Ditch the harsh chemicals (but not the cleaning power) by throwing out your commercial house cleaners and using essential oils instead! Here are 10 essential oils for cleaning that are guaranteed to rid your house of grime and leave it feeling fresh and clean (and smelling amazing)!

Commercial household cleaners contain chemicals and toxins that can be dangerous for your family, pets, and home. When you clean, the goal is to remove the dirt, grime, and bacteria.

But what good is your cleaner if you just add nasty chemicals as you try to remove nastiness?

I began using Essential Oils in my cleaning several years ago, and I am THRILLED with the results!

What are essential oils?

Essential oils are a safe and natural go-to for every aspect of life.

They are compounds extracted from plants through distillation or cold pressing to capture the plant’s unique essence.

By capturing each plant’s scent and smell we can use these oils for the benefits that each plant naturally provides.

What are benefits of essential oils?

Essential oils provide many benefits across all aspects of life, depending on how you use them. For this post, I’ll just focus on how they benefit your cleaning efforts! Use essential oils for cleaning to:

• Kill bacteria, funguses, and viruses
• Remove sticky residue easily
• Improve mood
• Alleviate headaches

Why clean with essential oils?

Commercially-made cleaners are filled with chemicals and toxins that have been linked to respiratory issues, fertility issues, and even problems with compromised immune systems.

I don’t want to subject my family (or myself!) to that!

Essential oils, on the other hand, use the power of plants to provide a safe and non-toxic way to clean your home.

They’re affordable and versatile so that you can use them across all areas of life including aromatherapy and for their health benefits.

And when you use essential oils for cleaning, you are harnessing the power of nature – it’s amazing.

Where do I buy essential oils?

Ok, here’s where you’ll get tons of different recommendations from lots of people and it can get confusing. I want to simplify it for you.

The truth is that I’ve tried nearly every brand out there. I even was a member of an MLM (multi-level marketing) essential oil company for a few years.

Sure the oils were great in the MLM company, but there were a LOT of downsides that just didn’t work for me.

Can you buy essential oils on Amazon? Yes, you sure can (and I did for a time). The problem with that is that you can’t be sure of the purity of the oils there.

So I did a LOT of research to try to find a brand/company that:

• Provided therapeutic grade oils
• Is independently tested to ensure the highest quality
• Doesn’t use animal testing
• Offers organic oil options
• Is committed to sustainability and helping the planet

After researching and trying nearly every brand out there, I finally settled on Rocky Mountain Oils, and I’m SO grateful I did!

Their quality is incredible, and they avoid using the MLM model so that you get the same high level of essential oils at an affordable fraction of the cost.

And here’s something amazing about Rocky Mountain Essential Oils! They encourage customers to send back empty bottles of essential oils (from any company!) in order to ensure they’re properly recycled.

Unfortunately, due to their small size, most curbside recycling operations don’t accept essential oil bottles, which means that many of them unnecessarily end up in landfills. So send them back into Rocky Mountain Oils and they’ll get them where they need to be to help the planet.

Rocky Mountain Oils is now my go-to essential oil supplier and I’m sure that if you give them a chance, they’ll become yours too!

Best Essential Oils For Cleaning

Ok, at this point, I’m sure the question “what essential oils are good for house cleaning?” is at the top of your list! Well, my friend, the wait is over.

I’m sharing my top essential oils for cleaning, and then I’ll share my go-to essential oils household cleaning recipes too 🙂

1. Lemon Essential Oil

Lemon oil is one of my all-time top favorite essential oils PERIOD. And I also happen to love cleaning with it because it has a wonderfully sweet-tinged citrusy scent that makes your home smell clean and fresh without any artificial fragrance.

Plus, lemon oil is a cleaning powerhouse. Its antiviral and antibacterial properties help get your home refreshingly clean.

NOTE: lemon oil is also terrific for removing sticky residue – like the back of a sticker that never quite came off all the way! My kids used to love climbing pine trees and would be covered in sap – lemon oil took it off EASILY!

Ways To Use It: Add lemon essential oil to your DIY all-purpose cleaners to get the kitchen and bathrooms clean. This oil is also a go-to for shining wood floors and wood furniture.

Similar Oils: lemongrass, orange, lime, grapefruit

2. Tea Tree Essential Oil

Tea tree oil (aka melaleuca oil) is one of the most powerful cleansing oils. When it comes to fighting germs, bacteria, viruses, and bugs, no other oils can beat it.

In fact, studies show that it can prevent norovirus and influenza and norovirus. Yes, please! 

NOTE: I haven’t seen any (yet) that focus on its effects on COVID, but knowing how effective it is on these other viruses, I’m sure it would deliver a good blow if not kill the COVID virus.

I rely on this antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal oil to fight off nasty germs that threaten the health of my family, which is why it’s one of my go-to oils for cleaning.

Ways To Use It: Use tea tree oil is best as part of your everyday cleaning through the entire house. It works exceptionally well at removing mildew and musty odors.

Put a few drops in your stinky trash can, bathroom, or garbage disposal for a new fresh scent.

Similar oils: peppermint, eucalyptus

3. Lavender Essential Oil  

Lavender oil is a natural antibacterial and odor eliminator. One of the best ways to use lavender oil, though, is for its calming properties.

Its soothing fragrance reduces stress and helps promote relaxation and sleep. That’s why it’s a favorite oil to use in bedrooms.

Ways To Use It: Use lavender oil to clean and disinfect toys because it’s highly a powerhouse against viruses and bacteria that kids spread around constantly. Even though it’s very effective, it’s also safe for kids.  

