If you’re looking for a more natural way of keeping your home clean – and let’s face it, who isn’t? – have you considered the addition of essential oils to your mean, lean cleaning regime? Indeed, oils are useful for so much more than simply making your home smell nice and surfaces shiny.
But what is it about an essential oil that makes it so great to use as a cleaning agent? Well, in layman’s terms, many plant essences have antimicrobial properties meaning some oils are so powerful that they can easily wipe out viruses, bacteria, and fungus. So whether it’s the ingredients of regular cleaning products you find questionable or if you just want to try something new, switching to an essential oil blend to get your home clean and fresh could well be a move in the right direction. With that in mind, here are 5 IDEAL tips for using essential oils for cleaning.
ALWAYS GO FOR 100%
Just as not all standard cleaning products are made equal, the same applies to essential oils intended for cleaning. Simply slapping some extra virgin oil on a carpet stain and hoping for the best just won’t do. Instead, it’s best to narrow down your focus to oils that are 100% pure, rather than those that contain synthetics. Do some research on the company you’re thinking of sourcing your oils from, checking to see that their selection of oils can be used specifically for cleaning and making sure their 100% integrity is intact.
DILUTE OILS BEFORE USING THEM
Concentrated oils are quite potent, and while you definitely want something strong (and as we’ve already mentioned, pure) when it comes to cleaning, you don’t want to overdo it. In doing so, you risk damaging furnishings, carpets and the rest. There’s also the money saving element to consider; that using undiluted oil is sure to empty the bottle out faster than it would otherwise. A final point; some oils can irritate your skin if they aren’t properly diluted. There really is no reason not to.
EASY PEASY LEMON CLEANY
Some oil scents are better than others when used for cleaning, with different essential oils having different properties and therefore, different cleaning capabilities. As a general rule though, you can’t go wrong with lemon, which is highly regarded for getting rid of tough stains and taking care of grease stains in your kitchen. Lemon is also great for disinfecting, meaning it’s the most diverse oil you can use for cleaning.
Read: What is lemon oil and what do people use if for?
DEEP CLEAN WITH TEA TREE
While we’re talking about precision usage, tea tree oil is well-touted for its antifungal, antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antiviral abilities. Great news for the clean freaks, then. It’s highly recommended for giving your bathroom and kitchen a deep, refreshing clean due to these properties, just be sure to spray it in spots where mildew could grow, such as around the shower and exhaust vents in your kitchen and bathroom, for its most effective deployment.
FIGHT MILDEW & MOULD WITH LAVENDER
Lavender is another oil that’s great for fighting mildew and mould. Add a few drops of it to your laundry to better keep funk and mildew from building up inside your washing machine. When you think about how much water, dirt, bad odours and the like that your washing machine works to get rid of, it makes sense that it can get just as dirty in there as the clothes cleaned inside it. Use lavender oil to put a stop to that.