How to Make Natural Disinfectant Spray

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to simplify your bathroom cleaning routine down to just ONE cleaning product that disinfected, scrubbed, and cleaned all in one? Well we are excited to show you exactly how to do just that with our homemade disinfectant spray for your bathroom. It’s super easy to make and the best part is that it uses all-natural and simple ingredients that you probably already have laying around your house. 

We designed this DIY recipe for cleaning bathrooms because let’s be honest: bathrooms get gross fast and they require something pretty heavy duty to kick the germs. They not only have a tendency to become one of the smelliest, ickiest environments on our household cleaning agendas, but they are hotspots for bacteria and grime. They’re also not that fun to clean so this all-in-one cleaner simplifies the process. This spray is designed to get your bathroom as germ-free as possible and to leave it smelling fresh and clean. Let’s jump into how it works!

Benefits of Using DIY Bathroom Cleaning Spray 

There are all sorts of bathroom cleaning products available from toilet bowl cleaners, to shower scrubbing agents, and all-purpose sprays. The vast majority of these store-bought products contain chemicals and toxic ingredients that irritate lungs, burn the eyes and skin, and can cause serious damage to internal organs if accidentally ingested. Any products containing chlorine, bleach, sodium hydroxide are harsh and pose serious health risks with long-term use.

Since there is no way to escape the tedious weekly task of scrubbing your bathrooms, you’ll be doing yourself (and the health of your family members) a huge favor in the long-run by using a natural, DIY bathroom cleaner. 

These are some of the most noteworthy benefits of replacing your store-bought bathroom cleaners with this homemade DIY version:

You’ll Only Need One Product

This all-purpose cleaner can clean all hard surfaces including the shower, floor, sink, toilet, toilet bowl, baseboards, cabinets, and more. It covers everything in your bathroom.  One product means one bottle and that frees up a lot of space in your storage cabinet.

All-around Safer and More Healthy

Keeping caustic cleaning products in the house can be a recipe for disaster in households with children or pets. If accidentally swallowed or ingested, poison control would have to be immediately consulted to figure out the safest protocol. 

Most homemade cleaning products won’t pose serious or potentially deadly risks if children happen to find their way into them. Still keep them away from kids and pets, but they usually are not as caustic as the store bought chemicals. Plus, they are not dangerous to inhale while using them as they don’t contain chemicals that give off noxious fumes.

Better for the Environment

Making your own DIY products cuts down on plastic consumption big time, especially in the long run. For this DIY recipe you’ll be storing it in a reusable spray bottle and refilling it whenever it’s running low.  That puts an end to the cycle of throwing away plastic spray bottles and buying a new one which is what happens when we use store bought cleaners. 

Also, cutting down on chemical cleaners has a direct, positive impact on the environment. When we flush chemicals down toilets, sinks, and showers it goes into the water system which is disruptive to local wildlife and ecosystems.

Saves Money

Let’s appeal to your wallet.  This DIY bathroom disinfecting cleaning spray uses just a few ingredients. Alcohol is used as the main sanitizing component and baking soda is used as an abrasive agent and odor eliminator. Both of these ingredients are inexpensive (costing around a dollar or two each) and you probably already have them lying around your house. 

While store-bought bathroom cleaning products cost around $5 per bottle, this homemade bathroom cleaning spray only costs around $1 per batch and offers such a wide array of benefits.

Clean and Sanitize Bathroom Appliances

This DIY spray uses alcohol as the main active ingredient. Alcohol is widely used as a disinfectant and works well to eliminate the germs and bacteria that build-up in your bathroom. You can use either rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) or grain alcohol (ethanol) for this recipe. Just be sure to use a solution between 65% and 95% percent for optimal effectiveness. 

The second active ingredient used in this spray is baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate. This is a natural substance commonly used in baking but has a lengthy list of other practical uses for around the house. It neutralizes both acids and bases and eliminates odors, which is super useful for bathroom cleaning. 

