20 DIY Natural Cleaning Recipes for Chemical-free Products (+ Tips)
There are so many different commercial cleaning products these days, filled with toxic chemicals and wrapped in elaborate plastic packaging. There are endless marketing efforts to get you to buy the newest, best smelling and most powerful disinfectant for your everyday cleaning needs. But the reality is, keeping it simple and switching to DIY cleaners can provide you will all you need for a sparkling clean and sanitary home. Using my natural cleaning recipes to make your own chemical free cleaning products will not only reduce your use of plastic, but dramatically lessen the environmental and household pollution caused by the manufacture, use and disposal of these products.
I’m fed up of the harsh chemicals that do harm to the environment and our bodies that are in some of the mainstream cleaning products. So if you’re like me, and want to make this switch, then here are the basics to get you started.
Key ingredients for my natural cleaning recipes
Firstly, I want to share some of the individual natural ingredients you should get your hands on to start cleaning your home, why they’re so great and what they can do.
Bicarbonate of soda / baking soda
Baking soda has been used for over a century as a way to deodorise, clean and scour away dirt. You can easily use this alone to clean sinks, toilets, baths, ovens, fridges and surfaces to remove dirt and stains.
Castile soap
One of the most versatile natural cleaning products you can buy, castile soap can be used as an all purpose cleaner all around your home. From laundry detergent, to dish soap, hand soap, floor cleaner and even shampoo, castile soap has got you covered.
White vinegar – the ultimate natural cleaning product
Another incredible multi-purpose product that can be used all over the home to get rid of stains, grease, dirt, odours, mould and mildew is white vinegar. It may have a slightly off-putting smell, but this quickly dissipates, or can be counteracted by delicious smelling essential oils.
Lemon juice
A very strong acid, the juice of a lemon helps to fight against bacteria, remove stains and keep your whites white. Because of this, you’ll find this ingredient in many of my recipes for natural cleaning products.
Olive oil
Perfect for polishing furniture, olive oil is great at loosening up stains, grease and grime on all sorts of surfaces.
Essential oils
Naturally anti-bacterial, essential oils not only help to sanitise your house, but keep it smelling great too. Some of the best to go for are lavendar, tea tree and lemon.
Salt
Salt is a super versatile mineral that has a nifty way of scouring off dirt. It will also boost the cleaning effects of other ingredients, such as vinegar or bicarbonate of soda, when combined together.
Soap nuts
These magical berries produce a natural soap, called saponin, that foams up and removes grime and smells when mixed with water. They’re anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-microbial, working as a great eco-friendly alternative to other toxic cleaners.
Now let’s get to the good stuff, here are 15 different cleaning concoctions you can come up with at home to keep it squeaky clean.
Natural cleaning recipes
1. All purpose cleaner
One of my favourite natural cleaning recipes – an all purpose cleaner that can be used all over the home to wipe down surfaces, and sanitise your home. Equal parts white vinegar and water. Add around 10 drops of essential oils to offset the vinegar smell, however this smell should disappear soon after cleaning down surfaces.
You can also try infusing your vinegar with the rind of lemons or oranges to offset the scent. You can do this by adding citrus rinds to a jar, cover with white vinegar, seal and store in a cupboard for 2-4 weeks. Once the vinegar has infused, strain and use alongside normal vinegar in this mixture to add a fresh scent (this is a concentrated liquid so you don’t need much of it to get a nice smell). Avoid use on marble, stone or granite surfaces.
2. Toilet cleaner
For a sparkling loo, glug in some white vinegar, a good shake of bicarbonate of soda with around 10 drops of your favourite essential oil into the basin. Leave to sit for a few minutes, scrub with the toilet brush, fizzing up the mixture and getting rid of all the nasties. Use the above all purpose cleaner for surfaces, leaving to sit for a minute or two before wiping away.
3. Laundry detergent
Soap nuts are a traditional and simple way to clean your clothes. When the soapnuts are mixed around in your washing machine, they will release saponin, dissolving dirt and cleaning your laundry in the process. You can simply add them into your washing machine in a pouch, grind them up or make them into a homemade liquid detergent by boiling them in water. You can reuse the soapnut pouch for around 4 to 5 washes, until they turn grey. And the coolest thing is that when you’re done with them, they can be composted in your garden!
