by Texas Homesteader
I like to use the most non-toxic products when I clean, so I often make my own. Luckily it’s super easy (and super inexpensive) to make your own cleaners. One of the most common standbys for me is plain distilled vinegar. So inexpensive and such a great cleaner. And I’ve read that its acidity makes it effective at killing many kinds of bacteria and molds. Plus it’s also a great deodorizer.
But RancherMan’s not fond of the smell of vinegar so I typically scent it with something natural. I’ve used rosemary to scent it for my Rosemary-Scented Hair Rinse. But today I’m making it citrus scented for cleaning.
Infusing With Orange Peels
It was so easy too. You see, each morning I typically enjoy a fresh orange with my breakfast. So I took a quart canning jar and filled it with vinegar. Then I enjoyed my orange, removed the white pith from the back of the peel & dropped the cleaned peel into the vinegar, giving the contents a little swirl.
The next morning when I enjoyed my orange I once again removed the pith from the back and dropped the peels into the jar of vinegar, giving the contents a little swirl. When the jar was full of peels I continued swirling the contents about once every day or so.
Over time the color of the vinegar changes from clear to a light orange. After about a week or so of swirling the contents each morning I was able to strain out the peels. And Hocus Pocus the resulting vinegar is now transformed into a powerful citrus-scented cleaner!
Using My Citrus-Scented Cleaner
I like to use this vinegar in a repurposed spray bottle with a tiny squirt of grease-cutting dish liquid. This cleaner works great for removing soap residue on my shower doors – I spray it on & let it sit for about 30 minutes to soften the soap scum. Then I come back & respray, then with a quick scrub and rinse the shower doors are clean.
I also use this cleaner in other areas of my bathroom – floor tiles, toilet bowl, and bathtub. It does a great job on all these surfaces. And I’ve been able to take a very inexpensive pantry staple along with a repurposed spray bottle & make it into something useful for my household.
~TxH~
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Such a great idea. I love the smell of citrus!
I do too Michele, and it disguises the vinegar odor enough that I feel more comfortable using it for cleaning in our home even though RancherMan doesn’t like the smell of vinegar. ~TxH~
That’s a great idea; I do clean with vinegar but would prefer to not have such a strong vinegar smell! Pinned.
Yep, that’s our thing too. I love to clean with vinegar but RancherMan hates the smell (even though it’s temporary). This is a great compromise for us. ~TxH~
I need to be better about storing our orange peels, we regularly eat them, but we are just composting them. Thanks for sharing on the Waste Less Wednesday Blog Hop!
I always compost the peels too Katy unless I’m zesting or using it to scent our cleaner. ~TxH~
I love this idea and tried it with lemons. Next time I’ll use oranges and thanks for the tip!
Lemons would be awesome too Sandra, I may try that next time myself. ~TxH~
Great idea! Thanks!
Blessings, Leigh
It’s cheap and effective Leigh. ~TxH~
I have used vinegar, baking soda, and essential oils a LOT for house hold cleaners, but have just not gotten around to making citrus scented cleaners. So, enough procrastinating on my part (read being too busy with other stuff), you have inspired me to take 5 minutes to get this going!
Thanks again.
Give it a try Cathy, I love the citrus scent. This last batch I let ‘steep’ for about 3 weeks and it made quite a difference in the intensity of the fragrance. ~TxH~
I’ve used this method also and it works great for making a citrus scented homemade cleaner. I was just as happy with the pretty color of the vinegar when I was done too. 🙂
LOL Bev – no reason cleaners shouldn’t be pretty, huh? I agree! ~TxH~
Thanks for this! It’s exactly what I’m looking for!
What a great idea! Especially since I’m currently sitting next to a pile to orange peels left from my daughter! I think it was meant to me. Anything to neutralize that vinegar smell. Even if the citrus smell starts to fade, I’ll prob just add a drop or two of essential oil. Have a great weekend!
Kristen. Yes, yes, and YES!! 🙂 ~TxH~
I’ve made this cleaner and I love it. After a while the citrus smell faded but the vinegar smell was completely neutralized.
Stopping by from Posed Perfection.
I love it too Angela. Good to know the vinegar smell is fully neutralized… for RancherMan’s sake! LOL ~TxH~
My mouth dropped open when I realized what you were making! citrus cleaner! Great idea.
Thank you for sharing it on our Four Seasons Blog Hop. Pinning now
Thanks for the Pin Shawna – I’ve really been pleased at the results on this citrus-scented non-toxic and very inexpensive cleaner. ~TxH~
I came across a very similar ‘recipe’ on another blog not too long ago, except you use lemon juice. It has now become my go-to bathroom cleaner, works better than ANYTHING I’ve ever used! 🙂
Hummmm… lemon juice? If I use lemon juice, technically I get retrieve it from the lemons themselves and have zero waste. (wheels a-turnin’…) ~TxH~