Cleaning and Disinfecting
with Essential Oils

Using essentials oils to clean just makes sense. They disinfect without harmful substances and at the same time they impact our health on emotional levels.

Coping with Today’s Environment

Living as we do in this modern world means that we are constantly being exposed to a wide variety of toxic chemicals.  These chemicals each have their own unique ways of compromising our health and impacting our futures.  However, our wonderfully designed bodies are capable of coping with – and eliminating – a great many of the toxic chemicals (and other things) that are found in our everyday environments.  Nevertheless, in today’s toxically overloaded environment, our bodies need all the help they can get!

It is easy in today’s toxic world for our body’s response systems to become overwhelmed.  The result poorer health, allergies, a higher risk of developing one or more autoimmune disorders, experiencing less-than-optimum brain function, and a host of other such ills.  Statistically, all the conditions just mentioned appear to be on the rise.

I want to fine-tune the wonderful creation that is me until I am as nearly “bullet-proof” to illness and distress as it is possible to be.  My personal goal is to be energetic and productive for as much of and as long as I have left to live as possible.   I am happy to say that, even while getting older every day, I have done this to an impressive extent!  Essential oils have played a very large role in this goal of mine.

Household Cleaning Products

We are all aware that commercial cleaning products often (I should have said “almost always or, better yet, “always”) contain a host of harsh chemicals.   These chemicals are damaging, in varying degrees, to our health and to the health of our family members.  Using essential oils in place of some of these products can significantly lower our overall exposure to unhealthy compounds.  This relatively simple step can be very beneficial as we try to avoid toxic overload with its attendant health concerns.

Essential Oils and Toxic Substances

The use of essential oils aids our bodies in so many ways.   One of the most important of these is in helping our kidneys, colon, and skin more efficiently eliminate toxic substances.  They even act as free radical scavengers in our bodies.  Essential oils do this while, at the same time, impacting us for good on emotional and mental levels as well.

Essential oils, used often as we strive to freshen and deodorize our homes, are a wonderful way to remove dangerous microbes from our environment.  A great many studies have shown that many different essential oils really are very effective in killing disease-causing microbial organisms.

Aromatic Benefits of Essential Oils When Cleaning

The focus of this article, as has been stated, is the use of essential oils in cleaning and disinfecting our homes and work environments.  However, essential oils are so much more than just disinfecting agents.    When diffused and/or used in cleaning solutions, the benefits of essential oils are made available to us and to our families every day as we go about our normal household cleaning routines.  And many of them leave a pleasant aroma in the air.   For this reason, I will be including aromatic information as I discuss various essential oils for cleaning and disinfecting throughout this article.  

Since all essential oils are anti-microbial to some extent (some more than others, of course) it makes sense to me to choose the essential oils we use for daily cleaning as much for their emotional and mental attributes as for their ability to disinfect.  As a matter of fact, I choose most of the essential oils I use in this manner.  Do I need something for digestive distress?  I have several choices.  I will likely choose the one that most nearly matches my emotional or mental needs at the moment!  The same is true for muscles aches and nearly everything else that I reach for an essential oil to bring relief.

This capacity of oils to work on multiple levels at the same time is a wonderful thing!  Except in the direst of circumstances, I can use essential oils for cleaning or disinfecting that will be aromatically pleasant and will improve the emotional atmosphere of my home and be confident that they are handling the germs I am targeting at the same time.

Dishes

It is so simple to add a few drops of essential oil to the dishwater while cleaning up after a meal.  The benefits?  The warm water distributes molecules to the olfactory bulb and on into the limbic system of the brain.  This creates a multitude of happy effects in the brain while doing the dishes!  The molecules that remain in the water put their anti-microbial properties to work.  This is especially important if there is illness in the house or even illness in the neighborhood.

I love to add just a couple of drops of essential oil to my dishwasher each time I run a load of dishes.  Anything citrus, from grapefruit through lime and on to orange, are my favorite choices for this purpose.  The Butterfly blends of ^LeSunburst or ^LePurify also work very well.

Laundry

In my laundry room, I use essential oils in both the washer and the dryer.  Once again, I love the citrus essential oils for this purpose.  Most of the time, however, I am using whatever blend has been rejected for whatever reason at Butterfly.  Or, I am using samples sent to us to entice us to purchase that grower’s product.  Those little bottles do tend to stack up!  I try to avoid essential oils that may stain fabric.  Examples might be those oils that are blue or dark brown in color.  A little lemon oil rubbed into the stain with a little bit of water usually removes any oil stain if (when) I have been careless about this.

