Are Chemical Cleaners Bad?

YES!!! VERY BAD! …okay, maybe I’m overreacting… Let me just say right now, I have Bleach and Comet (Natural version here) and even Windex in my house right now that I use. Now, you are not going to keel over and die from them as your spray your window to clean it. With the chemical store-bought cleaners the danger is in long term exposure. 

Lets use bleach for example. Breathing in bleach fumes irritates your lungs. Sometimes while cleaning with bleach you might cough a little, feel a burning in your noes or throat… that is the chemicals burning your lungs. The feeling might goes away with a drink of water or some fresh air but that doesn’t mean there’s no damage. Healing is needed. Breathing in bleach everyday keeps the healing from happening. The more chemical burn your experience the longer its going to take to heal. Then you get a cold… and your lungs struggle. The coughing hurts, it turns in to bronchitis and then it goes crazy and you have lung cancer. It’s the constant damage, without healing that causing tissue and cell damage. To learn more read “Is Breathing in Bleach Bad?“

Yes, I keep these bad cancer causing chemical cleaners in my house. No, I do not use them daily, or even weekly. My daily and weekly cleaning needs are met with all natural cleaning products.

Benefits of Lemon Vinegar Cleaner

Lemon Vinegar Cleaner is Natural

Both lemon and vinegar are natural products that you can literally consume. Not just are they 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 consuming over others. The best vinegar to use when cleaning is called cleaning vinegars. You could also use distilled vinegar or white vinegar. Apple cider vinegar, or cooking vinegar is not recommended for cleaning.
When you clean with lemon and vinegar you are not breathing anything harmful into your body. Nor will this citrus vinegar cleaner irritate your skin with like other store-bought cleaners can.

Lemon Vinegar Cleaner is Cheap

Another added benefit is that making your own cleaning products is so much cheaper. Like by a lot. 

Lets do some math…
1/4 gallon, Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Spray, Lemon Breeze Scent, 32oz – $2.58
2.5 gallons, Homemade Lemon Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner – Lemons free from my tree, Cleaning Vinegar 64oz – $2.62

So right there the vinegar is about 1/2 the price of the cleaner. But don’t forget, we are going to dilute the vinegar with water. The directions on the Cleaning Vinegar bottle say 1/2 cup vinegar to a gallon of water. With that math you can get 8 gallons of cleaner for lesson than $5 (depending on if you need to buy lemons or not). The Lysol cleaning is $2.28 for a quarter of a gallon.

Myself I don’t dilute the vinegar that much. I do a 2:1 ratio of water and vinegar. This gets me about 2.5 gallons of homemade vinegar cleaner for the cost of 1/2 gallon (64oz) of vinegar. That’s 10 times the amount of the Lysol bottle. To buy 2.5 gallons (320oz) of Lysol that would cost about $40.

So yeah, its cheap.

Lemon Vinegar Cleaner is a Antibacterial

Lemons and vinegar are both acidic 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. This cleaner is simply a cleaner, not a disinfectant, but it still has antibacterial properties. Disinfectants kills all germs both good and bad. Cleaners remove dirt, debris, grime and germs, making some germs inactive but does not kill them. Cleaners make it so germs don’t grow. 

If you want to make your vinegar cleaner a disinfectant you can add rubbing alcohol.

How to Make Lemon Vinegar Cleaner

Step 1: Juice Your Lemons

For the cleaner we only need the lemon rind (peel). So juice your lemons and make some lemonade! If you are interested in more things to do with your lemon juice, I have more idea’s here.

Step 2: Place Lemon Peels in Jar

After you have juice you lemons, take all the lemon rinds and put them in a quart or 1/2 gallon size jar.

Step 3: Fill Jar With Vinegar

Fill the jar up with vinegar to the top. You want all the lemons rinds to be fully covered.

Step 4: Wait 2 Weeks

Seal the jar with a lid and let the lemons and vinegar sit for two week before using.

Step 5: Dilute with Water in Spray Bottle

Once all the oils have released from the lemons the vinegar is ready to use. Pour Into a spray bottle 1/3 full. Fill it the rest of the way with water. Use a strainer when pouring just in case any little lemon pieces get in and clog the spray bottle. Now you are ready to clean!

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. 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 types of lemons are best?

Any type of lemon works for cleaning. I have a Meyer lemon tree and although the rinds are thinner and the lemon less acidic then most it still cleans great. Meyer, Citron, Eureka they all work the same.

Can I use other Citrus in place of lemon?

Yes! You can use any type of citrus peels, orange peel, lime peels, and even grapefruit peel for you natural cleaners. 

Can I use essential Oils in place of citrus rinds?

Yes! You can use any citrus essential oils instead of socking the rinds in the vinegar. Use 10 to 15 drops of essential oils in your 1/2 cup vinegar and 2 cups water in a reusable glass spray bottle. Here are more essential oil cleaner recipes.

Do I need a glass all purpose cleaning spray bottle or can I use plastic?

No, you don’t have to use a glass spray bottle for your lemon vinegar cleaner but I do recommend it. The vinegar and acid from the lemon will brake down the plastics over time. If you use essential oils in your cleaner be sure to use a reusable glass spray bottle, or the power of the essential oil will absorb into the plastic.

Can I add soap to a vinegar cleaner? 

Yes, Castile soap is a great way to boast the cleaning power of your homemade lemon cleaner. Just add a tablespoon of Castile soap to your spray bottle and remember to mix/shake your own cleaning spray bottle before use.

What can I NOT clean vinegar with?

Vinegar is an all purpose 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 some 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
• Floor. 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. Deodorize your clothes, sheets, rags by washing your laundry with vinegar. 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).

Homemade Lemon Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner

Print

Materials

• Lemon Rind/Peels
• Cleaning Vinegar

Tools

• Glass Jar with Lid
• Spray Bottle

Instructions

1. Juice your lemons and place the peel in a 2 quart or 1/2 gallon jar.
2. Fill the jar with cleaning vinegar covering the lemons.
3. Let sit for 2 weeks on the counter, top of the refrigerator, under the sink. Anywhere safe.
4. Combine a ratio of 1 part lemon vinegar to 3 parts water into a spray bottle and start cleaning!

All Purpose Cleaner

• 3:1 Water & Lemon Vinegar

Disinfectant Vinegar Cleaner

• 1:1 Ratio Water, Lemon Vinegar & Rubbing Alcohol

Wood Cleaner

• 1:1 Ratio Olive Oil & Lemon Vinegar

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