Printable Essential Oil Use Chart For Homemade Cleaners & Laundry Products

Learn how common essential oils are used in homemade cleaners and laundry products with this essential oil use chart. At the bottom of the page is also a free printable version of the chart!

Once you know how to use essential oils for cleaning, you will need to choose which ones to use.

"Which ones should I use, with all the choices available?"

That is a common question, and one that this page is designed to help you answer.

It does this by providing you with an essential oil use chart for you to consult when deciding which essential oils to add to a cleaning recipe.

This chart is not comprehensive, in that it does not list every single essential oil that is available.

Instead, it gives you an overview of the essential oils that are most commonly used in homemade cleaner and laundry recipes, because of their scent or cleaning properties.

However, even this essential oil use chart is long, and you most likely don't want to, and I don't recommend, acquiring all these essential oils when you first start using them for cleaning your home.

This page also helps you determine which select few you should start out using, based on versatility, ability to blend well with other fragrances, cleaning properties, and your own unique and personal preferences.

At the bottom of this article I have provided my suggestions and recommendations for how to choose just three essential oils for your starter kit for cleaning, so you feel comfortable with starting out slowly, but also that you have enough to really get you started.

However, before you look at the starter kit suggestions you should study this essential oil use chart I have created to get an overview of the most common essential oils for cleaning. This chart will help you make informed choices for your first three essential oils for your cleaning supplies.

*** Update: Plus, based on popular demand, I've also added a printable version of the chart below the information, so you can print it out and keep it for later reference! *** End Update

Common Essential Oils Used In Homemade Cleaning & Laundry Products

Chamomile Essential Oil - Chamomile essential oil has a scent of fruits and herbs, and is known for its calming, soothing and comforting scent.

It blends well with florals, and some citruses, such as lemon.

Cinnamon Essential Oil - Cinnamon essential oil, also known as cinnamon leaf essential oil, has a spicy and sweet scent, like cinnamon.

It blends well with orange or tangerine, and can also make a room feel like it's Christmas time.

Generally, cinnamon should not be used alone in a homemade cleaner, but just added for an additional warming touch in small quantities. Of all the oils listed in this essential oil use chart it is definitely the most optional one to use.

Eucalyptus Essential Oil - Eucalyptus essential oil has a sharp, fresh smell with a bit of camphor and woody smell mixed in as well. People either love or hate its scent, generally.

Eucalyptus oil blends well with pine, rosemary and tea tree oils, and also lavender and lemon essential oils.

Geranium Essential Oil - Geranium essential oil is a floral scent, which smells a bit like roses.

In fact, it is often blended with rose essential oils to make a romantic floral scent for your cleaning products and laundry supplies.

Besides blending well with rose, geranium oil also blends well with lavender, rosemary, lemon, and orange.

Grapefruit Essential Oil - Pink grapefruit essential oil is a citrus oil that smells clean, light and a bit sharp, but still fruity.

Grapefruit oil blends well with other citrus oils, and also with rosemary and lavender oil.

Many people enjoy the scent of grapefruit in their cleaner because it is also reviving, refreshing and helps to reduce tension, especially in the winter.

Lavender Essential Oil - Lavender essential oil has a clean, floral, fresh scent which soothes, calms and relaxes.

Lavender is the most popular floral scent for cleaning supplies, and it is probably also one of the most popular oils for aromatherapy uses as well.

One of the reasons for this, beside its nice scent, is that lavender blends well with many other essential oils, including citruses and other florals.

Lemon Essential Oil - Lemon essential oil has a clean, fresh scent that is often associated with house cleaning.

It is perhaps the most common scent of household cleaners, because its scent is often associated with a feeling of freshness and cleanness.

It blends well with other citrus and floral essential oils, and also with many other essential oils.

In addition, this essential oil, along with citrus oils in general, are very good at cutting grease which is another reason they are often used in cleaning recipes.

Lemongrass Essential Oil - Lemongrass essential oil is a good choice for those that want an outdoorsy smell, but that is not too woodsy. It has a fresh lemony scent, with hints of grass and hay.

Lemongrass oil blends well with most floral and citrus essential oils, and also with rosemary. It should be used in moderation, most usually blended with another oil.

It also has some antiseptic and deodorizing properties, which are helpful in homemade cleaners.

Lime Essential Oil - Lime essential oil has a clean, fresh scent with a citrusy and fruity smell.

Lime oil blends well with other citrus essential oils, and also with lavender, geranium, and rosemary.

Peppermint Essential Oil - Peppermint essential oil is a favorite for many people that make their own cleaning products, because of its refreshing, bright minty smell.

It blends well with several other popular essential oils for cleaning, including lavender, eucalyptus, lemon and rosemary.

An added use of peppermint oil is as a natural pest deterrent.

