Homemade Orange Enzyme Cleaner

I had a duh moment, and it involves this orange enzymatic cleaner that's been circulating on Pinterest.  Every once in a while I see an idea, but I drag my feet because the effort doesn't seem like it is worth it.  We finally had a whole bunch of oranges which, of course, generate orange peels, and I decided to give making my own homemade orange enzymatic cleaner a shot.  Reusing something and it's natural. Two bonus points! 

Most of the recipes I had seen were fairly complicated.  Most involved using white vinegar, and some went so far as to add yeast and sugar to this mixture.    I decided to take a different route, using clear ammonia instead, and I was thrilled with the results. 

This stuff cuts grease like nothing I have ever seen.  It's especially great for things like stove tops, vent hoods, and I have also been using as an additive it in my mop bucket to mop my floors.  I thought my floors were clean until I started using this!  You can literally see the dirt start to rise up and separate before you wipe or mop it away.  My mom is so in love with it, that I started her a batch, and she has shared the recipe and great results with others.  Here is my version of this awesome cleaning solution: 

Homemade Orange Enzyme Cleaner

Takes 2 weeks to make but worth it!

1 empty jar, the larger the better (I use a 1 quart canning jar)
Orange peels enough to fill the jar at least halfway
Clear ammonia

Place orange peels in jar and cover to rim of jar with clear ammonia.  Cap jar and allow to sit in a warm, dark area for 2 weeks.  Then, strain orange peels out and put remaining liquid back in jar.  (The orange peels will be a gelatinous consistency, and the liquid will be the consistency of syrup.  Throw orange peels away.)

To make cleaner:

Use ¼ to ½ cup orange liquid
1 generous squirt of dish soap
Water to fill squirt bottle

To mop floors, in mop bucket use:

Use ½ cup to ¾ cup orange liquid
Generous squirt of dish soap
Fill with water

Mop as usual.  No need to rinse. 

The orange cleaner is *excellent* at cutting grease, especially on stove tops!  Plus, it’s a great way to be “green” when you clean. 

Homemade Clorox Cleanup

I love Clorox Cleanup.  It cleans, it whitens, it disinfects, and it leaves a nice smell that is more than just the smell of bleach.  What I don't like is the price.  

I found a great recipe to make this wondrous cleaner at home at the blog HERE.  I modified the ingredient amounts just a little bit, but otherwise the recipe is just the same.  Best of all, it works just as well as the original product, but at a fraction of the cost. 

You will need: 

1 empty spray bottle 

1/2 Cup bleach

2 tablespoons dish soap 

Water*

Pour bleach into empty spray bottle.  Fill the bottle almost all the way full of water, leaving about 1 inch of room.  Then add the dish soap.  Insert the sprayer, seal the bottle, and then gently tip the bottle back and forth about 20-30 times to mix the ingredients.  If you add the dish soap and then pour in the water, your ingredients will bubble out, so it's best to fill the bottle then add the soap.  

*We have hard water, so it always requires a bit more cleaning ingredients than most recipes establish.  If you have relatively soft water (i.e., with very little mineral content), you might be able to reduce the bleach to 1/4 cup and the dish soap to 1 tablespoon.  

That's all it takes!  Now you can clean, freshen, and disinfect your counter tops, sinks, and bathrooms, but without all the expense! Happy cleaning!