So this is an oldie but goodie: make your own homemade citrus cleaner!
Why should you bother with making your own all-purpose cleaner? Two reasons: no nasty chemicals, and HUGE cost savings.
To give an example, we had one last bottle of 409 All-Purpose Cleaner under our cabinet that had not been disposed of yet. Going to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services own database of Household Products netted me this lovely description:
| Warnings: | Not recommended for use on soft vinyls or varnishes. For painted surfaces, test small area first. Eye irritant. Do not get in eyes. Wash thoroughly with soap and water after handling. Keep out of reach of children. |
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| Acute Health Effects: | From MSDS: HEALTH HAZARD DATA EYE IRRITANT. Avoid eye and prolonged skin contact.Do not ingest. |
| First Aid: | EYE CONTACT: Immediately flush eyes with plenty of water. If irritation persists, see a doctor. SKIN CONTACT: Wash with water. Seek medical attention if irritation develops or persists.INGESTION: Drink a glassful of water. Call a physician. Do not induce vomiting. Do not give anything by mouth to an unconscious or convulsing person. INHALATION: If breathing problems develop remove to fresh air. Seek medical attention if respiratory irritation develops or breathing becomes difficult. |
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Nice, huh? And we’re supposed to spray this on EVERYTHING in our houses?
The Environmental Working Group ranks 409 All-purpose Cleaner a “D” on their graded list of general purpose cleaners.
The worst part? Many of their ingredients have NO DATA on their effects, either short or long term. Somehow, despite the lack of safety data, Clorox can put these ingredients in a cleaner we are expected to use on our babies high chairs, our kitchen counters, and anywhere else in our homes we have a mess to clean.
It’s disgusting, insulting, and dangerous.
Not to mention expensive! You’ll spend at least three bucks for the privilege of poisoning your family.
None of this was acceptable to me, so I made a healthier, cheaper decision for my family. I make my own all-purpose cleaner out of citrus peels and vinegar!
Vinegar has long been touted as a miracle worker in the home, but the addition of citrus peels really knocks this out of the park.
The process of making this cleaner allows the natural citrus oils to release into the vinegar; the active ingredient in the citrus oils for cleaning is d-limonene. I found data that indicates this humble little element of the citrus peel can be used to safely strip paint, clean away heavy machinery oils, and even may (at a complete 180 to your standard household cleaner) prevent and/or treat cancer!
It’s just a win/win/win, all the way around.
It’s also so easy, it’s ridiculous.
Now that citrus season is upon us, all you have to do is start eating lemons, limes and oranges. All those peels you have when you’re done snacking? Throw ’em in a ziploc bag until you have enough to fill a quart mason jar.
Citrus peels in a mason jar, covered in vinegar.
Then shove the jar as full of peels as you can, cover with plain white vinegar, and put a lid on it for at least two weeks.
After two weeks (or longer, if you’d like), pour the liquid through a mesh strainer into a spray bottle to catch any peel bits and top off with plain old water.
My current bottle in use; the next batch is steeping on the counter in the background.
Voila! A homemade, powerhouse, grease-cutting, non-toxic, REALLY cheap cleaner for almost all surfaces and needs in your home!
If you prefer, you can pour the vinegar solution into a plain jar and use it undiluted for particularly tough messes, but for the most part, the water dilution works for just about anything you will encounter in your home.
I’ve used this on my kitchen counters, dining room table, bathroom counters, and even as my floor cleaner.
It works just as well as any chemical solvents I’ve ever used. Occasionally I have to break out the baking soda to give a little scouring “oomph” to my cleaning, but really, this is an amazing solution to a nasty problem.
Plus, it fits nicely in the “use it up” part of the Depression-era mantra: “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”.
Hope that helps!
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Have you ever made your own citrus vinegar? How did you like it?
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