Vinegar & Water All Purpose Cleaner
If you’re looking for a simple homemade all purpose cleaner, I’ve learned that one of the easiest strategies you can try is just a simple mixture of vinegar and water. I’ve just been combining equal amounts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle and it’s been working great! You can add an essential oil too if you want but it’s not necessary if you don’t have any around.
I have been using this mixture for at least two years now and it’s done a fine job. It’s become my go-to cleaner for so many areas of the house. It can be used on counters (* but not granite – see note below), on sinks, windows, mirrors, floors, or toilets. It is truly a versatile cleaner!
Four Good Reasons to use DIY Vinegar Cleaning Spray
This homemade all purpose cleaner has found a permanent place in my home because it meets all of the following criteria that I look for in a homemade recipe:
Saves Money
If I’m going to go to the work of making a homemade cleaner or other recipe, I like to be able to save a few bucks in the process too. I’ve been buying my vinegar in the gallon containers and the price nets down to only 2 cents per ounce. This means for a cup of vinegar in a recipe, I would only spend 16 cents! The essential oils will add a few more cents to the mixture, but the oils are an optional ingredient.
Natural and Non-Toxic
A homemade vinegar and water cleaner uses all natural ingredients, is safe to keep anywhere around the house, and has no nasty fumes.
Easy, Convenient, and Resourceful
If a homemade cleaner takes too much time and energy, I give serious thought to if it’s really worth it. Because this mixture is an equal parts “50/50” mixture, it’s easy to remember and can be made quickly. I can also make as little or as much as I want at any given time without having to struggle over any math to double or triple the recipe. I always have vinegar in the house too so I can mix up a batch whenever its needed.
Performs Well
The bottom line with any homemade cleaner is it had better do the job. If it cleans poorly, then one of the other reasons above has to become a really motivating factor. However I have always been satisfied with the performance of this vinegar and water mixture and it leaves a clean smooth feeling on surfaces. For some dirty or greasy jobs soap can be necessary, however the vinegar and water mixture makes a great follow up as vinegar does an excellent job of cutting through any residual cloudy soap scum or film. Vinegar and water also makes a great follow up rinse to a homemade baking soda sink scrub as it also cuts through any powdery residue left behind.
(* Note – Vinegar is said to be too harsh for granite surfaces. Instead you can substitute rubbing alcohol in a 25/75 mixture ratio of 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol with 1-1/2 cups of water.)
So there you have it . . . a few good reasons to try a homemade vinegar and water cleaner. I think you’ll be happy you did!
So if adding soap, essential oil or antibacterial what is the formula for that and what soap, oils and antibacterial do you recommend/use ?
Most of the time now if I want to make an all purpose cleaning spray with antibacterial essential oil and soap, I make this DIY Disinfecting Mixture that uses 1.5 cups water, 1/2 cup vinegar, 2 Tbl dish soap and 12 drops of tea tree EO.
What type of vinegar do you use?
Thank you.
Any white vinegar you can buy at a grocery store works fine in homemade cleaners.
Brilliant and thanks for the research..well done
I just made this recipe and cleaned my bathroom. I love it! Glad I found your site. Can’t wait until this weekend to mix up the soft scrub.
Glad you found this homemade cleaner helpful Michelle!
I just put 100% vinegar down in a tiny, low plastic cap where I have ants and they’ve now reappeared and are congregating to it as if I put down candy sugar. What’s going on?
I’m not sure Carol . . . some other natural things to try would be peppermint oil (which worked pretty good for me) and I have also heard a lot of people have success with Borax. I think if you put down straight vinegar it might kill them more in the sense of drowning them than poisoning them.
CAUTION: YOU CAN NOT USE VINEGAR ON SOME OF THE NEWER FINISHES ON FIXTURES. DELTA REPLACED ALL FIXTURES IN MASTER BATH OF NEW HOUSE BECAUSE THEY DID NOT ISSUE A WARNING WITH THE PRODUCT THAT VINEGAR WAS A DAMAGING ITEM.
We live in Asia and the vinegar sold here is 25% strength. We have been diluting it to 5% strength whenever we use it for food purposes. As we look at making our own cleaning supplies we are wondering if we need to dilute it? Would the higher percentage actually give it a little more disinfecting strength or change the end product? Thank you for your thoughts.
I would still dilute it. Vinegar is an acidic substance and if you can get good cleaning (which I think you will) with it in the lower percentage range, that will be the safer bet.
I’ve been using diluted vinegar for light household cleaning since childhood, but I recently experienced an issue that I’ve never encountered until now: fruit flies. Yuck!
P.S. I enjoy this website, and hope this comment isn’t perceived by anyone as negative! 🙂
I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog Coral {and your comment wasn’t negative 🙂 } I wonder if you added certain essential oils to your vinegar cleaners (lavender or peppermint maybe?), if those scents would help deter any fruit flies. I’ve never encountered a fruit fly problem with my vinegar/water cleaner.
This isn’t a comment or bright idea, but a question of the amount of essential oil to add? Thank you, and I am really enjoying your site.
Glad you are enjoying things here Shawna. 🙂 I add about 8 to 10 drops of essential oil to a 2 cup size batch.
I am looking for a good stainless steal cleaner for my fridge, stove and microwave. Will your rubbing alcohol and water mix for for grante work ok or is there something else. Tried the vinegar and water and it works ok but not good.
I don’t have any stainless steel appliances, but one of my readers told me she likes my homemade dusting spray for stainless steel so that might be something to try. Here’s the link to that recipe: https://www.themakeyourownzone.com/2011/02/homemade-furniture-dusting-spray.html
You are right 🙂 cloth diapers make great absorbent cleaning cloths. (I had to buy new ones though)
Wow Susan@thishappymom I have citric vinegar. I used orange, lime and lemon peels.
That looks like an old cloth diaper to me. Those are still my favorite cleaning cloths to use. I have a bottle of orange peel infused vinegar that we are using right now. My kids don't complain about "vinegar stink" when they are cleaning with it, and they weren't fans of the lavender smell.