Avoiding harsh chemicals while still getting the best results in my household cleaning is a major reason why I clean with vinegar and rubbing alcohol. When mixing these too cleaning ingredients I’m able to clean every nook and cranny of my house and get a level of professional cleanings.
Vinegar, A natural Cleaner
Vinegar is natural products that you can literally consume. Not just edible but good for you! Although, I do not recommend drinking this cleaner, that would be gross. There are also different types of vinegar, and some are better to consume with and other better to clean with… Cleaning vinegar is the best choice for cleaning due to it being high in acetic acid, white vinegar is second best. I would not use apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar to clean with. Those vinegar’s are best cooking with.
Is Cleaning with Alcohol Natural?
Rubbing Alcohol (or isopropyl alcohol) is a super powerful disinfectant yet it is a synthetic product. Although alcohol is the natural occurrence of certain fermenting sugars, Rubbing Alcohol is not made the same way. It is man made through a chemical process involving petroleum derivatives. In order to find out more on how its made visit BiologyInsights.com. Rubbing Alcohol is extremely toxic to drink, but not to touch. With long exposure it can cause skin dryness and irritation.
Although Rubbing Alcohol is not as safe or natural as vinegar it is still considered a safe cleaning product. Rubbing Alcohol is not as toxic or cancer causing as other commercial cleaners and household cleaners ingredient are. Just to name a few… Phthalates are known to cause hormonal issues such as low sperm count, birth defects and reproductive cancer. Sodium Hydroxide is really bad for your skin and can causes respiratory damage. Formaldehyde can cause asthma or throat and nasal cancer. The toxic elements of these cleaners are major concerns for me. You can find out more about these and other cleaning products ingredients you may want to avoid at thegoodnesswell.com.
If you don’t feel comfortable using rubbing alcohol in your natural DIY cleaners there’s good news! You don’t have too! Vinegar can stand on its own or can be pared with antibacterial essential oils or lemon oils from lemon rinds. To learn more about making lemon vinegar from your lemon rinds check out my post on Lemon Vinegar Cleaner.
How to make All purpose cleaner with Vinegar and rubbing alcohol
Its really very simple. In order to make your cleaner mix together 2 part water, 1 part rubbing alcohol 1 part vinegar into a glass spray bottle. That’s it!
This ratio is even adjustable. I often use a 1:1:1 ration when making my cleaner, especially when cleaning the bathrooms and both version work great. Now, be aware that not enough vinegar or rubbing alcohol wont keep things as clean and too much can cause some damage to paint, wood and sometimes plastics.
add essential oils
If you want to make a great smelling and extra cleaning strength then add a few drops of essential oil to your cleaner. Add 15-25 drops of your preferred essential oil to your 16 oz glass spray bottle. For more effective recipes you can read more about using essential oils in your cleaning products here. Some great essential oils to use for cleaning are Tea Tree Oil, Lemon, Orange, Eucalyptus, Thieves, On-Guard and so many more. My favorite blends are Thieves and Tea Tree Oil.
add citrus rinds
I you don’t have essential oil you can also make your own citrus cleaner by soaking lemon, orange, lime or grapefruit rinds in a jar full of vinegar for 2 weeks or adding 1/2 a cup of lemon juice. The vinegar will start to brake down and mix with the de-greasing oils and antibacterial properties of the citrus making a powerful cleaner. Then use that vinegar in your cleaning solution. To read more details on making your own citrus vinegar cleaning here.
Are Homemade cleaning products cheaper?
Lets do some math…
-1/4 gallon, Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Spray, Lemon Breeze Scent, 32oz – $3.97, $1.98 per 16 oz bottle.
-DoTERRA’s Multi-Purpose On Guard Cleaner Concentrate 12 oz, makes about 9, 16 oz spray bottles, $24 $2.67 per 16 oz bottle
-1.5 gallons, Homemade Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner – Cleaning Vinegar 64oz, $2.62 + Rubbing Alcohol 91%, 32oz, $3.98 (x2) + On Guard Essential Oils, DoTERRA, 15ml $52OR Revive 30ml $28. TOTAL (with revive) is $38.58 at check out. 64oz of vinegar, 64oz of rubbing alcohol, 64oz water makes 12, 16oz spray bottles. When using 15 drops of oil per 16 oz spray bottle the total comes to about $1.78 per 16 oz bottle.
30ml of essential oil is approximately 500 drops. That is about 6 cents per drop. 15 drops per 16 oz spray bottle comes to 90 cents per bottle.
So yeah, this homemade cleaner is pretty cheap compared to most store-bought cleaners.
Vinegar and rubbing alcohol Cleaner is a Antibacterial Disinfectant
Vinegar is very strong acid creating a hostile environment for bacteria making them inactive but not always killing the germs… There’s a lot of different thoughts on this. We are all taught and know that there are good germ and bad germs but its not always easy to know when to kill germs and when to embrace them.
If just using vinegar as a cleaner then clean is what you get. If you want to kill germs and disinfect you will need to add the rubbing alcohol. It is the the alcohol that disinfects. Disinfectants kills all germs both good and bad. A good cleaner remove dirt, debris, grime and germs on the surface level, making most germs inactive but does not kill them. Cleaners make it so germs don’t grow. Disinfectants will make them go away completely. So for best results in making a disinfectant with safe ingredients is to add a rubbing alcohol to your own cleaners.
