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I do like the idea of homemade cleaners, but I wanted to find one that pretty much did everything. This is the start of a 3-day series in which I will share with you some easy-to-make all-natural cleaners. Today it’s how to make an all-purpose cleaner without vinegar.

Homemade cleaners are easy to make. There are a ton of recipes online – simply pick one and put it in a spray bottle. Homemade cleaners are great for a number of reasons:

• relatively inexpensive – most require few ingredients that are easy to find
• easy to make – simply put in a spray bottle and shake
• natural – you control what you put in them so no weird chemicals or smells

However, I found that most of the cleaners involved vinegar. Vinegar doesn’t work in our kitchen or bathrooms as we have marble and granite countertops. The acidity in the vinegar is not good for those surfaces. Also, my kids, who clean the bathrooms, are not too keen on the vinegar smell. Yes, you can mask the vinegar smell with essential oils, but again be careful with what you choose. While citrus essential oils, like lemon or orange, are popular ingredients in homemade cleaners, those acids, again, are not good for marble or granite.

I wanted one, all-purpose cleaner. I didn’t want separate cleaners for the counters, the sink and the mirror. Who’s got time for that? We use separate toilet bowl cleaner, and that’s it. I needed to find one cleaner that did it all and did it well.

The main issue was finding something for the countertops. So what’s safe for marble or granite? Basically, just soap and water. But through my research, I discovered that diluted rubbing alcohol not only is safe for marble and granite but helps clean and disinfect too.

Rubbing alcohol is often used as a first-aid treatment to clean cuts. I use it in crafting to clean a surface before applying vinyl. Just make sure it’s 70%. It’s readily available at grocery stores and drug stores.

In addition to its disinfecting qualities, rubbing alcohol is also great for making stainless steel or chrome shine. So this is perfect for taps in the bathroom and kitchen, as well as any stainless steel appliances that you have.

This recipe uses castile soap. Castile soap is a plant-based soap, It contains no animal fat and is extremely versatile. The most common brand in stores and online seems to be Dr. Bronner’s. This is concentrated soap that needs to be diluted. I like the tea tree oil version. Tea tree oil is known for fighting mould, mildew and bacteria. There is a version of Dr. Bronner’s castile soap that contains tea tree oil

Now castile soap is not cheap, (the good stuff never is). I just got a small bottle of it. This recipe only uses a little bit. The Dr. Bronner’s stuff is concentrated so you only need a little of it as it is supposed to be diluted. You can easily substitute a mild soap like Dawn dish detergent for the Castil.

How to Make an All-Purpose Cleaner (Without Vinegar)

This recipe is from doTerra and fills a 16 oz or 2 cup spray bottle. Simply half the recipe for an 8 oz or 1 cup bottle.

• 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol (at least 70%)
• 1/2 teaspoon of Castile soap – I use the version with tea tree oil.
• 1 1/2 cups water – I use tap water as we have soft water here. If you have hard water you may wish to use distilled water as hard water can leave spots on chrome surfaces like taps.
• 15 drops of essential oils

Pour the above ingredients into your spray bottle. Using a funnel helps. Put the top on and gently shake or swish in order to mix everything together.

Some Essential Oil Combinations that I Have Used

Essential oils are quite versatile. You can use so many combinations to suit your needs. I basically go by smell. You can literally change it up every time you make a batch.

I really like the doTerra line as I know that they are pure. A little goes a long way.

It can be overwhelming at first as there are so many different essential oils out there. Here’s some information to get you started.

If you are interested in what I did specifically, here are the combinations that I have used.

• 5 drops tea tree oil and 10 drops of lavender
• 5 drops of On Guard, 5 drops of lemon eucalyptus and 5 drops of peppermint

I am careful about using a lot of citrus oils in my granite and marble countertops. According to doTerra, if properly sealed, there should be no issue. Always test a small, inconspicuous section first. I recently resealed my countertops and so far so good with the use of On Guard in my cleaner. Remember that On Guard is a mixture and so the amount of Wild Orange will be somewhat minimal.

You can easily double or triple this recipe to make a lot of this cleaner. I keep a bottle in the kitchen as well as in every bathroom. I prefer the larger 16 oz bottle in the kitchen while I smaller 8 oz bottles for the bathrooms as it takes up less space.

This cleaner is great. It’s easy to use, cleans everything and smells nice. I’ve made it a couple of times now and have changed up the essential oils. I love the variety.

Like the label on my bottle? It’s made using a waterslide decal. Be sure to check out my blog post on how to make those.

Be sure to check back tomorrow when I share another easy-to-make cleaning product with you.

Want to remember how to make this all-purpose cleaner without vinegar? Be sure to save this to your favourite Pinterest board.