Pine Essential Oil - Pine essential oil is another very common scent for homemade cleaning products, and has a distinctively pine needle scent.

Pine oil has antimicrobial properties, and can also act as a deodorizer.

It blends well with eucalyptus, lemon and lavender.

Rose Essential Oil - Rose essential oil smells, obviously, like roses and gives any cleaning supply or laundry supply, such as fabric softeners and laundry detergents, a romantic touch.

Rose blends well with other floral scents, but be careful because if you add too much it can become overpowering like a very strong perfume.

Rose essential oil is very expensive, so often it is mixed with geranium to have a similar scent. If you find rose too expensive, you may want to just try geranium as a substitute since it is the smell you're using this oil for in your cleaning and laundry supplies.

Rosemary Essential Oil - Rosemary essential oil has an herby smell, and is antiseptic in nature so it can be useful for cleaning in your home.

It blends well with lavender and pine.

Spearmint Essential Oil - Spearmint essential oil has a minty, fresh scent.

It is used similarly to peppermint oil, and is an alternative minty scent that can be used in your homemade cleaners.

It tends not to blend as well with other scents as peppermint though, and therefore it is my least recommended oil among those mentioned on this page.

Sweet Orange Essential Oil - Sweet orange essential oil comes from the sweet orange tree, which is smaller than the bitter orange tree. It has a sweet, fresh fruity scent, which has a refreshing and cheerful fragrance.

It blends well with other citrus essential oils, and also with geranium.

Orange oil is also a powerful cleaner, so it can be useful in cleaners needed to remove tough stains and grime.

Tangerine Essential Oil - Tangerine essential oil has a delicate sweet, fruity smell, and promotes restfulness, but is also cheering and bright.

It blends well with other citrus essential oils, and also lavender and geranium.

Tea Tree Essential Oil - Tea tree essential oil is a very useful essential oil for cleaning because of its antiseptic, antimicrobial and antifungal properties.

It has a scent that is warm and spicy, but also has a camphor, medicinal undertone. Therefore, I suggest that it be blended with another essential oil for fragrance.

Tea tree oil blends well with the other common essential oils for cleaning, such as lavender, pine and eucalyptus.

Of all the oils on this essential oil use chart it is the only one I recommend as one of your three in the starter kit, without any other choices, because it is so important for cleaning recipes.

Vanilla Essential Oil - Vanilla essential oil has a sweet warm scent that smells like vanilla.

Because the smell is such a favorite of many people, for its calming and relaxing qualities, it is also a favorite for homemade cleaning products.

It blends well with lavender, rose, and lime.

Be careful when purchasing vanilla essential oil, because it is the most commonly listed oil in this article which is often mixed with a carrier oil. Preferably, you want to get pure essential oil instead.

Get Your Printable Version Of The Chart Here

Upon popular request I've made a printable version of this chart so you can reference it later, as desired.

Click here to get your printable
(opens into new window, as 2 page PDF)

Suggestions And Recommendations For An Essential Oils Starter Kit For Cleaning

I hope you found my essential oil use chart helpful in narrowing down the selection of essential oils to those most suited for cleaning.

Now, here is my suggested method for choosing three essential oils to start with when making your own household cleaners.

First, I recommend tea tree essential oil for its antiseptic, antimicrobial and antifungal properties, because it is the biggest cleaner of the bunch, especially if you are looking for more natural ways to reduce germs in your home without chlorine bleach or other unnatural chemicals.

Second, I recommend you choose one citrus essential oil for your starter kit, because citrus smells are such a common fragrance for cleaners because they smell clean, and are bright and fresh.

The choices include lemon (the most popular), sweet orange, lime, grapefruit and tangerine.

And third, choose one of the following, a floral essential oil, minty essential oil, or an herbal or woodsy essential oil. The most popular of these are lavender, peppermint, and pine oil. (Just choose one from any one of these broad categories.)

When choosing from each category I suggest letting your personality and personal preferences guide you in your choices, along with making sure what you choose blends well with the other things you choose.

Remember, you can consult the essential oil use chart above for suggestions of what oil scents blend well together.

An additional resource are these essential oil recipes for homemade cleaners, and these essential oils recipes for homemade laundry supplies, which give suggested blends of various oils for use throughout your home.

Of course, you can also add more essential oils into the mix later, as you gain more expertise and experience with using them. However, to begin with three oils is enough, in my opinion.

Besides the essential oils listed above there are even more essential oils you can use in your homemade cleaning products, or for other uses like aromatherapy. If you are interested in getting several types of oils at once, I would suggest getting one of the following starter packs of essential oils, with some of the most popular scents, to get you started.

Essential Oils Packages {Referral Links}

Related Pages You May Enjoy

Homemade Cleaning Products Recipes

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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.