Tea tree oil is an essential oil known for its capabilities for killing bacteria, viruses, and fungi. It uses a compound called terpinen-4-ol to fight germs and sanitize. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, tea tree oil has known antimicrobial properties that have been used in Australia as a traditional medicine. 

Lemon essential oil, aside from its lovely scent, is known for its antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral properties. 

How to use DIY Disinfectant Spray 

One of the main advantages of this disinfecting bathroom spray is that it is SO versatile and multi-functional. It not only cleans and scrubs grime from all hard surfaces, but it disinfects as you go. 

Here are the main ways we recommend using this all-purpose disinfecting bathroom spray:

Sinks and Countertops

Sinks and countertops collect dust, toothpaste, make-up, oil, and general grime rather quickly. The rubbing alcohol and baking soda work together to tackle grime, oil, and other gunk-buildup easily and effectively. 

If the countertop or sink is extra gunky, sprinkle a little bit of baking soda directly onto the surface before spraying the cleaner on as well, this adds some extra abrasion to scrub it all off more easily. Let the cleaner sit for a minute or two before using a rag or scrub brush to wipe it all away. 

Showers

Showers need to be cleaned a few times per month at least to avoid mineral build-up and to remove larger particulate matter like dried skin and hair. Spray the entire shower, including the knobs, handle, shower walls, and tub. Let the solution sit for a few minutes and then use a rag or a scrub brush to wipe it away.

Toilet and Toilet Bowl 

Toilets are easily the most bacteria-laden appliance in your bathroom, so it’s important to disinfect them regularly. The baking soda in this solution will also help to eliminate and remove odors caused by dried urine splashes and other unmentionable splatters that collect under the toilet seat and around the toilet bowl. 

Spray the entire toilet, starting around the exterior, on the toilet seat, under the toilet seat, and in the toilet bowl as well. Let the solution sit for a minute. While it is soaking, unscrew the nozzle of the spray bottle and pour just a splash of the solution directly into the toilet bowl. Use a cleaning rag to wipe the exterior of the toilet, the toilet seat, and all other surfaces you sprayed. Use a toilet cleaning brush to clean the inside of the toilet bowl. 

Bathroom Floors

Bathroom floors get gunky and harbor all kinds of bacteria and fluid splashes. This spray makes a great disinfecting floor cleaner. Just remove any rugs you have in your bathroom first, then spray the cleaner generously on the entire floor. Use a dampened mop head to work the solution into the floor and let the entire surface air dry. This job definitely works best by sweeping before you mop so that any hairs and larger dirt particles don’t just get pushed around by the mop.

Disinfecting Other Surfaces

Use this natural disinfectant spray to clean door knobs, sink handles, toothbrush cups, cabinet surfaces, baseboards, tile walls, and more! It is essentially safe to use on any hard surfaces in the bathroom. 

How to Make Natural Disinfectant Spray

This cleaning spray only takes a few minutes to put together. Before getting started, make sure that you have a reusable spray bottle on hand. I recommend using a handwritten label to identify the bottle so that you’ll know it’s your disinfecting bathroom spray. Keep it in a convenient place, like under the sink, or somewhere easily grab-able so that you’ll be able to use it for quick spot-cleans too.

E Cloth- Our Favorite Cleaning Cloth 

If you haven’t jumped on board for the E Cloth bandwagon, you need to look into it now! These little buggers are incredible! They are promoted as cleaning with just water but you can use them with other natural cleaners like vinegar and baking soda as well. They will help you to clean up to 99% of bacteria in your home…with just the cloth and water! Then, you toss them in the washing machine and tumble dry. You can also just wash them under hot water and hang them to dry. You just can’t use any fabric softener with it as it breaks down the fibers. 

When we first started using microfiber cloth for cleaning, we bought two, thinking that we weren’t sure if they would really work or not. But, once you start using them, it is really hard to go back to the old cotton dishcloths for cleaning. What is also great is they have a whole line of products that you can use as well including mops, window cleaners and stainless steel cleaners. 

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Whether you are cleaning up the bathroom daily, weekly or on a deep clean, make sure to catch up on cleaning printables to keep track of your work! I can’t function without them!