6 Best Essential Oils For Cleaning And Disinfecting Your Home Naturally

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January 7, 2022

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There are many ways to use essential oils in place of toxic chemicals, and using them in cleaning is no exception. Learn the best essential oils for cleaning and disinfecting, and the few products you need to get started cleaning up your household cleaning products.

best essential oils for cleaning on a linen backdrop surrounded by lavender

Best Essential Oils For Cleaning And Disinfecting Your Home Naturally

Essential oils are used in everything from skincare to cleaning products and for good reason. With so many synthetic fragrances and chemicals being added to the products we come in contact with on a daily basis, it is no wonder that folks are starting to seek out safer and more natural solutions.

Essential oils are naturally antibacterial and have the added benefit of smelling absolutely incredible, which I guarantee will be an improvement from your current cleaning products, which are most likely filled with synthetic fragrance. With just a few essential oils in hand and some basic household items that you probably already own you will be well on your way to ridding your home of toxic cleaning chemicals for good.

What Are Essential Oils For Cleaning?

Before we get into how to use essential oils for cleaning, let’s start by going over what essential oils even are in the first place.

Essential oils are plant compounds that capture the scent and flavor of the plant after being extracted using a process of distillation or cold pressing. These oils are in most cases not meant for oral consumption and are most often used in cleaning or skincare products, diffused in the air for aromatherapy, or absorbed through the skin with the help of a carrier oil. Because essential oils are so potent, they can be used to help kill harmful bacteria and microbes, but in a way that is much safer on your body and the planet.

6 Best Essential Oils For Cleaning And Disinfecting Your Home Naturally

Where To Buy The Best Essentials Oil For Cleaning?

Depending on the sourcing of the essential oils and the process of extraction, there are varying qualities of essential oils out on the market. When looking for an essential oil typically it is recommended to look for an essential oil that is considered to be certified therapeutic grade and organic. You also will want to look at the ingredients in the oil to ensure that only the essential oil and potentially a carrier oil are being used.

While quality in essential oils can be difficult to assess, even for a trained aromatherapist, often times the more transparent a company is with their sourcing, processing, and testing standards, the more you can feel confident in trusting them.

Essential oils can be found online through a wide variety of retailers and often can be found at your local health food store or the wellness section of your local supermarket. Just be sure to check the companies sustainability, sourcing, and independent testing standards to know if the product is high-quality and has also been produced in a socially responsible manner.

I also would highly recommend reading this resource on essential oils that was conducted by Consumers Advocate, who did extensive third party-independent testing of many popular essential oil brands, and also goes into great detail the issues associated with the essential oil industry and what you should be looking out for when purchasing and using essential oils.

A few of our favorite brands you can trust and places to purchase essential oils from are:

best essential oils for cleaning next to DIY glass gray bottles with herbs

My Favorite Multi-Purpose Essential Oils For Cleaning

While there are many essential oils (as you can see in the lists above) to choose from when it comes to your cleaning needs, below are a few multi-purpose favorites that can get you started on your natural cleaning journey.

Lemon (all around favorite)

Lemon is well known for its antiviral and antibacterial properties, and is a favorite of mine to use in the kitchen to fight tough grease. It also has a wonderful invigorating scent that makes your house really smell clean and fresh when you are finished cleaning. Lemon essential oil is also amazing at getting those annoying sticky marks left over from price tags or labels off in a snap!

Tea Tree (best in the bathroom)

Tea tree oil can be used for so many things, but due to its antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties it is a favorite of mine to use in the bathroom.

Lavender (perfect air and linen freshener)

Lavender is a calming essential oil, and is perfect for cleaning everything from your kitchen counters, to freshening up your linens. We personally love spraying our bed linens with a little lavender before bedtime to encourage a restful nights sleep.

Pine (the natural replacement for pine sol)

Pine is used in many popular cleaning products and for good reason. It is great at killing household germs and leaves a refreshing scent behind that just smells clean.

For a great floor cleaner combine 10 drops of pine essential oil to 4 cups water, 1 cup vinegar, and 1 tablespoon castille soap. Your floors will be clean and shiny and your home will smell incredible when you are finished.

Eucalyptus (odor eliminator)

Eucalyptus is excellent at killing bacteria and a few drops are perfect to add to your laundry detergent to help eliminate odors naturally. It also is great to use in the bathroom and the kitchen to help clean up smelly messes.

Wild Orange (great at cutting grease)

Similar to lemon, wild orange is a great option in your kitchen when grease may have built up. You can also add orange essential oil to a diluted mixture of vinegar and water to clean your floors, and a few drops are great for removing stuck on glue left behind from

eucalyptus one of the best essential oils for cleaning and disinfecting

Best Essential Oils For Cleaning And Disinfecting

Essential oils have been well studied for their various antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties, which makes them an excellent option to use when cleaning to help prevent the spread of harmful pathogens naturally. You can use essential oils for cleaning floors, countertops, bathroom tile, and so much more!

While essential oils still need to be used moderately (they are incredibly potent!) the benefit of using essential oils for cleaning is that they will work to fight dirt and bacteria, while also providing a calming or invigorating scent (depending on what oil you choose) that will not come with all the nasty side effects of other conventional cleaning products.

Antibacterial Essential Oils For Cleaning

  • Lemongrass
  • Eucalyptus
  • Orange
  • Peppermint
  • Lavender
  • Tea Tree
  • Oregano
  • Palma Rosa
  • Thyme
  • Cinnamon

Anti-fungal Essential Oils For Cleaning

  • Citronella
  • Geranium
  • Lemongrass
  • Orange
  • Palmarosa
  • Patchouli
  • Tea Tree

Antiviral Essential Oils For Cleaning

  • Tea Tree
  • Lemon
  • Eucalyptus
  • Clove
  • Thyme
  • Oregano
  • Pine
  • Peppermint
  • Cinnamon
  • Lavender
homemade cleaning supplies in amber spray bottles with the best essential oils for cleaning and disinfecting

What Else You Need To Start Using Essential Oils For Cleaning

Now that you know the best essential oils to get you started it’s time we went over a few other ingredients you will need to create almost any homemade cleaning solution.

  • Baking Soda
  • White Distilled Vinegar
  • Spray Bottles
  • Unscented Castille Soap
  • Steel Wool or Copper Scrub Pad
  • Vodka
  • Rubbing Alcohol

Getting started with more natural and homemade cleaning solutions can feel overwhelming at first, but with these essential oils in hand you wont believe how effective natural DIY cleaning solutions can be. Not to mention you will save a lot of money in the long run not buying expensive cleaning supplies.

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Meet Meg

Mom of two, and registered dietitian specializing in prenatal, postpartum, and infant wellness. My passion for supporting moms and babies began more than a decade ago, but nothing made me more committed to helping moms and babies thrive than going through my own pregnancy and postpartum journey.

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