Why Bother Making Your Own Cleaners?

There is something quietly satisfying about wiping down a worktop with a spray you mixed yourself in under a minute. No plastic bottle to throw away, no sharp chemical smell lingering in the kitchen, and no small fortune spent on yet another product that promises to do what a humble bottle of vinegar can manage just as well.

The three workhorses of natural cleaning are white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and lemons. Between them they can handle grease, limescale, odours, sticky residue and most of the everyday grime a busy home collects. They are cheap, widely available, and you almost certainly have at least one of them in the cupboard already. Add a few drops of essential oil if you like a bit of scent, and you have a complete cleaning kit for a fraction of the usual cost.

A word before you start: always label your bottles. A clear spray filled with a colourless liquid is a temptation for children and a puzzle for guests. A strip of masking tape and a marker takes ten seconds and saves a great deal of confusion.

The Basic Ingredients and What Each One Does

Understanding what each ingredient is good at will stop you wasting time mixing potions that cancel each other out.

• White vinegar is mildly acidic, which makes it excellent at dissolving limescale, cutting through soap scum and shining glass. Use the cheap distilled kind, not malt vinegar from the chip shop.
• Bicarbonate of soda is a gentle abrasive and a natural deodoriser. It lifts burnt-on food, freshens carpets and softens stubborn grime without scratching.
• Lemons bring citric acid plus a fresh scent. They brighten chopping boards, polish brass and cut through grease on hobs.
• Castile or liquid soap adds the surfactant that actually lifts dirt off a surface so you can wipe it away.
• Essential oils such as tea tree, lavender or eucalyptus are optional but give your cleaners a pleasant smell and a little extra antibacterial help.

Never mix vinegar and bicarbonate of soda and expect a cleaning product. They fizz impressively, but they neutralise each other into salty water. Use them separately, one after the other, when you want the reaction to do the scrubbing for you.

Five Recipes to Mix Today

These cover the vast majority of jobs around the house. Keep a spray bottle of each of the first two made up and you will rarely need anything else.

• All-purpose spray: mix one part white vinegar with one part water in a spray bottle. Add a few drops of tea tree or lavender oil if you like. Perfect for worktops, sinks, tiles and cupboard doors.
• Glass and mirror spray: one part vinegar to three parts water, with a teaspoon of liquid soap. Buff with a clean cloth or scrunched-up newspaper for a streak-free finish.
• Scrubbing paste: stir bicarbonate of soda with just enough water to make a thick paste. Apply to hobs, oven doors, the base of pans or grimy grout, leave for ten minutes, then scrub and rinse.
• Drain freshener: pour half a mug of bicarbonate of soda down the plughole, follow with a mug of hot vinegar, wait fifteen minutes, then flush with a kettle of boiling water.
• Lemon board scrub: sprinkle coarse salt over a wooden chopping board, rub it with half a lemon, leave for five minutes, then rinse and dry upright.

Room-by-Room: Where These Shine

In the kitchen, the all-purpose spray handles daily wipe-downs, while the paste tackles the hob after a messy fry-up. Run half a lemon through the waste disposal unit to freshen it, and leave a small dish of bicarbonate of soda at the back of the fridge to absorb smells. For greasy extractor filters, soak them in hot water with a good glug of vinegar and a squeeze of washing-up liquid.

In the bathroom, vinegar is the answer to limescale. Spray it generously over taps, shower screens and tiles, leave for twenty minutes and wipe. For heavily scaled showerheads, unscrew the head and soak it overnight in a bowl of vinegar, or tie a bag of vinegar around it if it will not come off. A paste of bicarbonate of soda and a little soap lifts soap scum from baths and basins.

In the living areas, a weak vinegar spray revives windows and mirrors, while a sprinkle of bicarbonate of soda left for fifteen minutes before vacuuming freshens carpets and rugs. For sticky residues left by labels or stickers, dab a little lemon oil or neat vinegar and rub gently.

Things to Watch Out For

Natural does not automatically mean suitable for every surface. Vinegar is acidic and will dull and eventually damage natural stone such as marble, limestone and granite, so keep it away from those worktops and floors. It can also corrode the seals on some appliances, so do not use it inside a washing machine or dishwasher unless the manufacturer says otherwise. Bicarbonate of soda is abrasive enough to scratch delicate surfaces, so test it somewhere hidden first, and avoid it on aluminium.

Never combine vinegar with bleach, as the reaction releases harmful chlorine gas. Store your homemade cleaners in a cool cupboard away from direct sunlight, and mix only what you will use within a month or two, since essential oils and soap can lose their potency over time.

Start with one spray bottle and one jar of paste. You will be surprised how quickly the shop-bought bottles under your sink become the back-up rather than the first choice.