DIY Household Cleaners (Everything from Homemade Bleach to Window Cleaner & More)

One of the BEST ways to save money on household items is by making your own cleaners.  Head into our home and you won’t find a commercial bottle of cleaner ANYWHERE – even more, I can actually go to the store and skip right over that aisle entirely.

I’m really being serious, that stuff is HORRIBLE.. it’s full of chemicals that you can’t even pronounce (why would you want that stuff on your skin?!) The smells are enough to give you headaches, and they are all totally unnecessary. They really are. You can save SO much by just making your own and it really takes NO time at all.

Don’t you think it’s crazy that there is almost 1/2 an aisle dedicated to cleaners?   At the Dollar Tree, they span a FULL wall on the back of the store.  Whatever manufacturers CAN make, they do make, because people fall head over heels for that stuff and buy up tons – all you have to do is walk into anyone’s house and find at least 8-10 under the cabinet.

• Lemon Scented.
• Lemon Toilet.
• Tub and Tile.
• Toilet Tablets. 
• Toilet Scrubbers.
• Magic Erasers.
• Magic Erasers for the bath.
• Magic Erasers for Corners.
• Carpet Cleaner.
• Granite Cleaner.
• Tile Cleaner.
• Fabric Softener.
• Fabric “Scent” with Beads.
• Laundry “boost”.

It’s unbelievable.  With just 4-5 items at home, you can literally make your own. Even better, your own work in EVERY room.  Here are the things WE keep on hand to whip together our OWN cleaners…

• Vinegar
• Dish Soap (preferably blue Dawn for Weeds in the yard)
• Baking Soda (we get ours at Costco!)
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Castile Soap (get it HERE or HERE)
• We also use Thieves Cleaner from Young Living too – it’s better than ANYTHING else!

Castile Soap is one of our favorite items here – we use it to make our Hand Soap (it goes a LONG way…), we use it for body wash, we use it for washing hair, we use it for mopping floors too.

Easy Make Floor Cleaner

I use my sink for the mop water, and I fill it about half full with hot water. Then I throw in a few squirts of Dish Soap (right now I am using Seventh Generation but usually it’s Blue Dawn from the $.99 store), a few glugs of vinegar, and a few shakes of washing soda.  I don’t count water as an ingredient since it’s something we all have so abundantly.

• 2-3 gallons Hot Water
• 1/4 C. Vinegar
• 1/4 C. Washing Soda
• 2-3 squirts of Dish Soap

Mop your floors, rinse the mop when you are done, and put that mop outside to dry for next time.

Tub and Tile Cleaner & Degreaser

• 1 Part Vinegar
• 1 Part Dish Liquid

Heat up the vinegar, not to a rolling boil but just until warm. Take off the stove, and use a funnel to pour into a spray bottle (we use a glass spray bottle that we make ourselves). Add the dish liquid. Top off with water and gently flip (don’t shake) to blend.

Use it for Soap Scum on Tiles, greasy kitchen counters and even wiping sinks – for more difficult areas, let sit for 5-10 minutes (or if a bad shower then sit overnight).

Stain Remover

• 1 part Dish Liquid
• 2 parts Hydrogen Peroxide

This works AMAZING on stains – rub it in, let it sit, rinse out. It’s always safe to test on new areas before you use… you can also use this on carpet stains, too!

Window & Glass Cleaner

• One part water
• 1 part Vinegar

It will SMELL but that smells goes away quickly – use newspaper or a terry towel to avoid having to use paper towels.

Fabric Softener

• Vinegar – 1/4 – 1/2 c. per load

SO much better than using commercial softener, healthier for you long term (than all those chemicals in your laundry products!) & does a great job at softening clothes.   Then pick up dryer balls to toss in your dryer to save yourself the cost of dryer sheets!

Bathtub Cleaner or Toilet Bowl Cleaner

• 1 C. Baking Soda (we get ours at Costco)
• 1/4 c. Castile Soap or Sal Suds (get it HERE)
• 1 – 2 Tbsp Hydrogen Peroxide

OR if you have Thieves Cleaner from Young Living, 1 C. of Baking Soda + 1 Capful of Thieves is GREAT as a Bathtub Cleaner.

Mix well and keep in a jar (that’s tightly covered with a lid!) Use sparingly on a scrub pad, and let it sit 5-10 minutes before wiping down.

Easy DIY Drain Cleaner 

• 1/2 C. Vinegar
• 1/2 C. Baking Soda

First, Baking Soda down the drain, let it sit a minute or two.  Then slowly pour the Vinegar- it should fizz.  Let it sit 15-20 minutes like that, at least. Then pour VERY hot water down the drain (use caution!)

The gunk should work itself out and if not, then the $3.00 plunger from Dollar General should come in handy.  We have the black plunger from Dollar General – it stays in the bathroom just in case.

I have one of those long, white plastic things with “hooks” I got from the Home Depot a long time ago – it “hooks” to the stuff that is stuck, if you can stick it in that far – we keep one in the TOP cabinet to help us pull any “gunk” out before we attempt to pour stuff down the drain to remedy a clog.

Guess what? You can even make your own Bleach – check out our last post for MORE on that (it is SO easy!)