Spring is the season of renewal, and what better way to embrace this fresh start than with a natural, eco-friendly spring cleaning session? If you’re looking to cleanse your home without harsh chemicals, essential oils offer a fantastic solution. These oils not only provide refreshing scents, but also possess powerful cleaning properties. Here’s a guide to the best essential oils for spring cleaning and how you can use them to freshen up your home.
1. Lemon Essential Oil: The Ultimate Cleaner
Lemon essential oil is often regarded as one of the best oils for cleaning due to its antibacterial, antiseptic, antiviral and antifungal properties. Its bright, uplifting scent is also perfect for the spring season, bringing a burst of freshness into your space.
2. Lavender Essential Oil: The Soothing Disinfectant
Lavender essential oil is not only relaxing, but also has antibacterial and antifungal properties, making it an excellent choice for spring cleaning. The calming scent of lavender also helps to create a serene environment after the hustle of cleaning. And it can help to create a peaceful sleeping environment too, meaning it’s ideal for use in bedrooms.
3. Peppermint Essential Oil: The Energising Cleaner
Peppermint essential oil has a refreshing, invigorating aroma that can help lift your spirits and perhaps make cleaning a little more enjoyable. Its strong antimicrobial and antifungal properties make it ideal for cleaning surfaces and eliminating germs. Peppermint’s energising scent is particularly lovely to use on the morning, to help give you a little ‘get up and go’.
4. Tea Tree Essential Oil: The Powerful Purifier
Tea tree oil is a powerhouse when it comes to cleaning, known for its strong antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. It’s perfect for tackling the germs and bacteria that accumulate during the winter months.
5. Orange Essential Oil: The Uplifting Freshener
Orange essential oil is not only great for cleaning, but also provides a cheerful, citrussy scent that’s perfect for spring. Its natural antibacterial properties make it an excellent choice for cleaning, while its bright fragrance will fill the room and lift your mood.
6. Eucalyptus Essential Oil: The Revitalising Deodoriser
Eucalyptus oil has a crisp, invigorating scent and is known for its antimicrobial and antiseptic properties. It’s great for purifying the air and can help eliminate germs and bacteria around the home. Eucalyptus oil is traditionally used to help relieve sinus congestion. This may lend a welcome helping hand to anyone suffering from allergy congestion during the spring and summer months.
7. Frankincense Essential Oil: The Deep Cleanser
Frankincense is well-known for its grounding and soothing properties, but it also has powerful antibacterial and antiviral benefits. This makes it a great choice for spring cleaning when you want to deep clean and purify your home.
How To Use Them
The wonderful thing about making your own natural cleaning products is that you can choose which scents to use in whichever way you like. Maybe you love traditional scents in your bathroom, like tea tree or peppermint. Or perhaps you’d rather something more unique, like frankincense or orange.
Here are some suggestions for natural cleaning products you can easily make at home. Just choose your preferred essential oil from the list above and enjoy the lovely fresh fragrances around your home.
- All-Purpose Cleaner: Mix 250ml water, 125ml white vinegar, and 10 – 15 drops of essential oil in a spray bottle. Shake well and use it to clean kitchen countertops, sinks, and even tiled floors. The acidity of the vinegar, combined with the antimicrobial properties of the essential oil, makes it an excellent all-purpose cleaner.
- Bathroom Cleaner: Mix 1 part white vinegar with 2 parts bicarbonate of soda in a bowl and add a few drops of essential oil. Stir to create a paste. This paste can be applied to surfaces in the bathroom that need an extra boost. Just let the paste sit on the surface for 15 minutes before scrubbing with a brush and rinsing clean. Tea tree oil is particularly effective in damp, high-humidity areas like bathrooms.
- Natural Glass Cleaner: In a spray bottle, combine 250ml water with 60ml rubbing alcohol and 10 drops of essential oil. Shake well, spray on glass, and wipe clean with a soft cloth.
- Surface Cleaner (without vinegar): If you prefer not to use vinegar in your cleaning spray, combine 250ml water, 2 tablespoons of liquid castile soap, and 15 drops of essential oil in a spray bottle. Shake well and use it on countertops and bathroom surfaces.
- Air Freshener: Combine 100ml water, 1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda, and 20 drops of your preferred essential oil in a spray bottle. Shake well before each use, and spray into the air to refresh and uplift any room. A combination of citrus oils is particularly pleasant and uplifting for this.
- Floor Cleaner: Add 10 drops of essential oil to a bucket of warm water to mop your floors with. If you need to cut through any grease or stubborn dirt on kitchen floors, add 100ml white vinegar to the bucket.
- Wood Cleaner: Mix 10 drops of orange essential oil with 100ml of a base oil (such as olive oil or almond oil), and use it to clean and polish wooden furniture with a soft cloth. The oil will leave a natural shine while also gently disinfecting surfaces.
- Disinfectant Spray: Combine 250ml water, 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol or witch hazel, and 10 – 15 drops of essential oil in a spray bottle. Shake and use it to disinfect areas such as kitchen surfaces, countertops, and bathroom fixtures.
- Fabric Freshener: Add 10 – 15 drops of essential oil to a small spray bottle filled with water and use it to freshen up your bed linens, upholstery, and curtains. If using on lighter coloured fabrics, test on an inconspicuous area first.
- Laundry Booster: Add 10 – 15 drops of essential oil to the drum of your washing machine, before washing laundry, to help disinfect and eliminate any mould or mildew smells.
- Bin Refresher: Adding a few drops of essential oil to waste bins and recycling bins can help neutralise lingering odours.
- Freshen Up Carpets: Add 5 – 10 drops of essential oil to your carpet or rug before vacuuming. The scent from the oil will uplift and refresh your space, as well as helping with any lingering odours.
- Simple Room Fragrance: Simply add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to an oil diffuser or Aroma Stone (or even on pieces of cotton wool), and place in corners of your home to neutralise odours and fill your space with the scents you love.
Tips for Safe Use of Essential Oils
- Dilute Properly: Always dilute essential oils in water or a carrier oil (such as almond oil, grapeseed oil, or olive oil) before applying them directly to surfaces.
- Test Surfaces First: Before using any essential oil cleaner, test it on a small, inconspicuous area to ensure it doesn’t damage the surface.
- Use in a Well-Ventilated Area: Essential oils are potent. Make sure the space is well-ventilated when diffusing oils or using them in cleaning solutions.
Conclusion
Using essential oils for natural spring cleaning is a simple, eco-friendly way to freshen up your home. From the disinfecting power of tea tree and lavender to the invigorating scents of orange and peppermint, essential oils not only clean but uplift and revitalise your space. With a few simple blends, you can replace harsh chemicals with nature’s most powerful cleaners and create a fresh, aromatic environment that welcomes the new season.
So this spring, embrace the natural power of essential oils for a cleaner, healthier home.
