12 DIY Household Cleaning Recipes

Making Your Own Household Cleaners: The Essential Ingredients You Need to Have at Home!

Before we even get into recipes, here’s a quick list of the natural essentials you should have at home. These household ingredients, which can be used alone or combined with others, are versatile

White vinegar

An absolute must-have, white vinegar is a multi-purpose ingredient! It’s valued for its ability to polish, soften, disinfect, clean, descale, and much more. While its smell may seem strong, it fades very quickly!

Baking soda

This essential staple, baking soda, is incredibly useful thanks to its many applications! This natural product can be incorporated into a wide range of homemade cleaning recipes, but it also has plenty of other uses on its own. Effective for making numerous cleaning products, it’s also a valuable ally in the kitchen, for health, and even for beauty.

Marseille soap

A true degreaser, Marseille soap is made from olive oil and lye. It is valued for its many uses, particularly for its cleaning, degreasing, and stain-removing power—provided, however, that you choose a soap containing at least 72% olive oil, as this is the most effective.

Black soap

Whether in liquid or solid form, black soap is an indispensable ally, used alone or combined with other ingredients.

Soda crystals

More powerful than baking soda, soda crystals should be used with caution, but they are a very effective limescale remover and an excellent ally for maintaining pipes or even the oven. They are also useful for restoring luster to dull laundry.

White clay

Useful for making beauty products, white clay is also an ideal natural product for scrubbing and washing.

Essential oils

Essential oils aren’t essential, but many of them are packed with beneficial properties for cleaning, degreasing, sanitizing, or simply scenting your household products. However, be very careful when handling them, as some can irritate the skin and/or respiratory tract. Avoid using them haphazardly!

Our 12 DIY household product recipes

Recipe #1: Multi-purpose cleaning spray

This all-in-one product is perfect for cleaning, removing stains, and degreasing all surfaces.

• Fill a 1-liter spray bottle with 75 cl of water
• Add 1 tablespoon of baking soda
• Add 2 tablespoons of black soap
• Then add 20 cl of white vinegar
• Mix and use!

To add fragrance, you can toss in some citrus peels, which you’ll replace from time to time.

Recipe #2: Laundry Detergent

Making your own laundry detergent is very easy, but also much healthier for your skin, the environment, and your washing machine!

• Pour 1 liter of water into a large pot.
• Add 150 g of Marseille soap, either grated or in flakes.
• Add 2 level tablespoons of soda crystals.
• Bring the mixture to a boil.
• Once the Marseille soap has melted, add 2 liters of water and bring to a boil again.
• Then let it cool before adding a few drops of an essential oil, if desired (orange, lavender, etc.), at a rate of about 10 drops per liter.
• Then pour into a container with a cap.

Shake the container well before each use and use about 15 to 20 cl per machine wash cycle.

Recipe #3: Fabric Softener

Very simple, this solution is ideal for naturally softening your laundry and for cleaning and maintaining your washing machine with every cycle! To do this, simply pour about 20 cl of white vinegar into the drum of the machine or into the fabric softener compartment. If the water is very hard, use up to 40 cl.

Recipe #4: Floor Cleaner

Instead of using a commercial chemical product, simply pour 2 tablespoons of black soap into a 5-liter bucket of warm to hot water. If your floors are very dirty or need to be disinfected, add 500 ml of white vinegar. Don’t worry—the smell will disappear on its own very quickly!

Recipe #5: Window Cleaner

Again, it’s super simple! In a spray bottle, pour 20 cl of water and 40 cl of white vinegar. Mix and spray onto your windows before wiping with a microfiber cloth or a squeegee.

If the windows are particularly dirty or greasy, heat the water and add an equal amount of vinegar. Apply the mixture with a soft sponge. Dry with clean cloths and finish with a microfiber cloth.

Recipe #6: Limescale Remover

Is your toilet full of limescale? Boil a liter of white vinegar and pour it into your toilet. Wait at least two hours and give it a good scrub before flushing. Your toilet will be clean and thoroughly descaled. This solution is also safe for septic tanks and individual sewage systems.

If your kettle is also scaled, heat water with white vinegar in it, let it sit overnight, and you’re all set! Rinse it thoroughly the next morning.

If the bottoms of your pots are scaled, boil a little white vinegar. The stains will disappear in just a few seconds, and your pots will be like new!

Recipe #7: Disinfectant

To disinfect your surfaces, this easy-to-make product is effective and safe.

• Boil 1 liter of water.
• Add 4 tablespoons of grated Marseille soap and let it melt.
• Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
• Once the mixture has cooled, you can pour it into a spray bottle.

Recipe #8: Dishwashing Liquid

The recipe for this liquid dish soap is very simple.

• In a saucepan, bring 800 ml of water to a boil.
• Add 35 g of black soap, 15 g of Marseille soap, 1 tablespoon of soda crystals, and 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
• Heat the mixture until everything has melted.
• Pour into a bottle once the mixture has cooled.
• If desired, add a few drops of orange essential oil (to the completely cooled mixture) for fragrance.

Recipe #9: Degreaser

To degrease your kitchen surfaces, this healthy product is quick to make.

• Boil 1 liter of water with 2 tablespoons of black soap and 2 tablespoons of soda crystals.
• Once the mixture has cooled completely, you can pour it into a spray bottle.
• You can add 10 drops of eucalyptus essential oil, known for its antibacterial properties. Wait until the mixture has cooled completely before doing so.

Recipe #10: The Stain Remover

To remove a wide variety of stains from your clothes and fabrics, here is a simple and effective recipe.

• Pour 1 liter of water into a basin.
• Add ¾ cup of black soap and ¾ cup of baking soda.
• Soak your stained clothes in this mixture. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes.
• Then add ¾ cup of white vinegar and let it sit for 1 to 2 hours.
• Rinse and wash in the machine.

Recipe #11: Dishwasher Tablets

You can also make your own dishwasher tablets.

• In a bowl, mix 2 parts soda crystals, 2 parts baking soda, 2 parts citric acid, and 2 parts fine or coarse table salt.
• Spritz a little water, being careful not to make the mixture too wet.
• Pour the paste mixture into ice cube trays and press down firmly.
• Let sit for 24 hours to allow the powder to harden.
• Then transfer your tablets to an airtight container to prevent them from crumbling when exposed to moisture.

Recipe #12: Dust Remover

This last, super-simple recipe is very practical. It will save you from using pounds of store-bought wipes, which contain chemicals. To dust and clean modern surfaces like the wood in your home, make yourself a small, suitable mixture.

• Pour 15 cl of water into a spray bottle,
• add 4 tablespoons of white vinegar,
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil,
• 12 drops of rose geranium essential oil.

All you need to do is shake the bottle well before use, as the oil rises to the surface, then spray and wipe with a cloth to clean the surfaces that need it.

Once the cloths have been used, toss them in the washing machine and reuse them!