With 2015 a couple days away, now is the optimal time to clean up from the holidays and give the new year a fresh start. This Crisp Orange Cleaning Spray is perfect for cleaning surfaces in your house that may need some extra TLC. Great for tile and glass, this spray is a multi-purpose cleaner for the bathroom and kitchen.
The combination of hydrogen peroxide, vinegar and alcohol help fight stains and make your counters sparkle. Natural Castile Liquid Soap Base adds some gentle cleansing properties to the spray. Scented with Peppermint Essential Oil, 1st Distill and Orange Valencia Essential Oil, the mixture will leave your bathroom and kitchen smelling crisp and fresh. I like to keep a bottle in my shower and give the shower walls a light scrub before getting out.
What You’ll Need:
3 oz. Hydrogen Peroxide
3 oz. Distilled White Vinegar
5 oz. Distilled Water
3 oz. 99% Isopropyl Alcohol
4 mL Natural Castile Liquid Soap Base
.5 mL Peppermint Essential Oil, 1st Distill
3.5 mL Orange Valencia Essential Oil
4 mL Optiphen ND
.4 oz. Polysorbate 80
Four 4 oz. Brushed Aluminum Bottles with Spray Top
Optional: Droppers
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ONE: Since you’re combining essential oils and water in this recipe, you need polysorbate 80 to help combine the two. In a glass container, combine the polysorbate 80 and the essential oils and mix well.
TWO: In a separate glass container, add the hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, 99% isopropyl alcohol and water. Mix well.
THREE: Using droppers, add the Optiphen ND and Natural Castile Liquid Soap Base and mix. Because this mixture contains water, it needs a preservative to prevent mold and bacteria. Read more in this Talk It Out Tuesday: Preservatives post.
FOUR: Add the polysorbate and essential oil mixture and mix until the spray is clear. That will take around 30-60 seconds.
FIVE: Pour the mixture into bottles and it’s ready to use right away! As with any new cleaning project or product, do a small test spray on your particular surface to ensure that the product does not mar or etch the surface and instead rinses cleanly away.
Are you doing any extra cleaning or organizing to get the new year started on the right foot? I’m in the process of cleaning the garage and sorting through the kiddos’ toys.
- 3 oz. Hydrogen Peroxide
- 3 oz. Distilled White Vinegar
- 5 oz. Distilled Water
- 3 oz. 99% Isopropyl Alcohol
- 4 mL Natural Castile Liquid Soap Base
- .5 mL Peppermint Essential Oil, 1st Distill
- 3.5 mL Orange Valencia Essential Oil
- 4 mL Optiphen ND
- .4 oz. Polysorbate 80
- Four 4 oz. Brushed Aluminum Bottles with Spray Top
- Optional: Droppers
- Since you’re combining essential oils and water in this recipe, you need polysorbate 80 to help combine the essential oil and the water. In a glass container, combine the polysorbate 80 and the essential oils and mix well.
- In a separate glass container, add the hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, 99% isopropyl alcohol and water. Mix well.
- Using droppers, add the Optiphen ND and Natural Castile Liquid Soap Base and mix. Because this mixture contains water, it needs a preservative to prevent mold and bacteria.
- Add the polysorbate and essential oil mixture and mix until the spray is clear. That will take around 30-60 seconds.
- Pour the mixture into bottles and it’s ready to use right away!
I see that there is 99% isopropyl alcohol and 99% anhydrous isopropyl alcohol. Are these the same thing? If not, which is used here and does it matter?
Thanks for your help; your web site is great!
Susan
Hi Susan!
Thank you so much, glad you like the site! 🙂
I would recommend using 99% isopropyl alcohol. We haven’t done a lot of experimenting with the anhydrous kind. Because it doesn’t contain water, I’m not sure if the 1% would be an additive that would do odd things in soap. We’ve had great luck with 99% isopropyl alcohol!
Read more about it here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/sunday-night-spotlight-99-isopropyl-alcohol/
99% isopropyl alcohol: https://www.brambleberry.com/99-Isopropyl-Alcohol-16-oz-P5682.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi!
Will granite counter tops in direct view of the sun react to the EO? I would love to try this recipe. Thanks!
Hi Tanya!
We don’t recommend using this recipe for granite countertops. White vinegar is a diluted form of acetic acid, which can etch the granite. You can read more about that in the Top DIY Cleaning Ingredients: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/top-diy-cleaning-ingredients/
If you like, you can leave the vinegar out of this recipe and increase the amount of water and rubbing alcohol slightly. In that case, I would recommend leaving out the lemon essential oil for the same reason – the acid can etch the countertops. The peppermint on its own will smell really nice though. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thank you so much. You guys are very helpful.
You’re welcome Tanya! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi I loved the thought of this and then when I made it I loved the smell, but I am working on an hour now and my liquid is still white???? Help. I followed exactly as you have the ingredients and… its still white. Can this be used?
Hi Tamy!
