10 Essential Oil Hacks for Everyday Cleaning

 

When our family first got into essential oils we mainly used them for sleep, seasonal immune system building, and a bit of light cleaning here and there. I had no idea that these little brown bottles would help me so much throughout the day and I am still learning just how much they can do! You will find that oils replaces so many products marketed out there and do just as good of a job. Here are 10 simple everyday cleaning hacks using essential oils:

 

Your kid took a sharpie to your floors or wall? 

  • Rub it off with a cloth and lemon essential oil.

You can’t stand the smell of your kid’s (or husband’s workout) shoes?

  • Put a few drops of Purification essential oil blend (or any other strong smelling air-purifying oil) on a cotton ball and tuck it in there overnight.

You want things to smell fresh and clean when you vacuum? 

  • Put a few drops of essential oil on a cotton ball and suck it up while you vacuum. Lavender essential oil is a lovely scent for this. You could also put a few drops on the filter or in the bag to add some freshness to your cleaning.

You want to get rid of ants and spiders?

  • Put 20 drops of peppermint essential oil + lemon essential oil in a spray bottle with a little distilled white vinegar and spray it along the baseboards and window sills where you find them coming in. I have a large amber bottle I use for this because ants love our home.

You don’t have an oil diffuser but you want to diffuse oils?

  • Put several drops of any essential oil on a clothes pin and clip it to your air vents. It’s a cheap way to purify your air and make your home smell nice.

You don’t want to use chemically made dryer sheets but you want your clothes to smell good in the dryer? 

  • Buy wool dryer balls to cut down on drying time and add several drops of any essential oil to them before tossing in. The oil will stain the wool but that’s alright.

You want to clean your microwave but you don’t know how?

  • In a glass, microwavable bowl add 1/2 cup water, 1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar, and 10 drops of lemon essential oil. Turn on the microwave on “high” for four minutes and leave it alone for a few minutes before wiping down with a wet rag.

You forgot a load of laundry in the washer over night and they smell horrible?

  • Add distilled white vinegar + five drops of lemon essential oil to the rinse compartment and rewash the load. I usually will do a “quick wash” which saves water and cuts down on washing time and our linens come out fresh and clean with no musty smell.

You want super sparkly dishes? 

  • Add several drops of lemon oil to the washing compartment and they will come out very shiny! I do this when we have a lot of glass that needs scrubbin’.

You want to de-germ your kids toys and other items around the house but don’t want to wash them individually and most importantly, you don’t want to use chemicals?

  • Make a spray bottle with a splash of distilled white vinegar and the following essential oils: clove, tea tree, lemon, and lavender. Fill the rest with distilled water and use this as your homemade toy cleaner. I spray this on my yoga mat, the changing pads, and any other surface or item that could use a daily cleaning.

There are my 10 simple cleaning hacks using essential oils! What other ideas have you come up?

 

  • Katie - Love this post! Also, your photos are so peaceful to look at!ReplyCancel

  • Rebecca - Your posts are awesome Amanda! Thank you for this valuable content. I’m excited to share with others.ReplyCancel

  • Kaitlin - Hi Amanda! When you refer to adding lemon oil to the washing compartment, do you mean the bottom of the actual dishwasher or to the little door that a dish tab is put in? Thanks ahead of time! 🙂ReplyCancel

    • admin - Kaitlin, I put it in washing compartment that the dish soap goes in with a little soap! If you put it directly in the drum I don’t think it will work as effectively. x AmandaReplyCancel

  • Melissa - It really is great to hear actual useful things to do with oils. I love the diffuser one, and the bugs solution!ReplyCancel

    • admin - Melissa, I am going to be coming out with seasonal guides for using essential oils with lots of tips for the summer time + recipes so hopefully you’ll get some more useful tips there too! x AmandaReplyCancel

  • Amber - When you say the oils will stain the wool, do they ever stain the clothing as well? This is my fear with using oils/homemade detergent in the laundry.ReplyCancel

    • admin - Amber, they shouldn’t as long as you don’t put the drops of oil directly on the clothes. I’ve never had a problem rubbing off on our clothes if I put them directly on the drier balls. 🙂 x AmandaReplyCancel

  • Lauren Swainston - Maple, our 12 week old golden retriever pup, gets a little stinky after playing outside for too long. I love freshening her up in between baths with oils. 1 cup cornsarch, 1 cup baking soda, 10 drops essential oils and rub it all over her fur!ReplyCancel

  • stefanie - yes!! love!! we are.. so similar. all of these are regular ‘tricks’ in our home! even the ant spray- except someone taught me to add clove in with the lemon and mint and blend with cheapest-possible (I buy the tiny dollar bottles) vodka. I also make 16oz of this at a time, adding 5-10 drops clove and about 1/4C vodka, fill rest with distilled h2o. for some reason I think it really is more effective than vinegar, having used both! I also have been spraying this on my pepper and tomato plants, for some reason the ants have been attacking them :/ grr. do you have this problem in the garden? oh and another trick of mine is to rub lemon or orange oil into our untreated wood kitchen table before placing my runners or linens over top- diffuses into the whole kitchen!ReplyCancel

  • Arisa S. - About how many drops of each oil do you put in the all purpose cleaning spray? Also, will you be doing a post on diffusing + topically using essential oils with little ones and during pregnancy? Just got my premium starter kit and I’m still learning as much as I can in terms of what to use and not use.
    Thanks xReplyCancel

  • Kizzy - I love using oils around the home, they are so versatile.ReplyCancel

  • Amy - Oh my gosh, THANK YOU! We’ve had sharpie on our dining room table (that my husband made so it’s extra special) for over a year. Just swiped it off with lemon oil. yay! Looking forward to your seasonal oil uses and recipes. Thanks for all your hard work and putting it out there!ReplyCancel

  • Jessica - For the de-germing spray, does it matter how many drops of each essential oil you use, or should they just be equal amounts? Thanks! 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Andrea - Thank you for sharing these helpful tips! I’m relatively new to essential oils and I’d also like to know your thoughts and advice on using essential oils during pregnancy.ReplyCancel

  • Weekend Links / / Oil and Mac - A Short Blonde - […] 10 Essential Oil Hacks for Everyday Cleaning | I have a small collection of oils, but I still use some traditional cleaning solutions. I believe in balance. 😉 My favorite hack is to put a few drops of Purification (DoTerra) down our garbage disposal. I will also use any leftover citrus like lemons or limes. […]ReplyCancel

  • Deb - Wondering about the ant spray and that last one, the toy cleaner. 1) Ant Spray – you only put EO and vinegar, no water? If you use a large amber bottle, do you fill it up with vinegar and double or triple the EO? And it keeps well over the years? 2) How much of each EO goes into the daily / toy cleaner? Do you need to wash it off after? (no risk of irritating LO skin?) Thanks for filling in the details for me!! 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Deborah - sorry for all the questions! The spray to degerm toys seems the same essentially as the changing table spray, except that it has vinegar instead of witch hazel. Can you use them interchangeably, or is vinegar best for disinfecting toys…in which case is that more ideal for the changing table spray as well?ReplyCancel

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

*

*