Guide to Cleaning with Essential Oils

Learning how to make DIY home cleaners isn’t a difficult undertaking. All you need to do is equip your customers with the know-how, recipes and a few basic ingredients. Most customers have common cleaning staples on-hand, but by stationing these products around your essential oil display, you’re encouraging creativity and making it easier than ever for customers to take the plunge on making their own cleaning products.

1. Baking soda A gently abrasive scouring powder and odor absorber, baking soda is an excellent base for making your own cleaning products.
2. Washing soda A mined mineral salt, washing soda can be used to soften water and boost the cleansing power of soap.
3. Borax Also a mined mineral salt, Borax can be slightly caustic so be sure to handle with care. Diluted in water, it becomes an effective alternative to commercial detergents. Use as a laundry soap booster or soap-free, multi-purpose cleaner.
4. White distilled vinegar An inexpensive, safe, yet powerful solvent, white distilled vinegar is a purifier and grime-cutting liquid. It also helps with lime buildup and water spots.
5. Unscented liquid soap Safe and effective, vegetable oil based soap can cut grease and grime. Use with distilled water for best results.
6. White distilled vinegar Soap flakes or grated Castile bar soap are great for mixing with baking soda and essential oils to create a simple scouring soap powder.
7. Distilled water Clean, distilled water acts as a better carrier and dirt solvent than hard tap water which can lead to spotting and buildup.
8. Essential oils Essential oils bring both aroma and benefits to your cleaning. Choose bold, assertive oils with fresh aromas that evaporate slowly and have a lingering freshening effect. Aura Cacia's DIY Home Care Blends are blended especially for use in homemade cleaning products. Main Squeeze Essential Oil Blend offers a bright aroma and is great for everyday home cleaning recipes such as window cleaners, dishwasher pods and all-purpose sprays. Keep it Fresh Essential Oil Blend carries a fresh aroma for homemade products like room sprays, wax melts and garbage pail pods. Down to Earth Essential Oil Blend is great for floor cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners and furniture oils, and Petal Power Essential Oil Blend is specifically suited for laundry care recipes. Other essential oils like tea tree, eucalyptus and frankincense offer lingering aromas and purifying benefits. Citrus essential oils like sweet orange, lemon and grapefruit offer freshening benefits.
9. Bottles & Containers Consider choosing amber glass or amber plastic containers to protect the essential oils from light and maintain the aroma of your products for as long as possible.
10. Cleaning supplies Cleaning supplies like a soft sponge, natural bristle scrubbing brush, scouring pad, washcloth, scratch-free dusting cloth and bucket should complete the list of things you need to get started!

How to use and store DIY cleaners

Because customers are using common household ingredients to make their home cleaning products, they tend to be a safer and chemical-free. Still, we want customers to make the most out of their products, which is why outlining some storage guidelines is important.

1. Label everything Label all your products with their names and ingredients, how to use them (directions should be included in the recipe) and the date each product was made. Also include the date or estimated time of expiration if that information is provided in the recipe.
2. Store securely Store securely away from children in a cool, dark place to preserve the oils as much as possible.
3. Follow directions Be sure to follow the recipe directions carefully to ensure proper dilution, use and storage.
4. Make a cleaning kit Consider making a kit of homemade cleaning products, sponges, scrub brushes, etc. in a portable basket, tote or bucket to keep everything neat and easily accessible.
5. Store in an accessible place Store the items in an accessible place to make cleaning as convenient and simple as possible!

Quick Cleaning Tips

If your customers can’t commit to a multi-step DIY recipe, we’ve compiled some quick tips on how to throw together a DIY recipe in a pinch.

• ---To make a a quick all-purpose spray cleaner, combine 1 teaspoon each Aura Cacia Main Squeeze Essential Oil Blend and unscented liquid soap in a 16-ounce spray bottle. Fill with water and shake until well blended, then spray surface and wipe clean.
• ---To make a quick homemade air freshener spray, combine 4 fluid ounces water with 48 drops Aura Cacia Keep it Fresh Essential Oil Blend in a spray bottle. Shake until well blended, then mist airspace.
• ---To make a quick freshening diffusion, combine 1 teaspoon Aura Cacia Keep it Fresh Essential Oil Blend with 1 cup baking soda. Place in a glass jar or ceramic bowl and keep in a space that needs a little freshening up!