How to Make DIY Vinegar Cleaning Spray

DIY Vinegar Spray is an excellent product to keep on hand, as it has a whole plethora of uses around the home. We like to use this spray to wipe down glass surfaces, especially mirrors, and as a follow-up cleanser after disinfecting surfaces with our Castile soap-based DIY All-Purpose Cleaner.

How to Make DIY Vinegar Cleaning Spray

Preparation: Gather Your Materials

• Choose your container.
  Note: We like to repurpose old clean spray bottles, but you can use any kind of container you’d like. This recipe makes one cup (8 ounces) of vinegar cleaning spray, but you can scale the recipe up or down as needed.
• ½ cup of fresh, clean water (adjust as needed)
• ½ cup of white vinegar
  Note: This recipe uses a 1:1 ratio of white vinegar and water, which is suitable for most uses. However, if you are using this spray to clean tougher jobs (such as moldy or mildewed surfaces), increase the vinegar to a 2:1 ratio. For one cup of extra-strength cleaning spray, this comes out to ⅔ cup white vinegar and ⅓ cup of clean water.

Optional Materials

• Essential oils for scent and extra cleaning power. We like to use lemon, orange, lavender, or tea tree in our mixture.

Step 1:

Fill your container with one-half cup of fresh water.

Step 2:

Add one-half cup of white vinegar.

Optional Final Step:

Add 10-30* drops of essential oils depending upon the amount of solution and desired scent intensity. Please see our warning about using essential oils around pets, and decrease the amount of essential oil as necessary.

Note: Essential oils are an excellent way to add pleasing scents around your home, but did you know that many essential oils are also especially beneficial for cleaning? Our favorite oil for this spray is Tea Tree because it is known to have powerful antibacterial and antifungal properties, but we also enjoy lemon, orange, and lavender. But, feel free to pick whichever essential oil(s) suits your needs best.

If you decide to add essential oils to your DIY Vinegar Spray, it is important to choose only 100% pure essential oils from a reputable source and avoid any oils that are marketed as “fragrance oils”. These types of oils are usually synthetic and unlikely to contain any beneficial properties, and they could even contain harmful ingredients that you do not want wafting around your home.

Caution for Your Pets

If you have pets in your home, please exercise extreme caution when choosing which essential oils to use in your cleaning blends. Our pets’ sense of smell can be anywhere from ten to one hundred times stronger than our own. Many essential oils are irritating to them, and some can be fatally toxic.

If you choose to use essential oils in any areas where your pets spend time, make sure to minimize their exposure and risk of adverse reactions by using only minimal amounts. Our rule of thumb is to aim for no more than 2% TOTAL essential oils by volume, which usually comes out to *only a couple of drops for the whole bottle. Keep this in mind when using multiple soaps or cleaning products that may already be scented.

Please see our Castile Soap Pet Shampoo article for more notes about using essential oils around pets, and always check with your personal veterinarian before use to make sure any scents you choose are safe around your particular animal, as different species have different sensitivities.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, as always please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.