FAQ
Can I use any vinegar to clean with?
There are lots of different types of vinegar and not all of them are ideal for cleaning. However, cleaning Vinegar, or distilled white vinegar are you two best vinegar for cleaning. I personally wouldn’t use Apple Cider Vinegar, or Rice Vinegar, or any other cooking vinegar for cleaning with.
What is NOT safe to clean with vinegar?
Vinegar is an all purpose spray cleaner but there are a few things to avoid cleaning with vinegar.
- Natural Stone. The acid in the vinegar can cause pitting in natural stones like Marble or Granite.
- Grout. Vinegar can cause deterioration of grout.
- Stainless Steal. Again, the vinegar can cause pitting the the steal.
- Waxed or unfinished wood should not have full strength vinegar but diluted is fine. The vinegar can cause discoloration if full strength.
- Cast Iron. Again, the vinegar can cause pitting.
- TV’s, Computers or other screen as the vinegar will take off the anti glare coating.
- Rubber. Rubber with lots of exposure to vinegar will start to deteriorate. A little here and there wont hurt it too badly.
- Hardwood Floors. Vinegar can dissolve the finish on the hardwood. For hardwood I suggest Murphy’s Oil Soup
What is safe to clean with vinegar?
- Glass, windows and mirrors. Mix a little rubbing alcohol for with the vinegar and you will get a quick dry, streak free cleaning. Toilet. For a deep clean you can put 2 cup of vinegar in your toilet and let sit for 2-3 hours. Clean with a toilet brush to help remove/prevent hard water lines and odor. Dust a bit of baking soda on the floor around the toilet and let sit for 20 minutes or longer spray with your vinegar cleaner let it bubble and do its work then wipe up.
- Bath/Showers. Your vinegar helps prevent and remove watermarks as well as preventing mildew. Use your cleaner for weekly wiping down of your shower and bathtubs. For deeper cleaning use undiluted vinegar.
- Faucets. If you have hard water cleaning your faucets with vinegar is almost a must. The hard water build up can ruin your new faucets and daily or weekly cleaning with vinegar can prevent hard water build up to keep your faucets clean.
- Dirty Floors. Except hardwood floors or waxed floors. All other floors are safe for cleaning with vinegar.
- Dishwasher. Again, keep your dishwasher safe from hard water build up and crud with vinegar.
- Appliances.
- Microwave, stove tops, oven, refrigerator etc, vinegar is a great cleaner for these appliances. I also have such a peace of mind cleaning around my food with a safe, natural cleaner.
- Laundry. A miraculous deodorizer for your clothes, sheets, rags is adding vinegar to washing your laundry. Just be sure to not mix bleach and vinegar in the same load.
- Coffeemakers. Run equal parts of vinegar and water through your coffee maker for a good cleaning.
- Wood. If you want to clean natural wood with vinegar add an equal part of olive oil to your vinegar.
- Carpets and Upholstery. Spot clean you carpets with with vinegar. The profession carpet cleaner we use at our church told me to use vinegar for coffee spill and hot water and dish soup for sugar based spills (soda, lemonade).
What is NOT safe to clean with rubbing alcohol?
Here are a few things to look out for when cleaning with rubbing alcohol.
- Natural Stone. The alcohol can remove protective laying making it more porous and prone to stains and scratches.
- Painted or Finished Wood. A diluted cleaner should not do much or any real damage to the finish or paint but straight alcohol will strip some of the finish or paint off of your wood.
- Leather. Dries out, causing cracks and discoloration.
- Delicate Fabrics. Shrinks or discolors materials
- Rubber. Rubber with lots of exposure to rubbing alcohol will start to deteriorate. A little here and there wont hurt it too badly.
- Hardwood Floors. Vinegar can dissolve the finish on the hardwood. For hardwood I suggest Murphy’s Oil Soup
- Acrylic Plastics. Causes cloudiness and weakens material.
What is safe to clean with alcohol?
- Counter tops
- Stainless Steel Carpets and Upholstery. Make your own homemade carpet cleaner with Karries DIY carpet cleaning solution here.
- Appliances.Microwave, stove tops, oven, refrigerator etc
- Glass, windows and mirrors. Rubbing alcohol is has a quick evaporation time, when mixed with the vinegar and you will get a quick drying, streak free, glass cleaner.
- Toilet, Bath/Showers.
- Faucets.
- Sticker Residue.
- Electronics. Rubbing alcohol is great for electronics and your computer keyboard because it drys quickly without leaving any residue. Its not great for electronics because it can damage the anti glare protection.
More of my favorite natural cleaning Formulas
In my option the best cleaner out there is good old fashioned elbow grease and a clean cloth or paper towel with warm water. I’m never disappointed when I simple go around the house with a clean damp cloth, maybe with a drop or two of dish soup and go around my house cleaning. But obviously, I’ll probably do an even better job would if I take an all purpose cleaner around with me.
Use these other natural all purpose cleaners, avoiding harsh chemicals to get a professional cleaner level cleaning in your home.
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