Homemade Cleaning Supplies
The cleaning products under your sink are mostly water, a handful of active ingredients, and a significant markup. Most can be replaced with simple homemade versions that cost a fraction of the price and work just as well — often better.
Why make your own?
There are three real reasons to make your own cleaning supplies, and “it's more natural” is actually the least compelling of them.
- →Cost — A gallon of homemade all-purpose cleaner costs under $1 in ingredients. A commercial equivalent runs $4–8. Laundry detergent savings are even more dramatic — 100+ loads for what you&d pay for 20.
- →Ingredients you understand — Vinegar, baking soda, castile soap, borax. You know what these things are. The ingredient list on most commercial cleaners requires a chemistry degree to parse.
- →Customizable — Add the essential oils you like, adjust the strength for the job, make a concentrated version for storage. The recipe is yours to modify.
Natural weed killer
This is the recipe we use and can personally vouch for. It works — and it works well on actively growing weeds in full sun. It's not selective like commercial herbicides, so don't spray near plants you want to keep.
A note on the vinegar
Results depend heavily on vinegar strength. Grocery store white vinegar (5% acidity) gives weak results. Cleaning vinegar (6–8%) is better. Horticultural or industrial white vinegar (20–30% acidity) gives the strongest kill and is what this recipe is based on. Find it at farm supply stores or online. Handle with care — at that concentration it can irritate skin and eyes.
Ingredients
- ✓½ gallon horticultural/industrial white vinegar (20–30% acidity)
- ✓½ gallon warm water
- ✓¼ cup borax
- ✓3–4 drops of Dawn dish soap
Directions
- 1Measure ¼ cup of borax into a container. Dissolve it thoroughly in warm or hot water before adding anything else — undissolved borax clogs the sprayer.
- 2Pour the borax solution into your 1-gallon sprayer.
- 3Add the white vinegar to bring the total liquid volume to 1 gallon (roughly half and half with the water).
- 4Add 3–4 drops of Dawn dish soap. The soap acts as a surfactant — it helps the solution stick to waxy leaf surfaces instead of beading off.
- 5Cap the sprayer and swirl gently to mix. Shake before each use.
Best results
Spray on a sunny day with no rain in the forecast for at least 24 hours. Sunshine accelerates the burn significantly — spraying in the morning and letting a full day of sun work gives the best results. Weeds will show visible damage within hours on a hot sunny day. Repeat applications may be needed for established perennial weeds with deep root systems.
Caution: This spray will kill or damage any plant it contacts. Apply carefully around garden beds and avoid spray drift onto plants you want to keep. Do not use near water sources. Horticultural vinegar can cause skin and eye irritation — wear gloves and eye protection when mixing and spraying.
Optional: essential oils
Many homemade cleaning recipes call for essential oils — primarily for scent, though some have mild antimicrobial properties. Tea tree, lavender, eucalyptus, and lemon are the most commonly used. A few drops per batch goes a long way. They're completely optional — the recipes work without them.
More homemade cleaning recipes
We have full tested recipes for laundry detergent, dish soap, bar soap, shampoo, body wash, and all-purpose cleaner in our Resources section. These are recipes we've used personally — not scraped from the internet.
Homemade Cleaning Recipes
Laundry detergent, dish soap, bar soap, shampoo, body wash, all-purpose cleaner