You can also use it to make an air freshener and a soothing linen spray for your pillows and mattress.

Similar oils: rosemary

4. Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Eucalyptus oil has highly effective antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. It’s another favorite of mine when it comes to essential oils for cleaning.

It’s terrific for fighting mold and mildew and can also fight germs that cause the flu, pneumonia, strep, and staph infections. And if that’s not enough, it can help improve seasonal allergies!  

Ways To Use It: Eucalyptus oil is a great all-purpose cleaner, especially to stop mold, fight allergies, and repel rats. Use it on really tough odors such as baby diapers by adding a few drops to the diaper pail.

Similar oils: tea tree, oregano, peppermint

5. Orange Essential Oil

Orange oil is similar to lemon oil. They’re both citrusy and purifying clean oils, but orange oil is slightly sweeter-smelling. Did you know that oranges contain enzymes that eat bacteria and prevent them from growing back? So cool!

Ways To Use It: You can substitute Orange oil for lemon oil in your DIY all-purpose cleaner. It’s also great for fighting grease and cleaning cutting boards since it won’t add an unpleasant taste to food.

I love using lemon and orange essential oils for cleaning anywhere in the house but especially in the kitchen.

Similar oils: lemon, grapefruit, lime, lemongrass

6. Grapefruit Essential Oil

Like lemon and orange, grapefruit essential oil is one of the great essential oils for cleaning. As a citrus oil, it’s a natural degreaser and air freshener.

Ways To Use It: Use it in your all-purpose cleaner or make a DIY Shower Spray to combat soap scum in your shower.

Similar oils: lime, lemongrass, lemon, orange

7. Peppermint Essential Oil

Peppermint is cool, invigorating, and refreshing.

Its antibacterial and antifungal properties make it one of the top essential oils for cleaning. It’ll kill the germs around your home – and repel rodents and pests too!  

Ways To Use It: Peppermint oil is great throughout the home. I love to mix it with other essential oils for cleaning such as lemon, lavender, and eucalyptus. Need a streak-free cleaner for your windows? Turn to peppermint!

Similar oils: spearmint, tea tree, eucalyptus, wintergreen

8. Cinnamon Essential Oil

Cinnamon essential oil for cleaning is antiseptic and antibacterial, and it also works as a natural deodorizer. This oil has a warm, sweet, spicy fragrance that will make your home smell wonderful and inviting!

Ways To Use It: Cinnamon oil fights mildew, mold, fungi, and other germs. Use it for repelling pests and making your home smell terrific.  

Similar oils: thyme, oregano, rosemary

9. Pine Essential Oil

Have you ever used Pine-Sol in your cleaning routine? Many people (including me 🙋‍♀️) have. In fact, not wanting to give up that fresh lemony-pine scent kept me from ditching the commercial cleaners for a while.

Then I discovered essential oils for cleaning and never looked back!

Pine is amazing for killing germs such as E.coli, yeast spores, mold, and mildew. If you prefer pine fragrance over lemon then go for it!

Ways To Use It: Use pine oil to rid your home of bacteria, pathogens, fungi, and yeast. It also helps get rid of unpleasant odors and purify the air.

Similar oils: cypress, bergamot, sandalwood, cedarwood

10. Thyme Essential Oil

Thyme oil is antibacterial, antiseptic, antifungal, cleansing AND contains calming properties. Basically, thyme can help with nearly everything – including cleaning!

Ways To Use It: Thyme oil is effective for cleaning kitchen utensils and cutting boards because it fights food-borne pathogens such as salmonella. It’s one of my top go-to essential oils for cleaning in the kitchen – especially when I pair it with lemon essential oils for cleaning!

Similar oils: oregano, cinnamon, rosemary

My Top Tips For Cleaning With Essential Oils

• When creating a DIY solution with essential oils, use the ratio of adding 10 drops (or more) to ever 2-3 cups of liquid to make sure the mixes are strong enough.
• Cleaning isn’t just about the solution you use with a sponge or brush. Cleansing the air can be healing in many ways. A diffuser is a great way to add a little aromatherapy to your home and cleanse the air too.
• When you mix essential oils with water, they tend to separate so give your DIY cleaner a good shake to remix everything before you use them.
• Take care to use high-quality essential oils, such as Rocky Mountain Oils to ensure that you aren’t unintentionally adding synthetic chemicals to your home.
• I love using essential oils to eliminate odors in even the most challenging areas. Just add a few drops (lemon or orange essential oils are my favorite for this in the kitchen!) in areas like trash cans and garbage disposals.

DIY Cleaner Recipes Using Essential Oils For Cleaning

Keep your home toxin-free when you use essential oils for different purposes around the house, including cleaning. Now that you’ve see the best essential oils to use for cleaning, here’s HOW to use them.

All-purpose cleaner:

• 2 cups of white vinegar
• 2 cups of water
• 1/4 cup liquid dish soap (or castile soap)
• 30 drops of lemon essential oil
• 20 drops of tea tree essential oil

Mix ingredients in a glass spray bottle and shake to combine. Use it as a spray cleaner in your kitchen and bathroom.

More Cleaning And Household Resources For Moms

• 40 Time-Saving Deep Cleaning Hacks You Didn’t Know You Needed
• 19 Most Important Deep Cleaning House Chores
• Top 8 Surprising Benefits of Spring Cleaning
• Baseball Mom Secrets: How to Clean White Baseball Pants

The post The Best Essential Oils for Cleaning (+ DIY Recipe!) appeared first on Made In A Pinch.