Homemade All Purpose Cleaner Recipes

Here are several recipes for homemade all purpose cleaner that you can use throughout your home. These recipes range from mild to degreasing formulas for tough dirt and grease.

An all purpose cleaner is just that, a cleaner that can be used on multiple surfaces in your home.

To do that these cleaners have to walk a fine line between too tough, meaning that they run the risk of harming certain surfaces, and too mild, so they could be used on lots of surfaces but who would want to use them, since they wouldn't clean much?

The recipes listed below generally find the right balance, making them great for general use around the house.

Please note, however, that none of these homemade cleaning products disinfect surfaces, just clean them. (If you're interested in sanitizing surfaces here's a homemade disinfectant recipe.)

Gentle All Purpose Cleaner

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons dishwashing liquid
• 5 drops essential oil (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake to combine.

You can choose any type of essential oil you wish, generally for the scent it provides, or you can leave it out if you prefer an unscented cleaner.

If you want some suggestions for scents to choose, check out my essential oil recipes for homemade cleaning products.

In addition, if you make your own homemade dish soap with a recipe I have suggested, it will already contain some essential oils in it, meaning you would not need to add anymore.

Ammonia All Purpose Cleaner

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon ammonia
• 1 tablespoon liquid laundry detergent
• 1 pint water

Directions:

Mix the ingredients into a spray bottle and shake to combine.

Ammonia can be harmful to fiberglass or aluminum, so do not use this cleaner on these surfaces.

Amonnia For Cleaning {Referral Links}

Borax All Purpose Cleaner

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon of hot water
• 1/2 cup borax

Directions:

Combine the ingredients in a bucket and use a sponge or rag to apply it to various surfaces.

You can learn even more uses for borax powder here.

Borax Cleaning Powder {Referral Links}

Washing Soda All Purpose Cleaner

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup washing soda
• 1 gallon water

Directions:

Use the same way as the borax all purpose cleaner.

Do not use this solution on fiberglass or aluminum because the high alkalinity may harm these surfaces in a similar way as ammonia.

This cleaning solutions can also be rough on your hands, so I suggest wearing rubber gloves while cleaning with this solution.

Lemon Scented Rubbing Alcohol And Ammonia Homemade All Purpose Cleaner

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pints water
• 1/3 cup rubbing alcohol
• 1 teaspoon ammonia
• 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle, and shake well before each use.

Warning: As with all cleaners containing ammonia, do not use this cleaner on fiberglass or aluminum.

Degreasing All Purpose Cleaner

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon washing soda
• 2 teaspoons borax
• 1/2 teaspoon dishwashing liquid
• 5-10 drops essential oil (your choice) (optional)
• 2 cups hot water

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together into a spray bottle, and shake to combine this homemade all purpose cleaner.

This formula works especially well for removing greasy residue on surfaces.

You can choose whatever essential oil, or combination of essential oils, that you want for this cleaner, mainly for its scent. If you want an unscented cleaner just don't add the essential oil.

If you're interested in learning more about cleaning with essential oils check out my article on how to use essential oils for cleaning your home.

Do You Have Any Homemade All Purpose Cleaner Recipes To Share?

I know I've provided quite a few recipes you can choose from to clean your home, but the beauty of homemade cleaning products is that there is generally more than one recipe that works well for the same job.

I'd love for you to share your own recipes too. You can share your homemade cleaners recipes here. In addition, you can read even more green cleaning recipes for all purpose cleaner here, which have already been submitted.

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Related Pages You May Enjoy

Homemade Cleaning Products Recipes

General Purpose Cleaner Reviews & Opinions

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CAUTION: This website is provided for informational purposes only. It is provided as is, without warranties or guarantees. Some stains and messes just won't come out, and are permanent. Further, some cleaning methods can harm your item, so if what you want to clean or launder is sentimental or expensive call a professional. See disclaimer of liability for more information.