Part of my quest to live a simpler, less toxin filled life has led me to start making my own multi-purpose, all natural, kitchen cleaner.
Actually, calling it a kitchen cleaner is doing it an injustice as I use it EVERYWHERE! And the best part about it is that because it contains no bleach I can spray it on the curtains, cushions, husband – anywhere really that needs a bit of a spruce up.
I have three main issues when it comes to shop bought spray cleaners:
1. They ALWAYS make me cough. Granted not as bad as the oven cleaner but after using the sprays I can feel my chest getting tighter – and that horrible chemical smell just doesn’t do it for me.
2. They’re EXPENSIVE. You don’t really realise until you stop using them how expensive they are. After all, they are one of life’s necessities if you want a non-sticky, non-stinky, clean, hygienic
kitchen right? But if you want a decent spray cleaner you’re looking at least £2.50 a bottle!
3. I would ALWAYS end up covered in bleach. I don’t know how or why but the bleach in these sprays would almost always end up on my clothes. I’ve lost count how many pairs of trousers and tops I own with the little burgundy bleach patch present.
And trust me, you may think it’s a bit of a faff to make your own kitchen sprays, but once you try it – you’ll be hooked. You never run out because it take a couple of minutes to whizz up another bottle and like I said, you can also use it on all surfaces.
I’m going to share with you my favourite kitchen multi-purpose cleaner recipe…
Please note: I use (cheap) vodka because I don’t really like the smell of using vinegar, although the smell does go within a couple of minutes. Witch Hazel is another alternative to either vodka or vinegar.
You can also mix it up when it comes to your essential oils. I tend to stick with more citrus smells, mostly because it’s personal preference but I also think they smell “cleaner” and have added benefits.
Ingredients:
– Vodka / White Vinegar / Witch Hazel
– Water
– Essential Oil(s)
– 500ml Glass Spray Bottle (preferable because of the essential oils, will explain further in the post) spray bottle.
Method:
It really is simple to make!
Just add approx 50ml of Vodka/100ml white vinegar / 100ml witch hazel to your bottle.
Fill the rest up with water and then add 30 drops of essential oils.
I use 10 drops of lemon, 10 of grapefruit and 10 drops of a blend called OnGuard which is a mix of clove, eucylptus, rosemary and cinnamon.
Give it a good shake and voila – your kitchen spray is DONE.
Is it as hygienic as shop bought cleaner?
Good question. Well, it clearly doesn’t have bleach but you don’t need bleach to make sure your worktops are clean!
The reason I use vodka is that it gives a streak-free shine to my work surfaces and alcohol is, of course, a natural disinfectant, meaning that it kills any germs and bacteria that could be lurking.
Vinegar and witch hazel also have their good points but I’ll leave that for another post.
Essential oils
Frankly, the main reason I use essential oils is because they smell great. BUT oils such as lemon and grapefruit have antibacterial and antiseptic properties. Meaning that they’re ideal for cleaning the kitchen/bedroom/bathroom.
Glass bottles
It’s always best to steer clear of plastic bottles when you can. Unfortunately, the spray tops are nearly all plastic.
It’s especially important to steer clear of plastic when using essential oils as some of the properties in the essential oils can cause the plastic to break down. There are certain types of plastic that are immune to essential oils such as HDPE but it’s just easier to get the glass bottle.
And last but not least, always shake the bottle before using it. The essential oils will almost always rise to the top so you want to make sure that you get it mixed back in with your mixture as soon as you can.
You can also add a tiny drop of liquid soap to your mix too but I don’t like using that on surfaces other than the kitchen or bathroom.
