Do you ever get tired of paying somewhere between five to ten dollars (depending on the brand you choose) for less than one hundred disinfecting and cleaning wipes? I sure did! These homemade, multipurpose, cleaning and disinfecting wipes are a great, cheap solution; in addition, they are all-natural, green and eco-friendly, vegan, child and pet safe, BPA free, and chemical free!
These wipes are perfect for wiping counter tops, cleaning up spills, wiping out the refrigerator, dusting, etc! I keep the wipes on hand, and I use them for almost all of my cleaning endeavors!
I love having all-natural, green cleaners in my home. In fact, once I learned about vinegar, essential oils, baking soda, and other products I had in my home that I could use to replace the store bought and high chemical cleaners, homemade green cleaners are almost all I use!
While any paper towel will probably work, I definitely recommend using the Viva brand of paper towels, which you can get here, because they absorb the ingredients and hold together well when wet. Other brands of paper towels seem to disintegrate or become one giant ball of paper mush when they become wet.
White vinegar is a deodorizer and disinfectant that has the ability to cut through hard to clean stains like grease, which makes it a great component of these wipes. Vinegar even has the capability to kill dangerous bacteria like E.coli and Salmonella!
The rubbing alcohol is also a great addition to the wipes because, while it is another disinfectant, it is an isopropyl and can therefore clean through sticky areas like dried syrup or the tacky mess left behind by hard-to-peel sticker, dried hairspray, and ink stains like permanent markers or ball point pens.
The dish soap is added to simply give the wipes a sudsy, cleaning feel, and the filtered water keeps the paper towels moist and ready to use. While liquid soap items like dish soap, laundry detergent, and dish detergent are some of the cleaners I have not yet ventured to make, I love this brand for dish soap and hand soap!
And, last but certainly not the least, the tea tree essential oil is added to boost the antibacterial, antimicrobial, antifungal, antiseptic, and antiviral properties of the wipes. Tea tree essential oil is one of my favorite essential oils because it has such a great cleansing ability. I even use tea tree essential oil to clean out cut and scrapes in my skin!
If you try this recipe, let me know! I would love to see your comments and ratings on this recipe. In addition, you can tag photos of your dishes for me to see on Instagram using #shalomhomestead.
Best wishes and shalom, friends!
- 1 roll paper towels (I definitely recommend the Viva brand for best results!)
- a ½ gallon glass container with an airtight lid
- 1 cup filtered water
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ½ cup rubbing alcohol, 91%
- 2-3 Tbsp organic liquid soap
- 20 drops tea tree essential oil
- optional* 10 drops desired scent essential oil like lemon, orange, peppermint, etc
- Using a sharp knife, cut the paper towel roll in half with a sawing motion-- slowly and carefully! The end product will be two small rolls of paper towels that look like two rolls of toilet paper.
- Carefully push the cardboard support out from the center of the paper towel rolls, so that you are left with two intact rolls of paper towels without the cardboard support in the center.
- Make sure the very center paper towel piece is coming up through the center of each roll, so that it is easy to pull the wipes from the roll, and then place the two rolls inside the glass container.
- Pour ½ cup water over each of the rolls.
- Pour ¼ cup vinegar over each of the rolls.
- Pour ¼ cup rubbing alcohol over each of the rolls.
- Drizzle half of the soap over each of the rolls.
- Using a dropper, put 10 drops of tea tree essential oil on each of the rolls. In addition, if you want to add another essential oil for a scent, 5 drops can be added to each of the rolls now.
- Place the lid on the container and let the wipes absorb the ingredients for at least 30 minutes before the first use.
- If the rolls are still too dry or happen to dry out before the wipes are all used up, simply add ¼ cup more water to each roll and let re-hydrate!
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