Mom Shares a Simple DIY Recipe for Your New Go-To All-Purpose Cleaner: “Super Easy to Make”

Using eco-friendly DIY cleaning products is easier than you think. A TikToker has a simple recipe for one of her favorites.

The scoop

Autumn (@autumnsch) is a mom who shares recipes and DIY tips on her TikTok. In a clip, she explained how to make an eco-friendly cleaning spray. The recipe only includes two ingredients and a little time. Autumn captioned the post: “Non-toxic, easy DIY all-purpose cleaner. No harsh chemicals and super easy to make!”

@autumnsch Easy DIY non-toxic all-purpose cleaner. No harsh chemicals and super easy to make! #nontoxicliving ♬ In the Forest – Lesfm & Olexy

To make this DIY cleaner, you will need pine needles and distilled white vinegar. In the clip, Autumn collects pine needles from a nearby tree, and it looks like you only need a handful.

She also says citrus peels work great if you don’t have access to pine needles. Place your pine needles (or peelings) in a mason jar and cover with distilled white vinegar. Although it’s not made explicit in this video, if you’re taking pine needles straight from the tree, make sure you don’t damage the branches and you may want to rinse them to get rid of any debris or insects.

Then, simply cover the pot and leave it for two weeks to let the pine infuse into your cleaning liquid. You can then pour the pine-infused vinegar into a spray bottle to use throughout your home.

How it helps

Homemade natural cleaners can be an effective way to clean your home, and all you need are affordable ingredients with many uses that you probably have around, like isopropyl alcohol, vinegar, soap, and baking soda soda.

Although pine has a pleasant scent, this spray relies primarily on vinegar for its cleaning properties. (Pine oil has some evidence of disinfectant properties, but according to the San Francisco Department of Environment, its effectiveness is limited.)

Vinegar owes its cleaning abilities to its acidity. The low pH helps eliminate annoying elements like limescale and hard water deposits, writes Consumer Reports.

DIY cleaning solutions also help you avoid certain toxic ingredients.

Which of these benefits would most effectively motivate you to use less plastic-packaged cleaning products?

Free up space on shelves

Avoid toxins and microplastics

Save money

Not interested

Click on your choice to see the results and express your opinion

Many disinfectants contain volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, which, according to the American Lung Society, are “gases emitted into the air from products or processes.”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which can cause short- and long-term adverse health effects.”

Making eco-friendly choices to avoid VOCs should be balanced with understanding whether your DIY cleaners are capable of disinfecting viruses and cleaning, as Rutgers Today explains.

What everyone is saying

Other people looking for DIY cleaning products praised the hack in TikTok’s comments section.

“This is a great idea! Thanks for sharing,” one person wrote.

Someone else added: “I’m totally going to try this.”

Another commenter said: “Oh I love this!!”

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