4. My natural cleaning recipe for windows and mirrors
Mix together 1 part white vinegar to 4 parts water and use on your windows or mirrors to polish and clean. I also add in some essential oils for a fresh scent. My favourite to use for this is lemon. Try to avoid doing this on a hot day as can leave streaks.
5. Essential oil Air freshener
Fill a spray bottle up with water and around 10 drops of your favourite essential oil, such as lavendar. Give it a sniff and a spray, and add a few more drops of oil if it needs it. Go slowly, less is more when it comes to essential oils! When you’re happy with the scent, then you can use it to freshen up the air, your furniture or linen.
6. Mould and mildew
Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar (optional: add tea tree oil for added mould and mildew killing properties) and spritz the affected area. Let it sit for around 30 minutes and rinse off the area with warm water. Scrub off with a cloth if it needs some assistance!
7. Microwave cleaner
Place a small cup of vinegar and the juice of a lemon in the microwave and switch it on for 2 minutes. Leave the door closed for a further minute or so to steam, then open and simply wipe down the inside with a damp cloth. No need to awkwardly scrub!
8. Washing up liquid/dish soap
Castile soap works perfectly as a washing up liquid as well! Simply mix 4 parts castile soap to 1 part water in a repurposed container of your choice.
9. Natural Furniture polish
Olive oil works perfectly as a furniture polish. Mix together 1/4 cup of white vinegar, 3/4 cup of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon.
10. Floor cleaner
Vinegar is back again as an amazing way to clean your floors! Just add 1/4 cup to your bucket of hot water with a squeeze of castile soap. Scrub away!
11. Carpet deodorizer
Fill a jar with bicarbonate of soda and 10 drops of essential oil. Shake together and store for use on carpets when they need freshening up. Shake over carpet, leave for up to 30 mins and vacuum. Your carpets should smell really lovely and fresh.
12. Chemical free Oven cleaner
Combine 1/4 cup bicarbonate of soda, 1 tsp of salt and some water. Keep adding water bit by bit until you create a paste. Cover your oven in the mixture and let it sit overnight. Scrub and wipe clean the next day with a damp cloth, and voila, sparking oven!
13. Chopping board cleaner
To disinfect your chopping boards, chop a lemon in half and rub over the surface of your chopping board, then wipe clean. If you have any tough stains, then you can squeeze some of the lemon juice onto the chopping board and let it sit for a few minutes before wiping it off.
14. Drain cleaner
For a blocked drain, pour a good amount of bicarbonate of soda followed by some white vinegar to your drain. These two ingredients will react together to break down any dirt, grime and grease clogging up the drain. After 10-15 minutes, pour boiling hot water down the drain to clean everything out (make sure to only do this on metal pipes, as the boiling water could melt the plastic pipes – otherwise just turn on the hot water tap).
15. Stain removal
This stain remover should come to the rescue for any accidents you have! Mix together 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup bicarbonate of soda, a squeeze of castile (or any liquid) soap, and 2 cups of water. Give it a good shake and keep in a spray bottle to use whenever you have a tough stain on your clothes or the carpet.
Enjoyed these natural cleaning recipes? Try my Natural Spring Clean Checklist here
Let me know your favourite homemade natural cleaning products in the comments down below! Are there any you think I’ve missed?
Posts sometimes contain affiliate links where I earn a small commission. Read more about it here.
29 comments
Nicola
Love this! So great to have all these different recipes in one place, it’s going to make my life a whole lot easier. Thanks Maddie!
Madeleine Olivia
So pleased Nicola!
Emelia
Awesome, thank you!
Madeleine Olivia
You’re welcome Emelia!
Lea
Dear Madeleine,
Your recipes are amazing! I don’t really like cooking and neither does my husband, who is also vegan, so we have found so much useful stuff at your blog. Thank you.
I have a question regarding dishwashing, what to use for handwashing the dishes/ dishwasher, i.e. are there any diy alternatives to the conventional gels?
