The Benefits of Homemade Cleaning Products

6 Reasons Why You Should Make Cleaning Products at Home

After reading the labels of name-brand cleaning products, you might be considering making your own disinfectants at home. 

This is understandable, especially since you’re likely cleaning your home more regularly than in the past. 

See our tips for properly disinfecting your home on our blog. 

Here are the top six benefits of making and using your own cleaning products: 

1. You Control the Ingredients 

When you make your own cleaning products, you have full control over the ingredients that are included. This is especially helpful for households with specific allergies and/or health concerns. Additionally, it is beneficial to increase awareness of the ingredients you are using in your home and any potential harmful effects. 

In fact, did you know that a wide range of common household cleaning products include chemicals that are sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)? These are toxic gases that are released in the air when you use certain products. They evaporate readily at room temperature, so they can quickly become part of the air that you breathe while you are cleaning.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, domestic use of household cleaning products has been associated with adverse health effects. People with existing respiratory conditions, young children, and the elderly may be more vulnerable to VOC exposure. Here are a few symptoms of VOC exposure to be aware of: 

• Eye and skin irritation
• Allergic reactions
• Headaches
• Sore throat
• Nausea and vomiting
• Dizziness
• Fatigue

With all-natural, homemade cleaning products, you can eliminate the possibility of anyone in your household experiencing these symptoms due to cleaning chemicals.

2. Safe for Children and Pets

By creating your own cleaning products, you can also ensure they are safe for both your children and pets. 

If you are a parent, from day one you’ve understandably kept your kids far away from ingesting or touching cleaning products, especially ones with bleach. However, did you know there are additional harmful ingredients that are poisonous?  As a refresher, here is a list of ingredients that can be toxic or harmful: 

• Alcohol
• Bleach
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Chemical compounds with the word “phenol”
• Fragrances
• Air freshener
• Carpet fresheners and shampoo
• Vinegar and water together 

Bottom line: Preventing the spread of germs and illness in your home is important, but toxic cleaning products can have adverse effects relating to the long-term health and safety of your family members. When you make homemade cleaning products, you can include only natural and non-toxic ingredients that don’t pose any potential harm to your loved ones. 

Wondering how to explain germs and illnesses to your kids? Visit our blog, How to Explain Germs and Illnesses to Your Kids. 

3. Better Home Air Quality 

We often receive alerts regarding the air quality and pollution outside, but we often forget to recognize the indoor air quality of our homes.  In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warns that we are facing an increase in indoor air pollution,  one risk factor being the VOCs mentioned above. 

With homemade cleaning products, you can improve the air quality of your home and eliminate any unnecessary pollution. For additional help, here is what the EPA recommends to improve indoor air quality. 

4. Cost-Effective

Not only are cleaning products flying off the shelves, but they are also increasing in cost due to supply and demand. If you are cleaning your home regularly (as the CDC recommends) then that cost will add up quickly. 

When making your own cleaning products, you not only reduce the overall cost by including inexpensive household ingredients. You also have the freedom to create multi-purpose cleaners that you can use on all different surfaces. 

You can easily save over $100 a year!

5. More Environmentally-Friendly

When keeping your home disinfected is a top priority, being environmentally friendly might get put on the back-burner. However, with the all-natural cleaning products you make, you can help protect the environment from the same chemicals that can be harmful to your kids and animals. 

Green cleaning products include a variety of characteristics, such as biodegradability, low toxicity, low VOC content, reduced packaging, and low lifecycle energy use. For reference, this means from creation to completion minimal energy and resources are required. These qualities not only reduce exposure to harmful chemicals, improve air quality, and decrease pollution, but can also decrease waste and energy when eco-friendly manufacturing, packaging, and disposal methods are used.

As the creator of your cleaning products, you can decide to reuse containers rather than purchasing new ones every time you buy cleaner at the store. As well, your at-home manufacturing produces next to no pollution or waste.

6. Eliminate Resistant Bacteria

Now more than ever, the primary goal of cleaning your home is killing any bacteria that may be lying around on common surfaces and high-traffic areas. It may surprise you that many name-brand cleaning products aren’t disinfectants. 

Many name-brand cleaners include antibacterial ingredients, however, they may only be able to target certain types of bacteria. You can circumvent this problem by making your own cleaning products and ensuring that you include ingredients that properly disinfect and kill pathogens. 

Download your free ultimate cleaning checklist here!

Cleaning Products You Can Make at Home

Once you’ve made the decision to make your cleaning products at home, you may be wondering if you will be able to create all the different types of cleaners you need to properly keep your home healthy and safe. Here’s a list of the products you can make at home, that actually work and have easy recipes online: 

• All-purpose cleaner
• Kitchen cleaner and deodorizer
• Glass cleaner 
• Brass cleaner
• Grease cleaner
• Heavy-duty scrub
• Stain remover
• Marble cleaner

Want something handy you can use to disinfect your home and hands on the go? Download our easy, at-home recipe for hand sanitizer.