How to Make a 4-Ingredient Homemade All-Purpose Spray
This homemade all-purpose spray can be used to clean counters, floors and more!
Everyone seems to have their own “thing”… You know, something that they have a knack for…something that comes natural to them. I have discovered over the past few years that saving money and reducing household waste is mine!
I love to find ways to cut our expenses and lower the amount of waste that leave our home without sacrificing our quality of life. One way that I do this is by making my own cleaning supplies. This reduces the amount of plastic that use because I am reusing the same spray bottle (I have switched to a glass spray bottle since writing this post) instead of constantly purchasing new ones and I save money by purchasing in bulk and not paying for packaging.
Last week I showed you how I make my homemade laundry powder and this week I am sharing my Homemade All-Purpose Spray!
Homemade All-Purpose Spray Cleaner
This spray is truly all-purpose and that is one of the reasons that I LOVE it! I use it on my counters, kitchen table, kids’ toys, walls, windows, bathroom, and just about everywhere else in my house.
Another reason to love this cleaner is that it is kid-safe. My cleaning cabinet stays locked, but if my toddlers somehow find their way in I don’t have to worry because this spray (and my other cleaning products) are totally safe!
Homemade Cleaning Spray Ingredients:
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 cup Distilled White Vinegar
- 10-15 drops tea tree oil (read about the benefits of Tea Tree Oil here)
- 5-10 drops of another oil (I like to use lemon or peppermint) *optional
- 2-3 drops of dish liquid *optional
Homemade Cleaning Spray Directions:
Step 1
Pour the three cups of water into your spray bottle
. I like to use a funnel
on this step, but if you are feeling brave then you can skip the funnel. Using warm (not hot) water is best to help the other ingredients mix thoroughly.
Step 2
Add 1/2 cup of Distilled White Vinegar
to the water in the spray bottle. Distilled White Vinegar is used in almost every cleaning product that I make and I also use it as an alternative to bleach. It is a safe, natural, and very effective product that I recommend keeping in stock all the time.
Step 3
Now, you can add your oils. Drop in 10-15 drops of Tea Tree essential oil. Add additional oils to scent your homemade cleaning spray if you like. I purchase most of my Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils
for my cleaning products. Lemon , Peppermint, and Lavender oils are my favorites for scent and for extra cleaning properties.
Step 4
If you want, you can add a couple drops of dish liquid for extra grease busting power. Wild Orange Essential Oil
is also great for cutting through grease. This is an optional ingredient, but I highly recommend it.
Step 5
Shake up the solution until it is mixed well and your Homemade All-Purpose Spray is ready to go! You can use this solution on everything from your kitchen to the bathrooms, bedrooms, and appliances. Sometimes I even use it to spot mop my floors! This is seriously amazing stuff and I hope you love it as much as I do!
What are the Benefits of Essential Oils in Cleaning Supplies?
Many Essential Oils have been found to contain strong antibacterial, anti fungal, and antiviral properties. Essential Oils are used in my Homemade All-Purpose Spray Cleaner for those properties plus they have a great scent! Some oils are even used as effective bug repellants!
Tea Tree Essential Oil
According to this study from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), Tea Tree Essential Oil has proven to have antibacterial, anti fungal, antiviral, and antiprotazoal properties. With all the farm kids that live in my house, it is essential to use cleaners that really clean and Tea Tree Oil does just that.
Check out the Benefits of Tea Tree Essential Oil.
Lemon Essential Oil
Lemon is my go to oil for scent because it makes my home smell so fresh & clean. Lemon essential oil
is also known to have antibacterial and anti fungal properties.
Read over this list of Top 12 Health Benefits of Lemon Essential Oil.
Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint essential oil is what I use around the holidays, but I also use this oil during the Spring & Summer when I notice spiders starting to invade our home. Spiders don’t like the smell of peppermint so I get a nice smelling home & spider repellant all in one!
Do you know all of Peppermint Oil’s Uses and Benefits?
Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Eucalyptus essential oil is an Antibacterial, Antifungal, Deodorizer, and a dust mite buster. I personally avoid this one because it is a trigger for migraines for me, but if you aren’t affected like I am, then I recommend this oil in cleaning and laundry just like Tea Tree Oil.
Check out these 20 Incredible Benefits of Eucalyptus Essential Oil!
Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender essential oil has Antibacterial & Antiviral properties that make it a nice addition to cleaning products. It’s smell is also pleasing & relaxing which is definitely a plus for a busy mama like yourself. Lavender Oil can also be used to repel bugs like pantry moths.
13 Surprising Benefits of Lavender Essential Oil
Oregano Essential Oil
Studies have shown that Oregano essential oil
has pretty strong antimicrobial properties especially when combined with Thyme Essential Oil.
Antimicrobial Study of Oregano Essential Oil
Wild Orange Essential Oil
Wild Orange Essential Oil is a great grease buster and an antiseptic + it smells nice 🙂 I like using this one in my Homemade Cleaning Spray in the summer for a fresh sunny scent.
21 Smart Household Uses for Wild Orange Oil
>>More Cleaning Supply Recipes<<
- How to Make Homemade Hand Sanitizer with Aloe Vera
- Homemade Dish Detergent Recipe
- How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent Powder
Pin “Homemade All-Purpose Spray with Essential Oils” for Later!
Great tips..pretty handy to make your very own antibacterial spray. I am sure our readers will love seeing this! Would love for you to link up with our Dishing It & Digging It link party every Sunday.
I have been looking for a new Sunday Link Party! I’ll check it out! Thanks!
So what ‘commercial product’ would this replace? Is it like Lysol spray or more like the all-purpose cleaner? I’m trying to make more of our own products and save money too. Thanks for the help!
I use it in place of my typical all-purpose spray like Simple Green. I do keep Lysol on hand right now for the toilets and clean ups if one of the kids has been sick. I use this on everything else where you would use an antibacterial cleaner.
Holy cow. If I had known it was that quick and easy to make my own? Sheesh! Thanks for sharing this with us at the DI & DI Link Party. I hope it brings you some new friends and great traffic!
So simple! I make almost all of my cleaning supplies and most (Except soap with lye) are this simple! Thanks for having me on the Link Party!
Do you know if this product would be safe for granite/quartz counter tops? Does adding the dish soap leave any streak or residue? Thanks!!
I only use about 2 drops of dish liquid and that leaves no streak at all. 🙂 I haven’t personally used it on granite or quartz, but this article states that vinegar can etch granite. The recipe given in the linked article basically replaces the vinegar in mine with alcohol for granite. 🙂
Great recipe! I love white vinegar – it has so many great uses. I will be trying this soon. Thanks!
Thanks, Cristina! I use it for everything in my house! Such a great product!
Awesome DIY! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing this recipe/tip I may try it today!!
Love essential Oils.
Hi, please can you tell me how you know this is antibacterial? Have you had it tested?
Hi Sally! Vinegar, Tea Tree Oil, and Dish Soap are known to have antibacterial properties. Having this recipe tested for a specific antibacterial percentage is a great idea, though, and I am looking into that now!
That is really great! Now I think that antibacterial spray is really easy to make with essential oils.
Great blog! I appreciate you sharing these tips! I will pin this.
Just a warning if you have pets then you will need an alternative for the tea tree oil.
Diluted tea tree oil, as used in this recipe, is safe to use around pets. You will need to be sure that the concentrated oil is kept out of the reach of your animals, though.
Would you spray it onto hands of little children, to help protect them from diseases?
It wouldn’t hurt them, but I wouldn’t recommend it… Washing children’s hands with soap and water is the best option for that.
Thanks for sharing such a valuable article. Keep up your good work!