Also, if you can, would you do a video on low-waste pets (I mean their accessories))?
Best regars,
Lea
Madeleine Olivia
Hi Lea, so glad you enjoyed the post! We usually try and fill up our dispenser at the local zero waste shop. I don’t have a DIY alternative for the dishwashing soap yet but definitely one we might try and look at! There are loads of dishwasher soap bars which might be easy to replicate.
savoncare
There are several cleaning products manufacturers that claim to have products that are nontoxic, having natural ingredients or claim to be environment friendly. However, there is no standard definition for these. Such products could still be toxic and cause irritation to the skin, mouth and eyes if not used properly.
Rosie Park
can you use normal malt vinegar?
Mary N
We have very hard water that let a ring build up in our old toilet. Now we have a shiny new one and I’d like to keep it ring-free. I don’t like to flush chemicals down with each flush, and I can’t tolerate many scents. Is there such a thing as non-toxic, unscented, drop-in-the-tank tablet, or am I dreaming?
Madeleine Olivia
Hi Mary, I actually think there is such a thing! You can definitely get eco and chemical free toilet tablets available to buy. I think they’re called toilet bombs.
Karen Wetherall
All very helpful, thank you. I am already using soap nuts but with drawstring bags and the knots are a pain to undone when wet, your zipped ones look much better and are cheaper than mine.
I learnt to use lemon for limescale removal last year, you can push half a lemon onto the tap, give it a twist and it stays put! Got brilliant results on some very caked taps, can recommend it!
Madeleine Olivia
So glad you enjoyed the post Karen! <3
John White
Dear Madeleine
What proportions are required to soak whites in and what combinations are vital ?
Looking forward to hearing you from you soon.
With my very best wishes.
John
Scarlet
I love all these diy cleaning recipes. Thanks for sharing so many natural solutions!
Madeleine Olivia
You’re very welcome Scarlet <3
Jaren
Thank you very much. Here us an interesting report showing how good what you recommend is.
Joa
Did you know that horse chestnuts also contain saponins, they’re free, you can dry them to use out of season and they’re not transported all the way from India, you can also make Viking soap out of them, in fact there are several other plants that contain saponins but I’m not sure how you’d use them until I do more research, clematis for example.
Madeleine Olivia
Thanks for the tip Joa! <3
James Dias
Right ON! simple tips too. Looking for the drain Cleaning one will have to test this method out myself.
Madeleine Olivia
Hi James, so glad you enjoyed the tips! <3
Alba
New house, new habits!
Thank you for helping me with my sustainability goals Madeleine!
Madeleine Olivia
Thanks so much Alba! Glad you enjoyed. <3
SafeQube
It is very essential to keep our surroundings neat and clean. Especially with the coronavirus, people must take an additional care. Cleaning houses with easily home available products might go handy for many of us during the pandemic times. Products that are acidic in nature can be used for cleaning. Lemon which is easily available at home is one of the most widely used disinfectant against killing bacteria. Thank you for the informative blog. I would also like to share the blog with my friends and family.
Exterior Cleaning Ashford
Cleaning can be easy with a bunch of few tips. It is necessary to get the best cleaning ingredients and equipment and use them properly as well. Thanks for providing this list of tips here!
Rishabh khetan
This is such a helpful and inspiring post The DIY Natural Cleaning Recipes are not only eco-friendly but also so easy to try at home. Love how simple ingredients can keep the home fresh and chemical-free.
Sophia Jeck
Such a refreshing read! I’ve started replacing chemical cleaners with homemade ones too — vinegar, lemon, and baking soda are game-changers. I even used Chat Gpt
to find a few extra eco-friendly cleaning hacks that worked perfectly alongside your recipes. Thanks, Madeleine, for making sustainable living feel so simple and inspiring!
— Sophia Jeck
Madeleine OliviaAuthor
Thank you so much Sophia!
Sophia Jeck
My pleasure
Marysa
Thanks for sharing these recipes! I am trying to go all natural and it is good to have some tips for cutting down on chemicals. These sound great!