Hello! We’re back with Part II of our previous article: The Best Essential Oils for Cleaning Your Home.
There’s still a lot to unpack about essential oils! There are so many of them with individual properties, many of them related to cleaning and wellbeing.
Last time, we discussed what are essential oils and we talked about four of them: lemon, lavender, tea tree and peppermint. Now, keep reading to find out even more essential oils and how to use them for cleaning.
Essential Oils: A Quick Recap
In our previous article, we mentioned the meaning of essential oils and their properties. Just as a quick recap, it’s worth mentioning that essential oils come from either organic or synthetic sources, and that organic essential oils preserve many natural properties from fruits or plants, including cleaning, degreasing, sanitizing and relaxing properties. They’re also safe to use on most surfaces and materials, which is important to preserve your belongings.
There are endless options that you can mix and match. You already read the benefits of 4 types of essential oils: lemon, lavender, tea tree and peppermint. Now we have 6 more types to talk about: Eucalyptus, Pine, Wild Orange, Thieves, Cedarwood and Grapefruit.
Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Eucalyptus is a plant native to Australia. You might know them for being the main source of food for koalas. It is heavily used in the personal care industry, in everything from face scrubs to toothpaste and, of course, cleaning.
Here are some examples of eucalyptus as a cleaning agent:
You can use it as a fabric freshener, not only to give your clothes a rich, pleasant fragrance but also to remove microbes. You can use it when doing laundry: during your washing cycle, add about 10 drops with your detergent.
Warning: like many other essential oils, eucalyptus is not safe for pets, especially for cats. Keep that in mind if you’re a pet owner. And, of course, you shouldn’t ingest it either.
It is also a great bathroom cleaner, especially for the shower because it helps removing scum. Just add a few drops in a spray bottle, with a cup of hot water.
Before leaving your bathroom, take the opportunity to clean your brushes too! The recipe is actually very similar: place in a mason jar half cup of distilled white vinegar, one and a half cups of water and 20 drops of eucalyptus oil. your glass jar should be big enough to fit all your combs and hairbrushes, so you can soak them for 20 minutes and then rinse them with plenty of water.
Read more: How to Clean Your Bathroom Step by Step
Pine Essential Oil
Pine oil is extracted from pine tree needles and it comes with a handful of properties. Besides its refreshing and uplifting smell, it’s often used for medicine and aromatherapy. It is also very popular as a deodorizer, that’s why pine fragrance is one of the most common to find in every household.
Talking about deodorizing, you can use it as an air freshener by using an oil diffuser with a few drops of pine oil, about 2-3. Let it run for 30 minutes: the air will smell great and your nasal/sinus congestion will be cleared.
You can use pine oil for removing that unpleasant smell from your trash cans.
Pine oil is also useful as a furniture and upholstery cleaner. You just need to add 10 drops of pine essential oil and one tablespoon of liquid castile soap to 1 ½ cups of warm water, mixing everything out in a spray bottle and applying it on the surface. Use with either a mop or a microfiber cloth, depending on the surface.
Remember to dust and vacuum before using the cleaner, and to shake well before each use.
If you want more advice on how to clean your couch, you can read our entire guide here.
Wild Orange Essential Oil
Wild Orange oil comes from the rind of wild oranges and, as you can imagine, citrus essential oils such as lime, lemon and wild orange bring a fruity, fresh scent.
Mix a ¼ cup of olive oil and 10 drops of wild orange essential oil. Nothing works better for wooden furniture than a fresh, citrus scent.
Similar to pine oil, you can add 3 to 4 drops to a diffuser. It is ideal during cold and flu season because, as you know, citrus fruits boost our immune system, according to research.
Related: 10 Creative Ways to Use Lemon for Cleaning
Thieves Essential Oil
Thieves oil is one of the few oils that is not extracted from a single plant or fruit. In fact, it is a blend of different essential oils; mostly cinnamon, cloves, eucalyptus, lemon and rosemary. Thanks to this, not only it offers an incredible fragrance, but it also combines properties from these five components; being able to relieve congestion, manage stress and purify the air. You may know it as Guardian oil or Health Shield oil, too
Thieves oil can make a great all-purpose cleaner when mixed with castile soap, similar to pine oil.
