How to Make DIY Disinfectant Spray
Keeping a clean home is always important, but that doesn’t mean you have to turn to dangerous and potentially toxic chemicals to do it. If you’re looking to clean and disinfect different surfaces around your home, you can make this DIY disinfectant spray.
Are Store-Bought Disinfectant Sprays Toxic?
Store-bought disinfectant sprays can hide a lot of toxic ingredients that you don’t want around your family. For example, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) gives Lysol disinfectant spray an F grade because it has high concerns for developmental and reproductive toxicity and moderate concerns for respiratory harm and environmental toxicity.
These are just a few of the harmful ingredients that cause concern:
- MIPA-Borate: A chemical that has high concern for damage to fertility, damage to unborn children, and clear evidence of endocrine disruption.
- Ammonium Hydroxide: A colorless liquid that has high concern for aquatic toxicity, moderate concern for respiratory effects, and some concern for damage to vision.
- Myristalkonium Saccharinate: A chemical that has moderate concern for respiratory effects and some concern for developmental and reproductive effects.
- Ethanolamine: A chemical that has moderate concern for respiratory and general organ effects and some concern for aquatic toxicity, developmental and reproductive effects, skin damage and irritation, and nervous system effects.
And this is just a small list of ingredients found Lysol disinfectant spray. It also contains fragrance, which is a catch-all phrase that companies can use to hide hundreds or even thousands of other chemicals. Since companies don’t have to disclose these chemicals, we have no idea what kind of harm they could be doing to our health or the environment.
Making a DIY Disinfectant Spray
Every cold and flu season, you start to see store shelves lined with disinfectant sprays. And for good reason. No one wants to bring home a cold or flu virus and spread it to their family.
That’s why I use this DIY hand sanitizer to clean my hands when I don’t have access to soap and water and these homemade disinfecting wipes to wipe down hard surfaces around our house.
This is also why you can find reusable face masks online in a variety of sizes and styles for everyone in your family.
But what about those soft surfaces? That’s when I use this DIY disinfectant spray.
Homemade Disinfectant Spray Ingredients
Homemade Disinfectant Spray Directions
- Put 20 drops of thyme essential oil in the 8-ounce glass spray bottle.
- Fill the rest of the spray bottle with 70% rubbing alcohol.
- Shake the bottle to combine the ingredients and store in a cool, dry place.
- When you need to use the DIY disinfectant spray, be sure to shake the bottle to mix the ingredients.
How to Use DIY Disinfectant Spray
To use this DIY disinfectant spray on soft surfaces, you can simply spray it directly on the object. If you’re using it on a hard surface, you can either spray it directly on the surface and wipe it away with an organic cotton unpaper towel or spray it on the towel and wipe it on the surface.
Are you wondering why I only recommend using cotton unpaper towels for cleaning? This post explains the important difference between cotton unpaper towels and microfiber cleaning cloths.
Since rubbing alcohol can damage certain items, you should spot test this spray in an inconspicuous spot before using on the entire surface.
I sometimes see homemade disinfectant sprays that use vinegar. While there are many surprising things you can clean with vinegar and it’s good at killing some bacteria and viruses, it doesn’t kill all of them. Plus, there are things you should never clean with vinegar because it can damage them.
That’s why I use rubbing alcohol. To make sure your homemade disinfectant spray is effective, you must use rubbing alcohol that has a concentration of at least 70%.
Related: Rubbing Alcohol Mistakes to Avoid
I recommend using thyme essential oil because it has amazing antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. In fact, one study found that thyme essential oil was effective in treating bacterial infections like Staphylococcus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Other essential oils that have excellent antibacterial and antimicrobial properties include:
I also recommend using a glass spray bottle because essential oils can react with plastic over time and cause it to wear down.
DIY Disinfectant Spray
If you want to make sure your home is safe and clean, using toxic chemicals isn’t the way to do it. Instead, you can make this DIY disinfecting spray and banish those bad bugs without harming your health or the environment.
More DIY Cleaning Products
Now that you see how easy it is to make your own homemade disinfecting spray, are you interested in creating even more natural cleaning products? Then be sure to check out some of our other popular posts:
