Making your own cleaners can be fun and economical. Through the last week or so I’ve talked about must-have ingredients, recipes {free printable}, and labels {free printable} for homemade cleaners.

Let’s get started today with the all-purpose cleaner. What’s makes a cleaner all-purpose? An all-purpose cleaner is meant to be used for just about any surface and any mess. This all-purpose cleaner works great on counters, tables, sinks, bathrooms, kitchens….

This all-purpose cleaner recipe is great because the vinegar and lemon combo has some germ-killing properties in addition to just being a great all-around cleaner. {Like the spray bottle with the built-in juicer? Me too! You can find them here and here.}

Here are the simple ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup white vinegar
  • juice of one lemon
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp. castile soap (optional)

Mix, spray, and wipe clean.

A couple notes on homemade cleaners:

Generally, homemade cleaners are not meant to be mixed up in large quantities because they don’t have stabilizers. This recipe has fresh lemon juice in it – I’d recommend using it within a few days of making it and/or storing in the refrigerator. Castile soap and vinegar generally aren’t compatible – feel free to leave the castile soap out of this recipe, but I have found that the very small amount of soap to vinegar ratio has no effect on the cleaning ability of this all-purpose cleaner. It’s a good idea to test any homemade cleaners in an inconspicuous spot to make sure that it’s safe on the surface you are intending to use it on. Vinegar and granite and/or marble don’t mix – the acid in the vinegar will eat away at your granite and marble.

Click here to see all the posts in this series.