Looking for a DIY Vinegar Free All Purpose Cleaner for green cleaning that is safe to use on almost all surfaces (granite and quartz included) and smells amazing? Look no further than the Rosemary Lavender All-Purpose Cleaner.
As one of the most popular recipes in the Easy Green Cleaning book, we wanted to share it on the blog too. No one should be without this vinegar free all purpose cleaner recipe!
Why go Vinegar Free with your DIY Green Cleaning? For some, the smell alone is enough of a turn off. Additionally, vinegar is not safe for all surfaces especially waxed surfaces and natural stone like granite and quartz.
DIY Vinegar Free Rosemary Lavender All Purpose Cleaner – Recipe
This cleaner is an All-Star All-Purpose DIY Cleaner! It is safe and effective for so many surfaces and has an amazing scent! This is my go-to glass and surface cleaner and guarantees a streak-free shine on almost any surface. The Rosemary Lavender Cleaner is a fantastic homemade cleaner. Since it’s made without vinegar it’s safe for cleaning granite, quartz, and other natural stone surfaces that vinegar can be damaging to. It can also be used to clean windows, mirrors, stainless steel, varnished wood, and basically any surface you can think of.
This cleaner will also disinfect! Alcohol is a great natural disinfectant. The essential oils used and grapefruit seed extract give it that extra anti-bacterial and anti-microbial punch. It is effective, easy to make, inexpensive, and smells amazing. Why wouldn’t you try it for yourself!?
You Will Need:
1/2 cup vodka (I prefer vodka just the cheap stuff made out of grain, but you can substitute drug store rubbing alcohol if you do not feel safe keeping vodka in your home).
1 1/4 cup distilled water (Distilled water is important. With distilled water the recipe keeps longer and creates the streak-free shine. Tap water contains bacteria and minerals that can show on surfaces, making it not as effective for cleaning purposes).
6 drops Lavender Essential Oil
6 drops Rosemary Essential Oil (If you are pregnant or have small children, a good substitute is Spearmint Essential Oil. It is less potent than Rosemary but still smells amazing).
5 drops Grapefruit Seed Extract (optional)
16 oz Amber or Cobalt Glass Spray Bottle
How to Make:
Add all ingredients to spray bottle, adding water last. Shake well.
This recipe was originally printed in the book Easy Green Cleaning by Elizabeth Hemmings. If you are interested in more information about green cleaning and would like to learn more recipes you can pick up your very own copy HERE!
I realized this said add water last. Do I have to toss the mixture if I added it second?
Hi Jacqui so sorry for the delay in response. You do not have to toss the mixture the essential oils will bind better to the alcohol then water but there is no reason to toss the solution. Just give it a good shake when you use it.
Hello could I please ask you if it Can be used Peroxide instead of Alcohol and Tea Tree oil instead of Grapefruit extract?
Thank you so much 🙂
You can use 3% hydrogen peroxide on its own as a cleaner but I do not recommend diluting it with additional water or adding any essential oils to hydrogen peroxide (hydrogen peroxide must stay in opaque bottle as well). Feel free to use tea tree oil instead of grapefruit extract that ingredient is optional. Tea tree oil will change the scent but you can feel free to customize any scent you would like with essential oils.
If you need an alternative for what to mix with essential oils instead of vodka or rubbing alcohol you can use vinegar. If you also want to stay away from vinegar just add a couple squirts of soap to the water as a replacement and you can still add essential oils.
I hope that helps!