cleaning your oven! It’s non-toxic, cheap and reliable.
I am a brand new business and i found this information to be very helpful. I used your info and added a lil imitation vanilla for a scent ( imitation has a stronger smell and is less expensive.
i would also like to add that you can soak cotton balls in vinegar and place in tub, wall, or shower stall corners while you clean the rest of the bathroom, then go back and lift out the cotton balls and wipe up the loosened filth!
Thank you!
I make my own softsoap.
2 bars of soap will make a gallon of soft soap.
Just grate you favorite soap in to a gallon of water. heat till melted.
We buy shaving razors at dorcousa.com for a fraction of the cost at the store.
We buy our prescription glasses at zennioptical.com (6.95/pair)