It takes seconds and only a few ingredients to whip up a homemade all purpose cleaner. This cleaner is made to be used on most surfaces and has a fresh citrusy aroma. I have been on a mission to make more of my own cleaning products and I have most of the ingredients already from making my own skin care products so now seems like the perfect time to start making them!
Table of Contents
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What do you put into a homemade all purpose cleaner?
Water
You want to make sure that you use distilled water. Although you might think all water is equal, it is not.
Surfactant
The surfactant that I am using is is cocamidopropyl betaine, it is a mild amphoteric surfactant. This is what is going to give our all purpose cleaner the cleansing power. We need something that is going to bind to the dirt, greasy, etc and remove it.
Vinegar
Vinegar is not a disinfectant, but it is a great cleaner. It has a high acidity that can break down buildup of soap, dirt, and scum. However, vinegar is not good with grease. Think of when you put oil and vinegar together, no matter how hard you shake it, its not going to mix together.
D Limonene
When I was making this all-purpose cleaner I wanted to make one that smelled good and D-Limonene has a wonderful citrus aroma. It also has a reputation of cutting through tough grease. D Limonene is used in all types of products such as cleaners, degreasers and carpet cleaners. It is made from the peel of oranges, lemons, and limes. It is said that it brings a high shine to various types of hard surfaces, such as counter tops, windows, mirrors, floors, bath tubs and refrigerators. You typically want to use this between 5-15%.
Emulsifier
In order to get everything to mix into the cleaner correctly, we have to use an emulsifier. I am using Polysorbate 20. If you do not use an emulsifier, your product is going to separate on you.
Preservative
Anytime you are adding water into a recipe you have to use a preservative. It would be awfully silly to risk growing mold and bacteria in a all purpose cleaner. I am using Germall Plus preservative at .5%.
How do you make all-purpose cleaner?
Mix the polysorbate 20 and d-limonene together in a bowl.
Add the cocamidopropyl betaine and mix. Be careful while mixing that you do not create a bunch of bubbles.
Add water and vinegar and mix.
Add your preservative and mix one last time.
Bottle and enjoy.
All Purpose Cleaner Recipe
All Purpose Cleaner
Equipment
- Scale
Ingredients
- 6..04 ounce | 75.5% Distilled Water
- 1.20 ounce | 15% Cocamidopropyl Betaine
- 0.24 ounce | 3% D-Limonene
- 0.24 ounce | 3% Vinegar
- 0.24 ounce | 3% Polysorbate 20
- 0.04 ounce | .5% Germall Plus
Instructions
- Mix the polysorbate 20 and d-limonene together in a bowl.
- Add the cocamidopropyl betaine and mix. Be careful while mixing that you do not create a bunch of bubbles.
- Add water and vinegar and mix.
- Add your preservative and mix one last time.
- Bottle and enjoy.
Can I use this on stone?
You should avoid using vinegar on natural stones like granite and marble.