A couple of drops of essential oil on a wool dryer ball is a wonderful way to better enjoy wearing – and folding – your laundry when the time comes.

Using essential oils in the laundry room has one other very nice effect.  I never – even when I have left laundry in the washer overnight – have to worry about any musty or moldy smell when I finally remember to put the clothes from the washer to the dryer.  The essential oils have eliminated the mold and the musty smell altogether.

Cleaning

I have given cleaning a separate category from disinfecting.  I have done this mostly so that I can mention the many wonderful attributes of Sweet Orange essential oil.

Orange, Sweet

It baffles me how an essential oil so mild as to rarely if ever, damage a surface can also be strong enough to remove sticky residue.  Orange essential oil removes the gooey stuff left behind when stickers are removed from new mirrors or windows.  Wiping cabinet fronts with a rag soaked in orange oil will remove the buildup that occurs around the door handles of kitchen cupboards. Orange essential oil is even helpful in removing gum from a child’s hair.

Sweet Orange essential oil smells absolutely wonderful.  I love the aroma, floating on the air after a cleaning spree.  Orange promotes feelings of well-being and happiness.  It also promotes restful sleep.  Some of the things you might notice in family members as you begin cleaning with orange oil are less moodiness, irritability, headaches, nausea, and insomnia.

Best yet, orange essential oil is also very inexpensive and a little of it goes a long way!

Disinfecting

All essential oils, have antibacterial, antimicrobial, antifungal, antiseptic, and deodorizing properties.  Some have even been shown to be effective against nasty viral strains.  To discuss each one here would fast become equivalent to writing another essential oil book!  So, I will mention only a few and give you only a little bit of the most pertinent information about each one in this article.

Disinfecting Sprays

Disinfecting sprays can be used anywhere that water will not cause a problem.  This is a very effective way to deodorize mattresses, disinfect couches, chairs, throw pillows, and other such frequently used surfaces.  Doing this during the flu season or when a family member has been ill can help build immunity and lessen the spread of germs.

You should also consider spraying door handles, light switches, faucets, fridge and freezer door handles, toilet handles, countertops, trashcans, remote controls, telephone receivers, stinky shoes and athletic gear.

Making a Disinfectant Spray

Personally, I simply add essential oils to water in a glass spray bottle.  Butterfly Express sells these bottles in several sizes.  The ratio I use is approximately 15 to 20 drops of essential oil to 16 ounces of water.  Some people like to use vodka rather than plain water.  Vodka, depending on what you buy, is 50% to 60% water.  Alcohol, of course, has its own disinfecting properties.  Perhaps, that is a reason to include it in disinfecting sprays.  I feel, however, that I can trust my essential oils to get the job of disinfecting done without the alcohol.  If you choose water, please use distilled or well-filtered water.

Some Suggested Essential Oils

Single Oils

As you might have surmised by now, citrus oils are among my favorites for any type of cleaning activity!  So, I will start with a brief description of some of my favorite ones.

Lemon

Lemon essential oil fills the air with a light refreshing scent while, at the same time it nourishes the nervous systems of everyone close by,  Even though it is very mild and very pleasant, lemon oil is anti-microbial.  It also stimulates the pancreas and the entire endocrine systems as well as benefits the lymphatic system.

Lime

The aroma of lime is one of my very favorite smells.  I think I like it because it is the perfect choice for those times when I am extraordinarily weary – just tired of trials and trouble and running faster than I have strength.  Since I usually love running all-out, I know that something is very wrong when I feel this way.  Going after the surfaces of my environment with lime oil always lifts my spirits while chasing away any unwanted microbial “critters”.  Lime stimulates the immune system to increase the production of leukocytes.  These leukocytes then aid in fighting infection and preventing disease.

Like orange essential oil, lime works extremely well in removing gum, oil stains, and grease spots from clothing.

Grapefruit

It is very hard to be negative in any way in the presence of grapefruit essential oil.  In addition, it is the number one essential oil for any sort of eating disorder from anorexia through a craving for comfort foods or who eat as a means of relieving stress.  Grapefruit is used in treatment programs for drug withdrawal and in programs for alcoholics wishing to leave drinking behind in their lives.

