Not too long ago, I started my journey into the wonderful world of Natural Homemade Cleaners. If you have never made your own homemade cleaners I strongly encourage you to give it a try! They are very simple and frugal to make. Add in the benefit of not worrying about your children or pets around them and you have some pretty awesome reasons to start making your own.
Today I am going to share my newest and favorite natural homemade cleaner, the Citrus Enzyme Cleaner. This cleaner is absolutely fantastic! It can be made for pennies out of items you probably already have at home or are about to throw away.
What you will need...
*7 tablespoons of brown sugar.
*1 1/2-2 cups of fruit peels. I went with Lemon and Orange. You can also do lime, grapefruit, apple, or pineapple. I have read that pineapple actually has the most cleaning power to it.
*1 tsp. Yeast (optional)
*2 liter bottle with cap
*1 liter (approx 4.25 cups) of water
*Funnel
*Permanent Marker
Directions...
Cut up your fruit peels and put them into the bottle. Using your funnel, add the brown sugar, yeast and water. Screw cap onto bottle and shake vigorously. Now here is why the yeast is optional. (I did not know about this when I first made this cleaner and did not add the yeast.) Without the yeast it will take three months for your cleaner to fully mature. With the yeast, it will only take you two weeks! Wish I would have known that at first....oh well...it works just as great, and was definitely worth the wait. If using yeast, take your permanent marker and write the date that is two weeks from when you made it, so you will know when it is ready. If you are making it without the yeast, write the date that is three months from when you made it. This is especially helpful if you are making new batches that are a few weeks apart, so you do not get them confused. Store in a cool, dry place. I keep mine in my pantry.
When storing, you want to make sure that the cap is not screwed on all the way on. A lot of gas will build up and could actually cause the cleaner to explode. Yike! So make sure to let the bottle breathe. If using yeast, you will want to shake your bottle every day for the first week. If not using yeast you, will want to shake it every day for about the first month. Shake it once a week after that. When you are ready for your first use, strain the sludge/pulp from your cleaner and go to it!
-cleaning floors...1 part enzyme to 10 parts water.
-cleaning bathrooms....1 part enzyme to 10 parts water.
-washing dishes...add 1/4 cup of enzyme.
-getting out stains (it is amazing for this!)...use undiluted directly on stain.
-laundry...add 1/4 cup enzyme.
-fertilizer for plants (I am especially excited to try this!)...simply take your left over mop water and pour on your plants!
-cleans and clears drains...use unstrained "sludge" from enzyme cleaner.
-wash your car...1 part enzyme to 20 parts water. (My van desperately needs a bath!)
-cleaning fruits and veggies...1 part enzyme to 10 parts water.
-insect repellent...use undiluted. This is supposed to be amazing for ants, spiders, and roaches.
-skin care product! (This one amazes me. I am trying to get up the courage to try it.)...1 part enzyme to 2 parts water.
My experience with it...
My cleaner is still about two weeks away from the full three months...but I became too excited and too impatient to wait. I tried it out on both my bathroom and my kitchen floors. It is absolutely fantastic! My bathroom and floors looked and smelled wonderful. I am so happy with the result. Next time around I will be trying the yeast to speed things up, as well as trying a pineapple version.
While doing research on the Citrus Enzyme Cleaner here are some other women who have made it and had great success...
Homemade Mamas
Happy Homemaker
Off Beat Home...Thanks to Jillee for the awesome yeast tip to speed up the process! Makes a great thing even more awesome!
I wonder if you could use kefir instead of yeast to speed things up. Kefir has naturally occurring yeast.
ReplyDeleteI have no experience with kefir...but I would say it is worth a try :-)
DeleteThanks for the yeast tip! I haven't heard that one and have been putting off trying the enzyme cleaner because it takes so long! I am a little impatient too ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the information,can't wait to try this out.
ReplyDeleteCan you use it on wood laminate flooring? My floor always is so smudged looking and I am using vinegar and water on it now but this sounds so neat!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have never personally tried it since I don't have wood. But I believe this could be a safer alternative to harsh store bought chemicals. Especially since you use a watered down version of it to clean the floors.
Deleteinstead of leaving you bottle partially open you could try using an airlock that way your bottle is fully closed but it won't explode because the airlock will allow for the gasses to release. The link below is one of many locations you can purchase one. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/airlock-3-piece-type.html
ReplyDeleteJust an FYI. I personally wouldn't use kefir, since it does go rancid.
ReplyDeleteMy citrus enzyme is smelling pretty nasty. Is that normal? I used yeast and followed the method but the concentrate smell is real bad. Not sure if I did it wrong and if I should throw this away??
ReplyDeleteI have not tried the yeast method myself yet, so I am not exactly sure what it should smell like. However, my enzyme smells really strong. I only like the smell when I water it down. Then it has a softer more pleasant smell to it.
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