How to Make 27 Homemade Cleaners

All it takes to live a healthier life is to take one baby step at a time, and choosing to use even just one non-toxic cleaner in your home is a simple way to live a healthier life.

Many of the cleaners available in most stores are harsh and include downright harmful ingredients, including skin and respiratory irritants, hormone disruptors, and/or ecological contaminants. According to the Organic Consumers Association and the Environmental Working Group, many of the ingredients, especially fragrances, aren't even required to be listed in the ingredient labels, since their blends are considered proprietary.

And worse, store-bought cleaners are expensive.

So, if you're looking for an alternative, you can either purchase cleaners that are safe enough to eat or make your own. Making your own is usually the cheapest way to go, but finding recipes that actually work can take time, so here are 27 recipes in one place to make it easy to find the cleaners that work for you.

And don't forget to download our FREE guide to natural homemade cleaners, with the 21 recipes I use most often in my own home, including my favorite secret glass cleaner, easy-peasy soft scrub, and super laundry detergent. It's a little home journal as a gift from my home to yours. 🙂

If you like this post, be sure to follow our DIY Natural Cleaners board on Pinterest!

27 Homemade Cleaners

Homemade all-purpose spray with non-leaching bottles – Mommypotamus knows her stuff when it comes to DIY cleaners. (She wrote a whole book of awesome cleaners, after all!) I especially appreciate this post for its info on how to store your homemade all-purpose cleaner.

Homemade all-purpose spray (my recipe) – This is the recipe I love and use in my own home – currently I love to make it as Fresh Mint & Grapefruit All-Purpose Spray. Makes my kitchen smell divine….. This link heads to the page where you can download the free e-book of home cleaners.

Homemade DIY All Purpose Pine Cleaner – I LOVE it when a room smells like pine when I'm done cleaning. It's so satisfying – and this spray seriously delivers.

DIY dishwasher detergent and rinse agent – DIY Natural's recipe is the gold standard of DIY dish detergents. You won't be disappointed!

DIY dishwasher detergent tabs – If you like to have the convenience of little dishwasher pucks, this is a fun recipe to pop into your machine for sparkling clean dishes.

Homemade dusting spray and furniture polish – Thick and spray-able like store-bought dusting sprays, this polish dusts and protects wood all at once. We love it!

Homemade bleach – this post has three recipes for homemade bleach, one for laundry, one for cleaning, and one for sanitizing

No-streak homemade glass cleaner – This recipe is somewhat similar to the one in Clean, Naturally!, but what especially makes me chuckle about this recipe is the little science lesson at the end. Cool beans is right!

Homemade steam cleaner solution – I have some heavy-duty work to do on our carpets and I'm eager to put this solution to work!

Frozen Citrus-Rosemary Garbage-Disposal Cleaning Cubes – these cubes make great use of scraps you already have (and would throw out) – what a fabulous idea!

DIY car upholstery cleaner – keep this freshening spray and cleaner in your car to make it have that “new car smell” whenever you want

All natural upholstery cleaner – the results this author got on her “gifted couch” are amazing!

Homemade leather cleaner – this recipe is far easier than I would have expected for caring for leather!

Homemade granite cleaner – granite requires a bit of special TLC, but there's still no need to pay for those expensive granite wipes with this homemade solution

Homemade bathtub scrub with a surprising secret ingredient – this scrub cuts through the grime everytime!

Homemade oven cleaner – If you don't have a self-cleaning oven (which burns off residue at very high temperatures), try this eco-friendly solution. Besides, Crunchy Betty always makes me laugh – in the snorty, belly-laughing kind of way that tends to my husband get up from what he's doing to see what's so funny. Oh, and be sure to read the follow-up post too.

Homemade stainless steel polish – Stainless steel utensils can get dingy-looking over time, especially if you put them through a dishwasher. See tip #13 for how to easily clean them to a lustrous shine!

Homemade silver cleaner – this trick looks intriguing!

Homemade jewelry cleaner – this method is only recommended for certain metals, so definitely read the article and comments before cleaning your jewelry. But talk about easy!

How to season and care for cast iron cookware – this article walks you through everything you need to know about using cast iron and keeping it safe for cooking

DIY laundry spot remover – This looks like it will work wonders on my preschooler's outfits….

DIY laundry stain stick – I LOVE the idea of putting these in old lip balms and deodorant tubes. Perfect!

Quick & easy crayon remover – oh, my goodness! This is what I've been looking for! Now to scrub the walls….

Citrus enzyme cleaner – I'm a big fan of enzyme cleaners, but I've never known how to make them at home. Now I'm stoked! I'll bet this will work well on those pesky underarm stains.

DIY disinfectant cloth wipes – I LOVE these for wiping down countertops and other surfaces.

Homemade air freshener – mmmm…. what a great deodorizing, mood-boosting spray! Maybe we should call this “Pick Me Up Spray.”

Homemade Lysol – Disinfect your rooms naturally – and make them smell good, to boot.

Happy cleaning!