Homemade natural vinegar cleaner recipes, especially easy homemade DIY ones, are my favorite. Who doesn't want a cleaner that can be made from items you eat, can grow on your own land, and the best part, that actually work?
Your hand better be raised high my friend. This is my favorite all-purpose homemade cleaner, and by all-purpose, I mean all-purpose.
You can use this on your countertops, sinks, windows, the floor, mirrors, pretty much anywhere in the house.
Update: We put in wood floors this past December and I can now add cleaning wood floors with vinegar to this list of things this recipe does! I should clarify, cleaning laminate floors with vinegar but we also have a wood butcher block counter that I use this on too… so in other words, pretty much every surface of my house.
Is there anything cooler than using what you'd normally throw out to create something you'd normally be buying in the store? On my homesteading list that's pretty awesome.
Heck, you could even use it as a marinade or salad dressing if you wanted to.
After having chemical burns on my skin as a teenager using store-bought cleaners, it's super important to me to only be using natural cleaners in my home. I don't want my kids or myself exposed to any more chemicals than necessary. I mean, have you read the warnings on those bottles? Yikes.
But I still want a clean home, enter the natural vinegar cleaner. (Source) I've been using this homemade cleaner for over five years and will never go back.
Many people use vinegar to clean with all by itself. Which is fine, the scent of the vinegar leaves once it dries. But using citrus peels gives you the cleaning power of citrus oils, which helps cut through grease, and definitely smells better.
Not only that, but you're using peels, something you'd normally be tossing out, and my frugal homesteading heart adores that. And this version lets you use your Mason jars… I have an addiction to Mason jars, just in case you didn't know.
It's important to note that I am not a certified medical practitioner. This post is not intended to diagnose or treat but is for informational purposes only. Please contact your healthcare professional before introducing new herbal and natural remedies into your wellness routine.
Homemade All-Purpose Vinegar Cleaner Recipe
- Gather your citrus peels. Lemon, orange and lime all work great. You could try grapefruit, though I haven't. Get your vitamin C in by eating your citrus and then we're going to put those peels to work my friend.
- Take a wide-mouthed Mason jar (one of my favorite things in the whole wide world) and place your peels in the jar.
- Pour vinegar over all of your citrus peels, make sure they're completely covered. (You can use white or apple cider vinegar in cleaner. I use the cheaper white when it comes to cleaners, but if you want an all homemade version check out How to Make Homemade Raw Apple Cider Vinegar).
- Slap a lid on that bad boy and put it in a dark cool cupboard. If you remember to shake it every few days, that's cool, but if you forget, no big deal.
- Let it sit so the citrus oils can infuse the vinegar for up to 6 months. You can strain it in as little as 4 weeks, but the jar I forgot in the back of the pantry by accident and discovered it 6 months later was the best batch I ever had. You literally couldn't smell any of the vinegar, just the luscious citrus scent remained.
Tip: Let your citrus vinegar infuse for at least 8 weeks, longer if possible. - Strain your citrus vinegar out into a glass container. Pour into a glass container.
- Mix your citrus vinegar with 2 parts water (Vinegar to water ratio for cleaning I use for a stronger cleaner is 1 part water to 1 part vinegar) in a glass spray bottle. Toss out all your old cleaners as this will quickly become your favorite and no worries if the kiddos or pets get into it, holler!
My favorite spray bottle is a glass spray bottle. I use it with the natural vinegar cleaner. I personally prefer using glass whenever possible, especially with acidic cleaners and items.
Plastic can break down over time and I for one don't want its chemicals leaching into the natural cleaner I made to spray down our home and countertops with. (Source)
Fill up your glass spray bottle with our Natural Vinegar Cleaner Recipe above and never purchase cleaner from the store again! I plan on trying a lemon and lime peel mixture next, how about you?
Try these 17 Spring Cleaning Hacks with Homemade Cleaners for every room in the house.
Natural Vinegar Cleaner Recipe- Homemade DIY
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 citrus peels lemon, lime or orange
- 2 to 3 cups vinegar (enough to cover the peels
- 1 quart sized glass Mason jar
Instructions
- Place citrus peels in glass jar and cover with vinegar.
- Make sure the peels are completely submerged beneath the vinegar.
- Place a lid on and set it in a dark cool cupboard.
- Let the citrus infuse the vinegar for 6 weeks to 6 months.
- Strain out the citrus vinegar.
- Mix the vinegar with equal parts water for a strong cleaner or dilute with 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water for a great natural all-purpose cleaner.
I have never tried adding something like lemon peels to a homemade cleaner. I am sure this smells amazing! It is nice to have some hacks to make cleaners smell great, without the chemicals.
I would love to try this, but I’ve heard that vinegar (and citrus) can strip the protective coating off of granite countertops (or leave etching in them), and also strip the clear-coating off our wood floors. You’ve never had that issue? (I’ve heard of making homemade vinegar with water, sugar, and whatever fruit peels, herbs, evergreen branches, etc. are preferred, and wondered if that would or wouldn’t strip or etch the countertops or floors???)
I don’t have granite so I’ve not tested it, I would definitely research further before using if you have granite. For the floor, I dilute it but I used it on linoleum and vinyl. I would test an area if you’re concerned.
Baking soda is one of my favorite cleaners! Thanks for your suggestions/tips, I never used them but I’ll try them for sure!
The glass bottles from Braggs vinegar work great for spray bottles … if you’re not making your own apple cider vinegar already. Lol.
What do you use to clean a very dirty oven?
I use baking soda and scrub it on the worst strains dry, then wipe clean with a vinegar soaked rag.
Thanks for sharing this cleaning recipe of yours, nice article.
I’ve been making this for several years now, when I started looking for nontoxic floor cleaning product for hardwood and tile mopping. I hated the commercial Pinesol!! 🙁
My favourite fruit to use are those little mandarin / clementines oranges… We can eat that entire box in a week and stuff every little bit of peels into the jar. They smell so beautifully!!
Now I also by strictly organic lemons, and use them in a separate infusion.
**Great Christmas gifts my friends love! **
We certainly love the citrus vinegar cleaner. Likewise, we’ve been using it for several years, too. We also ring the changes a bit. We find a rosemary infusion made the same way just as delightful to use and we have a suspicion, based on our observations, that it has a general calming effect (think excitable young grandchildren). We also think it helps our memory and clarity of thought. It all comes from our patch and mixed with homemade ACV, what’s not to like. Happy homesteading.
I’ve done a pine needle infusion that I really liked too. I bet the rosemary is great, I”ll have to try that version next!
love anything I can make myself and not have a bunch of chemicals. keep them coming
I made the mixture of zested peels and white vinegar in a mason jar with one of those snap glass lids if you know what I am talking about. Does yours evaporate somewhat or a develop a crusty white substance on the outside part of the jar along the rim? Is that bad?
I have not shaken it because I am afraid of the peels moving to the top of the vinegar. Should I use mason jar glass weights like they use for fermenting to keep the peels from trying to float?
It will evaporate some with the white plastic lids. You can use a fermenting weight if you wish. If the crusty substance is on the outside of the jar I wouldn’t worry about it. I haven’t had that develop.
Where do you get fermenting weights? Thx