Deliciously Aromatic Cleaning Products

Here is a collection of recipes for some deliciously decadent wonderfully aromatic cleaning products that you can make yourself.

White vinegar is something of a super tool when it comes to cleaning. It’s non-toxic, inexpensive, easy to find, and cleans, oh, just about everything: It brightens windows, freshens laundry, banishes spots on carpeting, and much more. A spray-bottle of a vinegar solution is great to have around for pesky cleaning tasks (though, avoid using it on marble countertops and hardwood floors, since the acidity could damage them).

The most effective cleaning mixture is 50% white vinegar, 50% water, but you can also add fruit peels, herbs or essential oil to the bottle so your house will smell great, too. Just give it a shake and let it infuse for at least a week.

Here’s an all purpose recipe:

Get a spray bottle and fill it up. If you’re recycling a bottle from a previous cleaner make sure you rinse it out well before mixing your ingredients (duh).

You’ll need:

• Warm Water
• White Vinegar
• Isopropyl Alcohol
• Dish Soap (a drop)
• Fresh aromatic herbs and/or your favorite essential oil.

Put your leaves in the bottle and bruise them with a wooden spoon handle. You can also just twist them up or squeeze them in your hand. This activates the leaves to produce their natural oils. Make sure your herbs are very fresh so you get as much scent as possible from them. It’s really hard to completely mask the smell of vinegar but that’s just the price we pay for DIYing it. The smell quickly dissipates when it dries so it’s fiiiiine.

The mixture is easy:

• 1 part warm water,
• 1 part vinegar,
• 1/2 part alcohol.
• Add a DROP of dish soap and shake it up.

The herbs will permeate the mixture with their natural essential oils. Not only does it help cut the alcohol and vinegar scent some but herbs and essential oils also act as a natural antibacterial component.

There you go!

In summer I like to add orange or lemon peels. You can easily use essential oils to scent your spray as little or as much as you’d like. They work a little better since the scent is concentrated.

Note: You can refresh the scent with essential oils if and when your mixture begins to smell too much like vinegar.

Variations

1. A Balanced Blend: Two or three pieces of lemon rind and a few springs of rosemary blend together to create a clean, fresh scent. Plus, the fruit’s acid adds extra cleaning properties — perfect for stubborn stains.

2. A Hint of Citrus: A little bit of essential oil goes a long way, and 2-3 drops of peppermint are just enough to lend an energizing burst to the summery scent of orange rinds.

3. A Cool Burst: A few sprigs of eucalyptus and 2-3 drops of tea tree oil create a stench-absorbing powerhouse — and some people believe tea tree fights bacteria, too. Whether that’s true or not, this combination is incredibly invigorating.

4. An Earthy Option: Infuse your solution with fresh sage leaves.

5. Spicy and Sweet: This recipe adds interest with orange peels, cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans. You could also add cloves, allspice, and nutmeg for something a little more seasonal.

6. A Relaxing Aroma: Infuse your vinegar solution with fresh lavender, lemon balm, or even delightful spicy scented geranium leaves.

7. Play with Oils: Essential oils come in many fun scents (and some will kill bacteria and mold).  Just be sure to shake to combine before using. Add about 10 drops of a pure essential oil (no synthetic fragrances or you’re defeating the purpose of non-toxic cleaning) to your half vinegar-half water spray bottle. Of all the essential oils I’ve tried, peppermint is one of the few that actually masks the odor of the acetic acid in vinegar. Not a mint fan, try clove or eucalyptus which are also strong oils.

Sources: Good Housekeeping and Melodrama