Your Guide to DIY Household Cleaners
At Merkaba skincare we're not only passionate about holistic, plant based skincare, we're equally as passionate about reducing the amount of toxins we use on a daily basis. Unfortunately many of these harsh chemicals are found in our regular household cleaning products.
There are so many different products on the market today, each housed in elaborate plastic packaging, boasting 'fresh', 'sparkling' and 'germ-free', each one marketed for a specific use. But the reality is that many of these products are a major source of added toxins in our homes, often contributing to detrimental effects on our long term health.
Switching to natural, homemade cleaning products is not only better for our overall wellbeing, it can also help to simplify our lives. A combination of just a few common household ingredients can tackle almost every cleaning task. Products made from natural ingredients also help to improve the quality of the air within our homes, are much safer, particularly around children, and they're friendlier on the budget.
Furthermore, making our own cleaning products will not only reduce our use of plastic, but dramatically lessen the environmental and household pollution caused by the manufacture, use and disposal of these products.
We love including some of natures powerhouse ingredients such as bicarb soda and vinegar in our recipes. They both have impressive antibacterial properties and work well together to create highly effective products that won't add to your daily toxin exposure. We also love using essential oils such as lemon, tea tree, clove, peppermint and eucalyptus for their antiseptic, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties.
We recommend using glass bottles such as these for your cleaning products because glass is impervious to essential oils and will preserve the product for longer. Stainless steel is another good option. Citrus oils, in particular have a composition that is known to interfere with the chemistry of plastics so plastic bottles are best avoided.
Here are a few of our favourite basic cleaning recipes.
MULTIPURPOSE SPRAY
2 tablespoons liquid castile soap
1 tablespoon white vinegar
10 - 15 drops lemon or peppermint essential oils (or a combination of both)
Simply add ingredients to a 500 ml glass or stainless steel spray bottle and fill with filtered or distilled water. Shake gently.
This is a perfect, protective all purpose cleaner that is great for kitchen benches and other surfaces. Give it a light shake before each use as the ingredients will settle.
SOFT SCRUB CLEANER
3/4 cup bicarb soda
1/4 cup liquid castile soap
1 tablespoon white vinegar
10 drops lemon or tea tree essential oils (or a combination of both)
Filtered or distilled water
Combine baking soda and castile soap. Add vinegar, essential oils and enough filtered water to make a smooth paste. Mix together and store in an airtight container. This scrub is as good as any commercial product to remove built up grime and grease from basins, showers, tiled floors and other surfaces throughout the home.
GLASS CLEANER
1 teaspoon liquid castile soap
1/4 cup white vinegar
10 drops lemon or tea tree essential oils (or a combination of both)
Simply add ingredients to a 500 ml glass or stainless steel bottle and fill with filtered or distilled water. Shake gently. Apply with a reusable cloth made from old sheets or tee shirts (better than paper towels) or something like these cloths made from 100% plant based pulp. We don't recommend microfibre cloths. Although they're great at lifting dirt, they're actually made from petrochemicals, don't biodegrade and can't be recycled.
TOILET BOWL CLEANER
1/2 cup bicarb soda
1/2 cup white vinegar
10 drops essential oils such as tea tree, eucalyptus or clove
Sprinkle the bicarb soda around the toilet bowl and drop the essential oils into the water. Pour over the vinegar and clean with toilet brush as it bubbles. This powerful chemical reaction removes stains and any lingering odours.
CITRUS MINT AIR FRESHENER SPRAY
1 tablespoon vodka (helps the essential oils and water to mix more thoroughly and results in the spray drying faster)
8 drops orange essential oil
8 drops peppermint essential oil
Place above ingredients into a 200 ml glass spray bottle and fill with filtered or distilled water. Shake gently.
Play around with different essential oils. Not only will you find your own appealing scents, the essential oils also help to cleanse the air.
