These are some of my favorite ingredients to use when making natural cleaning products. They can be used for everything from cleaning the bathroom, kitchen and living room. If you’re looking for more natural cleaning recipes, check out this Spring Cleaning Roundup. The post includes recipes for laundry soap, wood polish and more. What is your favorite natural cleaning ingredient?

Baking Soda
Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is a great all-purpose cleaner. Because of its exfoliating properties, baking soda is great for removing scum from your bath tub, burnt food from pots and pans and scuff marks from shoes. It also helps deodorize. In the Fizzy Toilet Fresheners Tutorial, baking soda is combined with citric acid, lemon essential oil and peppermint essential oil, 2nd distillation to keep your bathroom smelling fresh. You can also mix baking soda with a bit of water and wash your refrigerator to get rid of lingering food smells. Best of all, it’s inexpensive and easy to find in stores. Find out more ways to use it in this Sunday Night Spotlight.

Baking soda is an incredibly versatile ingredient. Learn more about it here.

White Vinegar
If you have stubborn stains on hard-to-clean surfaces, like windows and walls, vinegar will do the trick. It is a diluted form of acetic acid that forms through fermentation of natural carbohydrates. Mixed with water, it works wonders on rain spots, grease and more. Vinegar is used in the Crisp Orange Cleaning Spray to help remove dirt and stains from tile and glass. Vinegar is also great for removing sticky residue, cleaning shower heads and cleaning up soap scum. Just make sure not to use it on granite or marble, as it can etch it.

The Crisp Orange Cleaning Spray recipe uses vinegar to help with stubborn stains and residue. 

Washing Soda
Washing soda – also know as soda ash or sodium carbonate – is an amazing stain fighter. Because of its stain fighting properties, it’s ideal for handmade laundry soap. When mixed with other ingredients like shredded soap, baking soda and borax, it helps your clothes stay clean and fresh. It’s also a water softener. Click through the Three DIY Laundry Soap Recipes for more information. Washing soda can also be used to clean tough materials like grease and wax. Washing soda can cause skin irritation, so I recommend wearing gloves and long sleeves when working with it. It can also irritate the nose and throat, so you can wear a mask if you like.

Making your own laundry soap with washing soda is easy, click here to learn how. 

Salts
The scrubbing power of salt is ideal for household cleaning. It can be used to scrub shower scum, clean cast iron pans and remove oven spills. Salt is very absorbent, so it can absorb grease, oil and cooking residue from burnt pans. It’s also a deodorizer and fights unpleasant smells around your house. For instance, it’s an effective way to get rid of odors from the garbage disposal. It’s very versatile! Read more about salts in this Sunday Night Spotlight.

Salt, especially epsom salt, is great for cleaning recipes and bath and beauty applications such as bath salts. 

Essential Oils
One of the best things about a clean house is a fresh, crisp scent. Essential oils can be used in room sprays, like the Springtime Room Spray, or added to cleaning products. The Simple Citrus Furniture Polish is scented with a bright blend of orange valencia essential oil and lemon essential oil. Lavender 40/42 essential oil on a towel makes a great homemade dryer sheet. It will make your clothes smell delightfully floral and earthy. Some essential oils, like tea tree essential oil, are also thought to have antiseptic and antifungal properties.

Essential oils make your cleaning products smell fresh. In particular, I like lemon, orange and peppermint. 

What’s your favorite household cleaning ingredient? 

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