Homemade Natural Heavy Duty Household Cleaner Recipe

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So I shared a popular household cleaner a few days ago – the All Purpose cleaner.  Well, if you are like me, you have been known to buy the “heavy-duty” cleaner too for those really tough jobs.  I use to be a big fan of Formula 409.  But since wanting to find homemade, safe and natural versions to get rid of as many chemicals as possible in our home, I needed an alternative.  Now, this is a very effective formula, but it isn’t quite a Formula 409.  I am not sure if I can totally get everything out without pulling that out.  BUT…. this is a very good second and takes care of most tough jobs and I can rest assured I am not exposing ourselves to a lot of chemicals. You will probably notice it has many similarities to the All Purpose cleaner, but more concentrated.

Here’s the recipe and steps to make my Homemade Natural Heavy Duty Household Cleaner!

Here’s the ingredients needed:

• 1 Tablespoon of Borax
• 3 Tablespoons of hot tap water
• 1 Tablespoon of Baking Soda
• 2 cups of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
• 20-30 drops of dish soap
• 20 oz + bottle (if you have different sizes, adjust recipe accordingly)

• And then about 30-40 drops total of essential oils…. and this is where I use a little bit of each of the 7 Best Essential Oils for Cleaning. Each one of them is stronger in killing certain types of bacteria and microorganisms.  Oregano in all my homemade recipes is the strongest smell and not really appetizing, but since people consume oregano essential oil as a health supplement, you know it is good for your home too 🙂 I use about the same number of drops for each oil at around 5-6 drops from each one.

*Please note, you can also use vinegar instead of Hydrogen Peroxide (which will have quite the smell) or even 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 Hydrogen Peroxide if you want too! I personally love Hydrogen Peroxide as it is odorless and kills bacteria, cleans and brightens and removes stains.  The borax does these things on it’s own too, but is also suppose to boost the cleaning power of other products too!

Here’s how to make it:

• First, place the 1 TBSP of Borax in a shallow bowl.  Then pour 2 TBSP of hot water on top and mix with a fork, spoon or whisk.  It will not dissolve completely and you need to work quickly at keeping it mixed!
• Then add 1 TBSP of Baking Soda and another TBSP of hot tap water and mix again until well blended
• Using a funnel for ease, pour this mixture into a bottle.
• *Please note, you need to do these three above steps quickly as the borax will harden and become crusty if it sits for too long.

• Then add the 2 cups of  3% Hydrogen Peroxide
• Then add the 20-30 drops of dish soap

• Then add all of your oils!

• Put the lid/spray nozzle on your bottle and shake to blend well.
• Then use your heavy duty cleaner where a heavy duty job is needed!
• *Please note, you will need to shake the bottle again for each round of cleaning!

So here’s my estimated cost breakdown for a 20+ oz. bottle.  This is the MOST expensive cleaner that I make, which is why I reserve it for the heavy duty jobs.

• 1 TBSP of Borax…maybe .02 worth
• 1 TBSP of Baking Soda… again, maybe .02 worth
• You would be using 16 oz. of Hydrogen Peroxide which is .88 per 32 oz., so this is approximately .44 worth.
• The 20-30 drops of dishsoap is maybe .05 worth
• Essential Oils – I estimate them to be around .01 a drop at the MOST, so in total, you are probably maybe using .40 worth

TOTAL per 20 oz. bottle = .93

If you get any of the items on sale, it would be even less!

Here’s a printable recipe that you can put in your home binder:

We also HIGHLY recommend that you put this in your home binder along with many more things we will be sharing! See all of the information on this in our previous post HERE about Put Together Your Home Binder with Free Downloads.

Finally, use this new thrifty and healthy cleaning product as part of our Spring Cleaning Challenge.

If you want even more ideas too, be sure to visit these links!

• Shopping list to be able to make 23 natural homemade cleaning products for a very low price tag of $12.
• And then if you wanted to make them anti-bacterial and anti-viral, we also shared the natural but effective add-ins for much less HERE.