Grapefruit detoxifies the lymphatic system.  It also aids the kidneys in maintaining proper fluid levels throughout the body.  Grapefruit essential oil contains a high percentage of limonene. Preliminary animal studies indicate the limonene protects against pancreatic, stomach, colon, skin, and liver cancers. A study done at Brigham Young University showed an 80% cancer cell growth inhibition. Purdue University reported that limonene helps 80% of carcinomas in breast cancer to regress—with little toxicity.   Perhaps it is necessary to apply the grapefruit to the body to get these amazing results.  It makes sense to me, however, to make grapefruit essential oil as much a part of my life as possible.

Tea Tree

Tea tree essential oil is effective against some of the nastiest microbes on the planet.  This essential oil has been in use as an antiseptic for centuries. It was used by soldiers and sailors in World War II in the treatment of tropical infections.

The only way to kill a virus is to weaken or rupture its protective shell. Tea tree oil has been shown effective in this capacity.  Bursting the protective shell kills viruses where they live and greatly shortens the duration of viral infections.

Niaouli

Niaouli is a member of the melaleuca (tea tree) species but has a sweeter, more delicate scent than the alternafolia variety that we are most familiar with.  I believe it to be just as effective – perhaps even more effective – as an antiseptic than tea tree (the odor of which I have never liked!)  Niaouli is a very powerful antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral oil.  It also acts as an insecticide.  Insects absolutely hate this essential oil.

Cajeput

Cajeput is another essential oil that is obtained from the tea tree (melaleuca) family.  If you like the aroma of this oil, diffusing it would be a very good way to eliminate  odors and handle airborne bacteria.

Lemon Scented Tea Tree

This essential oil is not actually a Tea Tree at all.  Rather, it is a cousin of the Melaleuca family.  Its name comes from the fact that it has medicinal properties similar to Tea Tree while its high citral content gives it a lovely lemony scent.  Like Tea Tree, this oil is anti-viral, anti-bacterial, antiseptic, anti-microbial, anti-infectious, and – most especially – anti-fungal.  This is a very effective essential oil for cleaning the deodorizing the air.  It is particularly effective against molds and fungi.

Rosalina

Rosalina is an oil derived from another member of the Melaleuca family.  It is sometimes called Lavender Tea Tree.  This is because it combines the calming, soothing nature of Lavender with the strong antimicrobial properties of the Tea Tree family.  Rosalina has a gently, sweeter, softer, milder aroma than other tea tree essential oils.  Rosalina makes an excellent substitute for those, like me, who find tea tree to be too harsh in aroma and, sometimes, on the skin.

Manuka

This wonderful essential oil is reported to be many times more effective against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria than its close cousins, the many varieties of tea tree (Melaleuca).  Manuka is milder and more pleasant in aroma and less caustic to the skin than are the tea tree oils.  This oil is strongly antifungal and effective against a wide variety of yeasts and molds.

Emotionally, Manuka is gently cleansing to the energy body. It makes us feel as though we are “ready and waiting” for something in our lives. The aroma of manuka can start us on the first step toward a goal or project.

Lemongrass

Lemongrass is a member of the Graminae family.  All members of the Graminae family are excellent choices for disinfecting and for pest control.  Other members of this family include citronella, gingergrass (a favorite of mine), litsea cubeba, palmarosa, and vetiver.  Lemongrass has a pleasing aroma, woodsy but at the same time, light and uplifting.  Lemongrass is an excellent antiseptic and antimicrobial oil.  It mixes very well with most other essential oils.

Gingergrass

I absolutely love the aroma of gingergrass.  It has a gentle, slightly spicy aroma with beautiful earth tones.  Just when you think that you have experienced all of the layers of this oil’s aroma, a hint of rose surfaces.  The spicy tones wake me up and energize me; the rose tones calm my nerves and raise my spirits?  Gingergrass is a very antiseptic essential oil.

Essential Oil Blends

Of course, a person is not limited to using these oils separately.  Mixing a couple, or a few of them together makes very powerful antibacterial and antimicrobial agents.  Or, better yet, use one of the delightful and effective Butterfly blends listed below,

^LeIntention

Ingredients: grapefruit, lime, orange sweet, benzoin, tonka bean, and vanilla.  ^LeIntention is a very emotional blend.  It also has an affinity for strengthening a great many systems of the body.  Nevertheless, as you can see from the ingredient list, it is also a very antiseptic blend.  Because of the vanilla and benzoin, caution is advised as to the spraying of intention onto fabrics.   This beautiful blend is among my favorites for adding to dishwater, the dishwasher, the water I will be using to mop the floor, and for wiping down hard surfaces such as countertops.

