I readily admit that I belong to the cult of vinegar. I believe it can do most things, and those things it can’t can be addressed with a little castile soap. But when it comes to all-natural cleaning, sometimes we can all use a little zing in our routine, little things that make us smack our heads and say, “Why did I not do this sooner?” This list of three all-natural cleaning tips are among my favorites and are sure to be yours, too.

Tip 1. Add a Little Scent
Many of us use clean with a vinegar-water solution, but have you ever considered adding a few drops of essential or scented oil to the solution? Just give the bottle a little shake before you start cleaning and the entire room will smell like your scent of choice rather than vinegar. My personal favorite? Rosemary oil. I add 5 drops per quart of cleaning solution.
For those out there with an interest in aromatherapy, you might be interested in the following:
- rose helps with depression and anxiety
- eucalyptus helps with respiratory illness
- lemon helps with headaches and mood
- peppermint helps with focus and mood
- rosemary helps with focus, memory, depression, and headaches
- lavender helps with depression and stress
- sandalwood helps with respiratory issues and stress

Tip 2. Think Lemon
You might find lemon a yummy addition to your salad dressing, mixed drinks, or roast chicken dishes, but did you know that a lemon makes a great tool for cleaning, as well? In fact, a good lemon can often accomplish more than a bottle of chemicals!
Try cutting a lemon in half and scrubbing your kitchen sink or bathtub with a little baking soda. Not only will everything smell great, but it will gleam like brand new. When you’re done? Give everything a rinse and toss the lemon into your garbage disposal to give it and your whole kitchen a fresh scent!
Tip 3. Disinfect…With Your Microwave

Do yourself (and your family) a favor: before you put that sponge anywhere near a counter, table, or dish, dampen it and throw it in the microwave for 30 seconds. The heat of the water in the sponge will kill off any bugs, germs, and icky mildew that might be breeding in that hardy sponge of yours. Just make sure to dampen the sponge thoroughly (if it’s dripping wet, that’s great!), otherwise you may burn it. Also, give it another minute or so to cool in the microwave before you go handling it. Don’t underestimate how hot that sponge water can get!
Want another pro tip? After dampening it, toss a drop of oil on your sponge before putting it in the microwave. Your house will smell wonderful in just 30 seconds!
Do you have any natural cleaning tips of your own? Share them with us in the comments section!
23 replies on “Three Quick, All-Natural Cleaning Tips”
I do a vinegar wash in the dishwasher when it starts getting smelly – might add some food-friendly essential oil in as well!
How do you do a vinegar wash for the dishwasher? Mine is looking a little grody and I’m not sure how to treat it.
I put white vinegar in the powder/tablet dispenser, and put it on a hot cycle.
Ace tips! Will be using the lemon and baking soda one, for sure. I’d add the “tips” of being aware that some essential oils are toxic to animals, so to be aware of where the oils are being used and also, to make sure essential oils aren’t getting into the tumble drier because of the fire risk they can pose. Another (somewhat more fun) tip for cleaning the microwave is to put a bowl of water in there with some lemon juice, heat for a minute or two, and then clean the muck off with the lemon juice and water combination (once it’s cooled) and a cloth.
I made a white vinegar/water/baking soda mixture to use to deoderise and disinfect my roller derby protection gear. The only issue is I sweat so much they ended up smelling like salt and vinegar chips.
Also, huge fan of using old pantyhose as my cleaning cloth. It just seems to scrub crap off showers so well.
Pantyhose? Brilliant!
I need suggestions on what to do about my bathtub. The previous owners weren’t, uh, very devoted to scrubbing it and I have tried everything to clean it, but I can not get rid of the soap and scum stains. Help?
I’ve filled my tub with water and then dumped a bottle of white vinegar in it. I just left it overnigh, drained it, and then scrubbed it with baking soda. Squeaky clean!
*cough*Magic Eraser*cough* Not natural, but the stains will go bye-bye. You can also rinse the tub, pour a bunch of baking soda on it (so it makes kind of a paste with the water), let it sit, then scrub with a stiff brush.
This is going to sound really weird, but Coca-Cola works wonders on tub and toilet stains. Just pour it in and let it sit for awhile.
Can the lemon be used on a wood table with a dark stain? Â We put a cotton towel down and then put a hot plate on top of it and we now have little cotton fibers stuck to the table that will NOT come off. Â Any ideas on how to get our mistaken iron-on transfer off???
I would try citrus oil before I tried the juice, orange oil in particular is kinder to finished wood. Sweet orange oil is pretty cheap, I got mine at Whole Foods.
Lemon is also the best way to clean a wooden cutting board. If it needs scrubbing, sprinkle a little salt on it and use half a lemon to scrub it down then just let it dry. It gets rid of gunk and kills germs all at the same time.
YES!
This tip is a lifesaver. I am all the time cooking with balsamic, tomatoes, and carmelized foods. These always stain my cutting boards. It was a fine day when I learned the miracle of lemon and salt!
That is a fantastic tip. Can you use this on butcherblock counter tops too?
Yep. Wood is not actually a very hospitable environment for stuff like salmonella, so letting the acid form the lemon juice settle into the grain kills whatever might be in there.
Drain volcanoes! Baking soda + vinegar = a more pipe- (and lung-) friendly way to speed up a slow drain. Baking soda and vinegar, together or separately, can clean just about anything.
I’m all for ways to avoid disintegrating my lungs while I clean my kitchen.
I need to give this one a go, actually. I have coffee grounds causing me a headache in my sink right about now…
Chase the volcano with boiling water, and your drain will be extra clean. This is also my favorite thing to do!
Yup, but on metal pipes only. Boiling water isn’t recommended for PVC pipes.
Also a great way of entertaining little ones. Juniper Junior loves making volcanoes.
The sponge in the microwave thing can also help get rid of stuck on gunk in the microwave. The steam from the sponge helps loosen it all up.
That’s pro!
I never thought about it, but of course it would be useful for that. I’m going to keep that it mind next time I have a gnarly microwave stain. :)