Hmm, that’s strange! Are you noticing pools of oil at the top? If so, you may need to mix a little longer to help emulsify the oil on top. When all the ingredients are first added, the spray does appear white. However, after mixing it should go clear.
Let me know and we’ll get this figured out! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I noticed you mentioned its great on tiles and glass. Can it be used on other surfaces like leather seat or car dashboards?
I want to make cleaners for home/office or car interior use. If this won’t work, can you suggest any recipe for this purpose?
You are indeed such great help! 😀
Hi Yawkta!
Hmm, I’m not entirely sure! My worry is that the Orange Valencia Essential Oil is a photosensitizer, meaning it reacts with the sun. It may do some weird things to the leather in your car. If you do give it a try, I would recommend testing a very small amount on your seats, maybe in a non-visible area in case it does react.
I did a quick internet search, and it looks like there are several DIY leather cleaners that use a combination of vinegar and olive oil to clean their seats. We haven’t tested those, so you’ll definitely want to test it out before applying it on your seats.
We will also keep that in mind for future tutorials! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thanks a lot.
Guess I will keep my eyes open for the tutorial 👀 😊
You’re welcome! 🙂
You don’t have to post this comment on your webpage. I’ve been doing a lot of research about homemade cleaning recipes (because I am getting ready to post a series of recipes). One thing that I’ve learned is that you have to be really careful when combining ingredients. You can use Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide on the same surface separately while cleaning, but don’t mix them in the same container. You’ll create paracetic acid which, despite being an effective sanitizer, is potentially corrosive and irritating.
The health risks aren’t well-known, but in high enough concentrations, paracetic acid “is very irritating to the skin, eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, with the potential for causing permanent scarring of the skin, cornea, and throat.”
This website is helpful 🙂 http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/16-common-product-combinations-you-should-never-mix#.cfX0qmKob
Hi Stacy!
Thanks so much for your feedback! I use this cleanser at home and haven’t noticed any irritation, but that is something you can definitely ask your doctor about. 🙂
If you like, you can leave either the vinegar or hydrogen peroxide out. You can also wear gloves and a mask if you like! I tend to do that with the more harsh cleaners.
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I just made this with the Polysorbate 20 and it was a complete bust. I don’t think I mixed it enough when it came to adding the liquid soap. The mixture never cleared up. Does the Polysorbate 80 make that big of a difference?
Thank you for all your great recipes.
Hi Virginia!
We tried this recipe with Polysorbate 20 and didn’t have a lot of luck. We noticed it kept separating, even with several different usage rates. The Polysorbate 80 keeps everything emulsified and prevents any separation. I would recommend using it. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Is it possible to substitute polysorbate 20 instead of 80? The 80 is out of stock and I was curious if you could interchange them. P.S. I love the new printable “recipe” feature!
Hi Charity!
We tried this recipe with both Polysorbate 20 and 80 and found that the Polysorbate 80 worked better for this spray. I would recommend using Polysorbate 80, which should be back in stock Feb. 5th. 🙂
Polysorbate 80: https://www.brambleberry.com/Polysorbate-80-P4438.aspx
Also, so glad you like the printable recipes! We love them too.
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Ok, part of my comment dissapeared while hitting the submit button, so I will finish it off now
…and for the second time my comment has partly vanished
And I just wanted to say that I scented this cleaning spray with your Lavender&Herb, and how happy I am that I can buy your fragrance oils here in The Netherlands now 🙂
Hi Zala!
That sounds like an awesome homemade bathroom cleaner! Thanks so much for sharing. And, thank you so much for the suggestion!
Also, I’m so glad you can get our fragrance oils in The Netherlands! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thank you so much for this recipe!
I love my house to be organised, clean & fresh, and I’m always on the lookout for formulas which can replace store bought products.
Well, to be fair, you really don’t need a lot of different products. I have just a few staples. A Soapqueen recipe for washing powder, which works like a charm. And I’m never out of my bathroom cleaner: a concentrate of 38% citric acid, 57% water, 5% sls. In a spray bottle use 5% concentrate + 95% water. Works wonders! I use my homemade dishwashing liquid for nearly all other cleaning purposes, although I would love if you folks would come up with a formula for a toilet cleaner
I would love to try this but do not want to buy 1 gallon of the liquid soap base since this is the first time I’d use it. Also, I would love to see some tutorials on making liquid soap 🙂 And can you use regular Optiphen? Thanks.
Hi Cindi!
I understand! You can definitely leave the soap out of this recipe if you like. We liked it because it added a gentle soapiness to the recipe, but it is optional.
We have an awesome video on making liquid soap which includes a fun recipe! You can find that here: https://www.brambleberry.com/Liquid-Soapmaking-Online-Video-P4828.aspx
Also, we recommend Optiphen ND because it’s made for products that contain water and will help fight bacteria and mold most effectively in this recipe. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Optiphen ND: https://www.brambleberry.com/Optiphen-ND-P5714.aspx