Lavender & Tea Tree Spray Cleaner
1 t. borax
2 T. white vinegar
2 c. hot water
1/4 t. Lavender essential oil
3 drops Tea Tree essential oil
Mix all ingredients together and stir until dry ingredients dissolve. Pour into spray bottle for long-term storage and use. Spray as needed on any surface except glass. Scrub and rinse with a clean damp, cloth.
Spicy Orange Air Freshener
5 drops Orange
2 drops Cinnamon Leaf
4 oz. distilled water
Put distilled water in a spray bottle, add essential oils and shake well. Spray as needed in rooms or at your work desk for a refreshing look at your work.
Citrus Air Freshener
50 drops Lemon Essential Oil
50 drops Pink Grapefruit
10 drops Red Mandarin
10 drops Patchouli
4 oz. Pure Water
Pour the water into a mist spray bottle and add essential oils.
Tighten the cap, shake well, and spray the mist into the air. As mist
ages inside the bottle, the scent improves and becomes stronger.
Rosemary Deodorizer & Disinfectant
6 drops Rosemary
6 drops Grapefruit
4 drops Lemon
2 ounces purified water
Combine oils and water in a 2-ounce glass spritzer bottle. Shake well before each use and spray liberally into the air. This spray will combat odors and kill infectious organisms. During cold and flu season, add 2 drops of Eucalyptus. The blend works well in a diffuser also without the water.
Christmas House Spray
4 drops Pine Needle
1 drop Mandarin
2 drops Cinnamon Leaf
Dilute in purified water in a 2 ounce spray bottle.
Microwave Cleaner
1/4 cup baking soda
1 teaspoon vinegar
6 drops lemon essential oil
Mix ingredients to make a paste. Apply to interior of microwave with a sponge. Rinse and leave door open to dry for 15 minutes. Wash the glass turntable by hand. This recipe will get rid of food odors...great for getting rid of that popcorn smell.
Hard Floor
To clean hard floors, add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to a bucket of water. Then add 5-10 drops of lemon, pine, spruce, If the floor is especially dirty, add several drops of dishwashing soap. This will clean even the dirtiest floor.
1/4 cup white vinegar to a bucket of water
5-10 drops lemon, pine, spruce
Liquid castile soap if needed
Floor Cleaner
Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to a bucket of water. Add 10 drops of lemon oil and 4 drops of oregano essential oil. Oregano oil has powerful antiseptic properties!
1/4 cup white vinegar to a bucket of water
10 drops lemon oil
4 drops oregano oil
Carpet Freshener
To make a carpet freshener, add 16-20 drops of essential oils to a cup of baking soda. Mix well and place in a covered container overnight so that the oil can be absorbed. Sprinkle over your carpet the next day and then vacuum the powder up.
1 cup baking soda
16-20 drops essential oils
Vacuum Cleaner
You may also saturate a disposable cloth or tissue with several drops of essential oil and place it into the collecting bag of your vacuum. This will diffuse a pleasant odor as you clean.
If your vacuum collects dirt into water, simply add a few drops into the water reservoir before cleaning. This refreshes both, the carpet and the room.
Homemade Soft Scrubber
1/2 cup baking soda
Liquid Castile Soap
5 drops Lavender essential oil and/or 5 drops Tea Tree essential oil
Place the baking soda in a bowl. Slowly pour in liquid soap stirring constantly, add liquid soap until the consistency resembles frosting. Add the essential oil (oils) if desired. Scoop the creamy mixture onto a sponge, scrub the surface, and then rinse. If you add a little pure vegetable glycerin to the baking soda, the mixture will stay moist for a long time in a jar with a tight lid.
Basic Wood Cleaning Formula
This formula is for well-used furniture. The vinegar works to pull dirt out of the wood. It doesn't leave an oily residue because the little bit of oil keeps the wood from drying out. It will store almost indefinately in a lidded jar.
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon liquid castile soap
5 drops jojoba or olive oil
Combine the ingredients in a bowl. Saturate a sponge and squeeze out the excess. Wash surfaces of tired and dirty wood. The vinegar smell will disipate soon. Dry with a soft cloth.
