Keeping your home clean and natural shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. Make a homemade natural spray cleaner and have a home that smells super clean and fresh without smelling like a pool (i.e. like chlorine). Marseille’s Remedy oil uses eucalyptus, lemon, rosemary, and cinnamon bark to create a powerful antiseptic blend that will rid your house of germs and keep it smelling wonderful.
Why Make a Homemade Natural Spray Cleaner
First things first: making your own spray cleaner is super easy. Once you’ve tried this recipe, you most likely will never consider buying cleaners again. Stock your pantry with the basics (vinegar and Marseille’s Remedy oil) and you just combine them when you need more.
But beyond the fact that making your own all-purpose cleaner is super easy, it also makes sense for health reasons: Take a look at the Environmental Working Group’s list of all-purpose cleaners. I took a quick look and found a popular brand that many people think is environmentally friendly. In part, the report notes that this cleaner “may contain ingredients with potential for acute aquatic toxicity; nervous system effects; skin irritation/allergies/damage” Wow. Interestingly, the ingredient which concerns the EWG the most? Fragrance.
By DIYing your cleaner, you’ll ensure that it smells wonderful and that this smell is entirely plant-based. And you’ll do this while saving time and a lot of money.
So let’s get started. Gather your ingredients, put on your protective gloves (if you want to) and dive in.
Homemade Natural Cleaner — Easy and Inexpensive
Once you have your pantry stocked, you’ll just be able to reach for your bottle of Marseille’s Remedy oil, vinegar, and lemon juice and you’re all set. The vinegar doesn’t have to be fancy — in fact, plain white vinegar works great. The base of acetic acid is a powerful cleaner and disinfectant. By the way, if you don’t like the smell of vinegar, vodka is a fine substitute.
The cleaner will have all the properties of Marseille’s Remedy oil, which has been used for centuries combined with the extra oomph of the vinegar, making a great disinfecting cleaner that will make stainless steel surfaces shine.
Note: This product is great for many surfaces, but should not be used on granite or marble as the vinegar could etch the surface.
Ways to Use Your Natural Spray Cleaner
All year round, by simply varying the potency of your recipe, you can use your Marseille’s Remedy in the following ways:
- Cleaning/shining stainless steel
- Cleaning stains on the carpet
- Sanitizing cutting boards
Let us know what you use your cleaner for — There are so many ways to use this stuff.
Homemade Marseille’s Remedy Oil Spray Cleaner Recipe:
Time: 5 minutes
Amount: 1 liter
The basic idea is to simply add between 30 drops of your Marseille’s Remedy oil to a combination of vinegar (or vodka) and water. Feel free to experiment to see what works best for you. Make sure you know your basic chemistry before you experiment too much, though. This article gives some great advice for staying safe while making your own cleaners.
Ingredients:
- 500 ml base:
- Distilled white vinegar
- Vodka
- Rubbing Alcohol
- Distilled water (you can also use tap water)
- 30 drops Marseille’s Remedy oil
- 15 ml lemon juice (you can leave this out)
Instructions:
Combine the base, water, essential oils, and lemon juice in a shaker bottle and shake to combine.
Add to a spray bottle and keep refrigerated when not using. It should last up to three weeks.
