Homemade All-Purpose Cleaning Spray

I'm not one of those crazy "all chemicals are poison!' folks, but I do believe poison is poison, and a lot of cleaning supplies have ingredients that are known to have some pretty nasty side effects (like this or this). One option is to buy supplies that have been vetted and shown to be safe, but those tend to be, well, pricey. It can also be confusing to try to decipher the list of ingredients and level of concern- how much of this ingredient is in this product? This product got a grade B, is that safe enough? Not to mention that while one product of a certain brand is safe, another product by the same brand might be terrible! A great alternative is to make your own; obviously you control and know everything that goes in, and best of all, it's cheap!

The easiest one to start with is all purpose cleaning spray- it could not be more simple. Just fill a spray bottle 1/3 way with basic white vinegar, and the rest of the way with water. Voila! 

Is it as powerful as store bought cleaners? Well, no, but that's also why it's not poisonous to humans either. For general everyday clean up, getting grime off counters, etc. this is probably sufficient. Most research shows it's effective at killing most bacteria, but not strong enough to be classified as a disinfectant. It also is very effective at preventing mold and mildew from growing, so we keep a bottle by the shower and spray down the walls after we shower.

How I Failed: In the spirit of imperfection as mention in the name of this blog, let me tell you how I screwed up. This spray can be used on almost all surfaces- almost. When we moved into our beautiful new house, with the newly remodeled kitchen with concrete counters, I whipped out my trusty spray as usual. "Can vinegar be used on concrete counters?" asked my husband. "Of course!" I laughed. "It's concrete, what could harm concrete?!" Turns out, acidic things can harm concrete, like staining the beautiful red counters the last owners put in before selling the house (future post: how to repair stains to concrete counters). So, don't be like me, and before you use this on a surface, double check that it is safe. I've used it on laminate, marble, and finished wood with no problems.