^LeSunburst

Ingredients: citronella, grapefruit, lemon, lemongrass, orange sweet, spearmint, and tangerine.  ^LeSunburst can be diffused to purify the air, remove odors, or just to enjoy a nice citrus aroma.   It is a favorite among the citrus blends because it is relaxing and calming, especially for children.  The aroma of this blend of essential oils promotes a sense of well-being.  It is an excellent remedy for insomnia.  It promotes restful sleep from which you wake in the morning feeling energetic and refreshed.   ^LeSunburst does this without making one sleepy during the day.  In fact, the aroma of ^LeSunburst creates a general sense of well-being.

^LePurify

Ingredients: citronella, grapefruit, lavender, lemongrass, manuka, and tea tree.  The ^LePurify blend does not have quite as pleasant an aroma as Sunburst, in my opinion.  Given the inclusion of manuka and tea tree in this blend, it is tremendously powerful at killing odors, bacteria, molds, and fungus.

^LeMela Plus

Ingredients: cajeput, cloves, lemon myrtle, mountain savory, niaouli, rosemary, and tea tree.  As you can deduce from the ingredient list, this blend is one of the “big guns” for eliminating unwelcome microbes in your home as well as in or on your body!

^LeNoMore

Ingredients: calamus, elemi, mountain savory, oregano, patchouli, and spikenard.  This blend contains many of the most powerful antiseptic oils available on the market today.  Having been blended synergistically, they are even more effective than any of the singles would be if used alone. In addition, each single oil is less likely to create any reactions or problems when it is a percentage of a blend.   This is true whether the oils are applied to the body or diffused into the air.

^LeNoMore is especially effective at destroying airborne germs

Controlling Mold

Place the oils mentioned below, in water or alcohol, in a spray bottle.  Be sure to shake the mixture well during application as essential oils and water do not stay mixed together very well.  Apply to surfaces such as tile, the grout between tiles, shower walls, window sills, in corners where furniture such as beds have been placed close to an outside wall, etc.  Use sufficient spray so that the area stays moist for a least a few minutes

Tea tree, niaouli, and manuka essential oils are leaders in the fight against household mold.

^LePurify contains both manuka and tea tree.  ^LeMela Plus contains niaouli and tea tree.  These two essential oil blends have been my go-to blends in the fight against mold for many years.

^LeSunburst contains no essential oils that are considered strongly appropriate for controlling mold.  Nevertheless, I find it very effective when sprayed onto windowsills that were usually a mold problem during the winter months.  And it smells so delightful!

Recipes for Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Cleaning Products

Glass Cleaner

This recipe comes to you from a group called One Essential Community.
The recipe is by Sarah Lewis.
Below is a link to The One Essential Community website.

• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol or vodka
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch – the cornstarch seems to be the magic ingredient that prevents streaking and spotting.
• 10 drops of essential oil (your choice)

Shake to mix well.

Things that I like best about this cleaner:

• The ingredients are inexpensive and I usually have them on hand.
• There are no toxic chemicals or fumes.
• It works better than most store-bought glass cleaners.
• It leaves no streaks or spots.
• Creates a super shine.

Other Recipes

Other than adding essential oils to my cleaning routines, I have not put forth the time and effort to make my own cleaning products.  Time and a stressful schedule are my only excuses.  Below are links to two sites that I found informative and entertaining,  There is a wealth of advice and interesting recipes on these sites.  I wish you luck and good times should you decide to begin experimenting yourself.  If you like any of the recipes, in particular, please share your comments with us!

https://wellnessmama.com/category/natural-home/

https://oneessentialcommunity.com/category/essential-oil-cleaning-recipes/

Washing Soda

Some of these recipes call for washing soda.  To be honest, I had never heard of this stuff until I was doing a bit of research for this blog article.  Washing soda and baking soda are not the same things.  Below is a link for some information about washing soda.  The information includes how to make washing soda from baking soda!  Washing soda can also be purchased in many places, including Walmart.

How to Make Washing Soda If You Can’t Find It In Stores