Thanks to my sister and my dear friend Becky, I will be venturing into the world of homemade cleaners. Here are three I will be trying this month. (I’ll report back on how they work for me.)
#1 DIY Laundry Detergent
My sister has been telling me for months now that I need to make my own detergent, but the only recipes I had seen were for the gel kind. My friend Becky just showed me this recipe for powder detergent, so I’m going to try it for myself.
#2 Orange Infused Vinegar
I found this idea on Pinterest and while she doesn’t give an exact measurement, the basic idea is to place the peels (completely cleaned) from 5-6 oranges in a quart-ish size glass jar, pour the vinegar over them and wait 3-4 weeks. Once the vinegar is ready, pour it into a spray bottle and add the same amount of water. Use as you would glass cleaner or 409.
#3 All Natural Dishwasher Rinse Aid
I have never used a rinse aid before, but recently my dishes have had a kind of sand-like residue on them so I researched my problem. Read this post from A Whole New Mom for all the details, but let’s just say that paying $.79 versus $6.09 is a total no brainer–duh!
I will give you my full report on these new cleaners once I check them out.
What homemade cleaners do you use? Share in the comments so that I can expand my repertoire! 
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I found one that cleans soap scum from my shower doors that was cheap and easy. I couldn’t believe it. My doors haven’t looked that good since they were new. Have to look it up for exact measurements but it was warmed white vinegar and dawn dish soap. That was it. My kids bathtub looks almost new as well. If your interested I’ll find the measurements. I found it on Pinterest as well. Such an addicting / informative/ fun site!!
Definitely pass that recipe along Kimi. I had to limit myself to certain times of the day or I would be on Pinterest all the time!
Thanks for featuring my rinse aid! I am sure you are going to like it! I never used one in my life but this really helps!
I am so excited to try it Adrienne. Thanks!
Also, I didn’t realize that I had left out the name of your blog. I just updated the post. Hopefully you will get some traffic.
I am already doing the powdered laundry detergent, and like it very much. I have been doing straight vinegar for windows, mirrors and general cleaning for over 10 years. (Never did the infused thing) but like vinegar because you don’t have to rinse it and worry that you didn’t get it all. But for the dishwasher rinse agent, again, I use straight vinegar and have been doing so for over 2 weeks now, and my dishes are coming out SO CLEAN~ That gritty white stuff is no longer an issue. Might want to try it because it’s even cheaper than what you posted above. Good luck!
Thanks Melane. Do you put the vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher or in the rinse aid compartment?
Do you think adding orange oil instead of the orange peels would do the same thing? Or any citrus peels? I bet that it would cover up the vinegar smell!!
I think any citrus peels will work, but I think the oil might be a problem since you’re using it for cleaning. Has anyone else tried using oil?
I make my own homemade daily shower cleaner with half and half vinegar to water a little squirt of shampoo and lemon essential oils to cut down the vinegar smell a bit and it works well.
I have read on other sites the vinegar as a rinse aid has yellowed the inside of some dishwashers so since I rent I am scared of this one.
I definitely want to try the infused vinegar and the laundry soap. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for letting me know about the yellowing issue Samantha. I hadn’t heard about that.
My dishwasher gets slightly orange but it is not from the vinegar, it is from the hard water here. If you run an empty load using tang beverage drink mix it takes away the orange tint. I am assuming it is the citrus in the tang and i would think that lemon juice might do just as well
I use a homemade all purpose cleaner with 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water- I was scared of the vinegar smell being too overpowering so I put quite a few drops of orange essential oils- and now hwen I clean I have a nice *natural* citrus smells!
Also, a really good tip for getting soap scum off your shower is to use a dryer sheet! I used about 3 sheets to clean my shower (And I did it while I was in the shower so I could easily rinse it off without getting wet!) and it was so easy and my bathroom smelled so fresh!
Thanks for that tip Amber. I never heard of using dryer sheets. So you wet them first?
Yes, wet them and scrub away!