Basic Household Disinfectant
Fill a spray bottle with water and a squirt of dishwashing soap.
Add 3-5 drops each of lavender, lemon and pine essential oils.
Shake well.
Floor cleaner
Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to a bucket of water.
Add 5-10 drops lemon, pine, spruce, melaleuca.
To freshen a vacuum cleaner
Sprinkle several drops of lemon onto half a tissue. Let the vacuum cleaner suck it up or place it into the collecting bag. If your vacuum cleaner has a water reservoir, add a few drops of oil into it before cleaning.
Fighting dust mites
Recent research has shown that eucalyptus oil kills dust mites that live in bedding. 25 drops of eucalyptus essential oil added to each load of laundry or 1/2 ounce to a jug of laundry detergent is all you need.
Hot tubs and saunas
Use 3 drops per person of lavender, cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, thyme, lemon, or grapefruit to disinfect and fragrance the water.
For saunas, add several drops rosemary, thyme, pine, or lavender to a spray bottle with water and spray surfaces. This water can also be used to splash onto hot sauna stones.
Kitchens and bathrooms
The following recipes are excellent cleansers for work areas, cupboards, bathroom fixtures, sinks, tiles, woodwork, carpets and more. They clean bacteria and odors; freshen, deodorize and disinfect the air.
Mix into 1 quart water:
2 drops rosemary
4 drops lemon
3 drops eucalyptus
4 drops lavender
Shake well and put into a spray bottle. Shake again before using.
Another recipe for cleaning
Mix into 1 quart water:
3 - 4 drops lavender
5 - 6 drops Purification
Shake well and put into a spray bottle. Shake again before using.
Another all-purpose cleaner
Water
2 Tablespoons Borax
1 Teaspoon Castile Soap
15-20 drops Essential Oils such as Pine, Lemon, Melaleuca, Citronella, or Lemongrass (or any combination of the above)
Add Borax to a 1 quart spray bottle. Fill with warm water. Add Castile soap and Essential Oils. Shake and use.
Window cleaner
Mix in 1 quart spray bottle:
1 cup White Vinegar
10-15 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
Water
Mix vinegar and water in spray bottle. Add essential oil. Shake and use.
Stain Remover
Use a drop or two of Lemon oil on a stain. Let it sit a few minutes and rub off with a clean cloth or throw into laundry cycle.
Peppermint Spray for Mice
Mice hate peppermint. Add 2 teaspoons of peppermint to 1 cup of water and spray in areas where you think that mice might frequent.
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• Tea tree. Tea tree, which is a disinfectant, can be added to anything you use in the kitchen or bathroom for a sharp, medicinal scent that positively smacks of clean. Add a few drops to your general purpose vinegar/water spray, to your dishwashing liquid, or to a spray bottle with water to zap any offensive smells.
• Eucalyptus. This is another disinfectant and the key ingredient in Vicks VapoRub. Eucalyptus is particularly good in the winter. Again, you can add it to any general purpose cleaning agent for a clean that packs a wallop. In addition, adding several drops to your washing machine kills dust mites in blankets, sheets and pillowcases and fills the house with a clean scent.
• Lavender. My all-purpose favorite, lavender, is a gentle scent that has been used for centuries in linen closets because it keeps away moths. I use a couple of drops on a wet washcloth in the dryer, and several drops in each clothing drawer. I also use it in wood floor-washing water, since it smells so fantastic. And if you like scented linen water, simply put a little in a spray bottle filled with water and shake well before using.
• Orange. There's a reason orange cleaning products sell so well. They work. Add a few drops to your laundry detergent and shake well. It smells sharp and helps get those stains out.
• Lemon. Like orange oil, lemon oil is a natural cleaner and is great for furniture. Mix a little with olive oil, apply lightly to furniture, and buff with a clean cloth for a high shine.
• Pine. So many commercial cleaners use pine oil, and no wonder! It is a great cleaner, it smells wonderful, and best of all, it's inexpensive. Put it in floor washing water for the bathroom or kitchen. Fill a Mason jar with baking soda and some pine oil to sprinkle on carpets and then vacuum to deodorize.