First, you need to create your thieves’ oil. Grab cinnamon, cloves, eucalyptus, lemon and rosemary essential oils and mix 10 drops of each into a small glass container.
Now, for your DIY cleaner, you’ll need castile soap, witch hazel and a bit of distilled or filtered water, as well as a glass spray bottle as a container. Place 2 tablespoons of castile soap and 1 tablespoon of witch hazel into your spray bottle using a funnel. With a dropper, add 20 drops of thieves oil.
Fill the rest of the container with water and shake well before each use. You can add 15 drops of lemon essential oil to increase its degreasing power. There you have it! An easy, cheap and chemical-free cleaner.
Cedarwood Essential Oil
Cedarwood oil comes from several types of cedar trees. In fact, it can come from Texas cedar trees. As you can imagine, it has a woodsy, earthy fragrance. It is an excellent odor neutralizer.
You can use it to remove unpleasant odors from your trash can. Just add a few drops to a cotton ball and place it at the bottom.
Of course, it’s only natural to think of cedarwood as a floor cleaner, especially if you have hardwood floors. You can create your very own floor cleaner with ½ cup white of distilled vinegar and ½ teaspoon of cedarwood oil. Just pour them into a bucket filled with 1 gallon of warm water and use a mop for cleaning your floors after sweeping and vacuuming. As always, test first on a small, inconspicuous area before doing your entire floor.
This is also a great flea & tick spray killer for dogs! Cedarwood is one of the few oils that are safe to use on dogs (even though they might find the smell a bit overwhelming), as long as they’re properly diluted. Just add about 3-5 drops and one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a cup of water. Shake well and apply to your dog’s coat. Always consult your vet before applying anything to your pets.
Grapefruit Essential Oil
Grapefruit oil also offers antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Similar to Wild Orange oil, it is extracted from the peels of grapefruit.
You can use this for cleaning your bathtub and shower. Mix one cup of baking soda and ½ teaspoon of grapefruit oil. Rinse your tub and shower and sprinkle your grapefruit cleaning mix. You already know that baking soda is perfect for combining with many other cleaning agents and it comes with deodorizing and degreasing power.
Don’t leave your bathroom yet! You can mix 5 drops of Grapefruit essential oil to 2 cups of water in a spray bottle to clean your bathroom surfaces.
Mix and Match for Better Results
As you know, essential oils are perfect for mix and match. The combination of scents and properties will make you feel great when using them.
For example, pine and orange go great together because they combine the refreshing smell of citrus with a more woodsy, rocky scent. You can add 3 drops of each to an air diffuser and enjoy clean, purified air.
Or you can blend pine, cedarwood and eucalyptus for an incredible combination to use on your wooden furniture. Just imagine the scent it will provide to your bookshelves and nightstands.
And, if you want to try the cedarwood wood floor cleaner, you can use 25 drops of grapefruit oil and 25 drops of cedarwood to add a brand-new scent to your floors.
Remember that, even though you should use glass bottles for storing them, it’s okay to use plastic spray bottles if you’re diluting them in water or other cleaning agents. Always test your DIY cleaning solutions in a small area first and, if you have pets, check if your desired essential oils are safe to use around them.
Conclusion
There you have it! Even more essential oils with cleaning properties for you to enjoy. Make sure you visit our previous article about essential oils as well, and feel free to mix them with the ones mentioned in this article! After all, essential oils are ideal for blending with infinite possibilities according to your needs.
Not only that, but they are also safe to combine with other cleaning agents such as baking soda and castile soap, offering effective but harmless and chemical-free cleaning solutions.
And even though it’s fun to mix and try as many essential oils as you can, the actual cleaning process might be exhausting or time-consuming. Remember you can always hire a cleaning service to take care of your household while you spend quality time with your loved ones.
