Green cleaning products are all the rage...and for good reason. People are becoming more informed about the harms that commercial cleaners pose to one’s health. Still, cleaning is an absolute necessity, especially in today’s climate. So how do you ditch commercial products for natural, non-toxic cleaners?

You could shop for natural cleaning products, but even this can be risky as cleaners are not regulated and don’t always reveal all of the ingredients that they contain. 

Instead, create your own DIY cleaners and try cleaning with essential oils for a sparkling home, free of toxic chemicals. Here’s how to get started. 

Essential Oils That Protect 

First and foremost, you want to clean to protect yourself and those in your home from harmful environmental factors. But luckily, essential oils can effectively be used through inhalation and topical use. Essential oils for cleaning are also trending.

• In a study that monitored the antimicrobial activity of six different essential oils, Oregano oil was found to have the greatest antibacterial activity against several types of bacteria.^[1]

• A study performed in Algeria evaluated the antifungal activity of Lemongrass in vitro. It was concluded that Lemongrass essential oil is a promising antifungal agent.^[2]

• The antiviral activity of Tea Tree essential oil was proven effective against select viruses in a 2009 study.^[3] This was attributed to terpinen-4-ol, a natural component also found in Sweet Marjoram essential oil.

How can you use these benefits of essential oils on cleaning day? Try making this DIY cleaner to protect your home sweet home. You’ll need:

• 3 oz distilled water

• 1 oz 190-proof alcohol

• 20 drops Oregano essential oil

• 20 drops Lemongrass essential oil

• 20 drops Tea Tree essential oil 

• Glass or PET plastic spray bottle
  
  

Combine your essential oils and 190-proof alcohol in your spray bottle and let sit for a few hours. Then, add your distilled water and shake to combine. 

Spray around high traffic areas, such as kitchen counters, door knobs, tables and bathroom sinks. Let the solution sit for about two minutes before wiping away. 

Essential Oils for Grease and Gunk

Grease that won’t come off your pots and pans? Sticky, mystery gunk on your countertops? These small mishaps are no match for essential oils. 

One natural essential oil component that’s so good at disintegrating gunk, that it’s known as a green biosolvent, is d-limonene.^[4] This component is found in abundance in citrus essential oils, including:

• Grapefruit essential oil

• Nova Mandarin essential oil

• Lemon essential oil

• Bitter Orange essential oil

• Green Mandarin essential oil

To use these oils to remove gunk or grease, combine 12 drops of any of the above essential oils with 1 tbsp of dish soap. Put the mixture on a scrubber and scrub away. Use a clean, wet towel to wipe away suds. For extra de-gunking power, apply a few drops of the essential oil directly to the mess and wait a few minutes before using a scrubber to clean it away.

These essential oils can also clean tough grout and grime. To do so, make your own DIY grout cleaner using this easy recipe:

• 4 tbsp baking soda

• 1 tbsp white vinegar

• 20 drops Bitter Orange essential oil

Combine the above ingredients in a small bowl, then dip a scrubber in the mixture and scrub dirt and grime away. This recipe can also be used as a DIY drain cleaner. Simply pour the mixture in your drain and wait 10 minutes before rinsing your drain by turning on the water.

Deodorizing Essential Oils

Whether you just cooked a fishy meal or pet odors have infiltrated your space, there are many essential oils for cleaning the air that can help to deodorize your home. 

Some of the best essential oils for deodorizing are also the strongest and most aromatic. These include, but are not limited to:

• Cassia essential oil

• Eucalyptus essential oil

• Key Lime essential oil

• Peppermint essential oil

• Xiang Mao essential oil

• Ylang Ylang essential oil

Part of the fun of aromatherapy is creating wonderfully aromatic blends, so feel free to blend these or other essential oils to your liking. You can also create these deodorizing diffuser blends:

Citrus & Spice

7 drops Key Lime 

3 drops Cassia

2 drops Nutmeg

Minty Fresh

5 drops Peppermint

3 drops Eucalyptus

2 drops Vanilla

Flower Power

4 drops Lavender

3 drops Xiang Mao

3 drops Ylang Ylang

On top of using these blends in the diffuser, you can also make your own essential oil potpourri, or add these blends to a hanging ceramic stone diffuser which can be hung anywhere, like doorknobs and even your car’s rear view mirror. 

Essential Oil Blends for Cleaning

If you like your life simplified, you’ll love our pre-blended essential oils for cleaning. Some of our favorites include:

Fighting Five, Guardian and Immunity: for protecting your home, especially during cold and flu season. Use any one of these blends to replace the essential oils in our DIY cleaner recipe. 

Aroma Fresh and Cleaning: for all-purpose home cleaning. We love using these blends in this DIY carpet cleaner and DIY glass cleaner. For the DIY carpet cleaner, you’ll need:

• 1 cup baking soda

• 60 drops Aroma Fresh blend

• Shaker container

Combine both ingredients in a bowl, then transfer to your container and shake well. To use, shake the mixture onto your carpets or rugs and let sit. After an hour, vacuum the mixture away. 

Just as simple and fun to make is our DIY glass cleaner. To make it, you’ll require:

• 2 oz white vinegar

• 1 oz distilled water

• 1 oz 190-proof alcohol

• 60 drops Cleaning blend

• Glass or PET spray bottle
  
  

Combine 190-proof alcohol and Cleaning blend in your spray bottle. Let sit for a few hours, then add water and vinegar. Shake well to combine. Spray on glass and wipe away with a clean towel. 

Purify, Citrus Cream and Exhale: for deodorizing stale, stinky air. Simply diffuse these blends using an essential oil diffuser, or simmer water on your stovetop and add a few drops of any of these essential oil blends. 

Getting Started

We understand that switching from commercial cleaners to green cleaners can seem daunting. It’s okay to take it slow or replace just one of your regular cleaners with a non-toxic cleaner, as this still helps to reduce the number of harmful chemicals in your home. 

And when crafting your own cleaners, be sure to consider other household members such as young children and pets. If you’re unsure if an essential oil is safe for children, check the label on the bottle. A safe oil will have an “OK For Kids 2+” symbol on it. You can also find out which Edens Garden synergy blends are safe for kids here. Safe guidelines for furry family members can be found here. 

At Edens Garden, we have plenty of options for keeping your home clean the natural and green way. From essential oils for cleaning, deodorizing, non-toxic room sprays to natural bar soaps, EG is a one-stop-shop for sustainable, natural solutions for you and your home.

Sources:

1. Man, Adrian. “Antimicrobial Activity of Six Essential Oils Against a Group of Human Pathogens: A Comparative Study.” PubMed Central (PMC), 1 Mar. 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6471180  
2. Boukhatem, Mohamed Nadjib. “Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon Citratus) Essential Oil as a Potent Anti-Inflammatory and Antifungal Drugs.” PubMed Central (PMC), 19 Sept. 2014, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4170112 
3. Garozzo, A. “In Vitro Antiviral Activity of Melaleuca Alternifolia Essential Oil.” PubMed, 18 Sept. 2009, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19843207
4. Chemat, Smain. “Limonene as Green Solvent for Extraction of Natural Products.” SpringerLink, 8 Feb. 2012, link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-1712-1_5