Name: All Purpose Cleaner
Total time: 2 min
Ingredients: 250ml distilled water (1 cup); 250ml distilled white vinegar (1 cup); 10 drops tea tree oil; spray bottle

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It only takes 2 minutes to make this natural all-purpose cleaner which you can use for a multitude of surfaces!

About 3 years ago I switched out my store-bought all-purpose cleaner for a diy version. Since that day, I have never looked back. This is hands down the most effective cleaner I have ever used. It gets rid of even the toughest water stains you can imagine and it makes your home smell wonderful. The best part is: it is incredibly cheap to make! While buying cleaners might not cause you to break your budget, making them yourself is not only fun but can help you save those few extra bucks. The main reason for switching out commercial cleaners for a homemade version isn’t money though, it’s your health. Did you ever google the ingredients in your store-bought cleaners? The results are scary! Or did you ever turn over the bottle and read “Not safe for pets”. That has actually happened to me. No joke, unfortunately. As a health conscious person and a fellow pet owner these were more than enough reasons to switch out my cleaners to more natural and safer alternatives.

Let’s take a closer look at the profile of this all-purpose cleaner.

disinfects
easily removes water stains, grease, dirt and grim
safe for children
safe for pets*
cheap
smells good
non toxic

*Never spray directly onto your pets or close to them. Essential oils can be toxic to pets when ingested in large amounts.

There are various versions you can make of this all-purpose cleaner by simply switching out the essential oil. You can make a lemon all-purpose cleaner, a lavender rose all-purpose cleaner, a spring scented all-purpose cleaner,… The options are endless! In my recipe here, I use tea tree oil. I love using tea tree oil because of its amazing properties. It has antibacterial, anti fungal and antiviral properties which makes it a great addition in this all-purpose cleaner. I really love the scent of tea tree oil but I am aware that not everybody might enjoy it as much. Feel free to substitute it for another oil. Fresh scents with citrus notes are really great alternative as they have disinfectant properties as well and make your home smell fresh and clean.

When buying essential oils you should always opt for hight quality, organic grade oils. How do you know if the oil is high quality? It’s usually reflected in the price and it has some sort of seal that proves that it is 100% organic. Another ingredient you might not have at home is distilled white vinegar. I have made this recipe a bunch of times with normal household vinegar and it has also worked really well. A few months ago my grocery store started selling white distilled vinegar and I switched to it simply because of the colour. Since I use clear plastic bottles (they don’t sell them anymore, but this one would be a great alternative), I minded the brownish colour of normal household vinegar and I think the clear version looks a lot better now. But like I said, it’s more of an aesthetic thing. The last ingredient is distilled water which you can find at your local grocery store. They typically sell it in large 5 liter containers and one container will last you quite a while.

Since this is an all purpose cleaner, you can use it for all surfaces, excluding leather and textiles, stone surfaces (marble, granite,..) and glass surfaces.