Today’s households typically have a stockpile of storebought cleaners underneath the kitchen sink. However, our grandparents didn’t go out to the store to buy cleaners — they made them at home. Many people are going back to the days when we made our own cleaners, but is it really better to use a homemade product instead?
Cost
Storebought: Depending on the product you buy, you probably won’t spend that much on a storebought cleaner. However, they need to be replaced frequently, depending on the size of your home and how often you clean.
Homemade: On the other hand, homemade cleaning products require some preparation. You need to buy containers and ingredients, and you have to set aside time to mix them together. But once you have all of your ingredients on hand, you can create gallons of detergents and cleaners for pennies on the dollar.
Odor
Storebought: Many storebought cleaning products have very harsh fragrances and odors. Lemon and pine-scented sprays, for example, can even cause head tension in smell-sensitive people. However, there are many products that have neutral or pleasant smells.
Homemade: Homemade products tend to be much more neutral in smell than storebought ones. The biggest exception to this is vinegar, which can stink if you’re sensitive to it. However, you can always add some fragrance to them by using essential oils. You only need a few drops of your favorite doTERRA products to have a lovely smelling product that won’t cause headaches, and you aren’t limited to traditional citrus or pine fragrances.
Cleaning Power
Storebought: These tend to be stronger cleaners than homemade ones. Cleaning chemicals and strong grease-cutters are added to these products to make them more effective than a vinegar solution.
Homemade: Homemade products are much more limited in their cleaning power and typically take more elbow grease. That isn’t to say they can’t get the job done — it might just take a bit more scrubbing.
Environmental Impact
Storebought: Storebought cleaners are well known for not being very environmentally-friendly. Plastic spray bottles produce a lot of landfill waste, and when storebought products are washed down the drain, harmful chemicals like phosphates make their way into our oceans. Fortunately, more brands are making a conscious effort to reinvent their formulas to be more “green.”
Homemade: Homemade products, on the other hand, are minimally impactful on the environment. Common ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice have no known negative effects. They also eliminate the need to continually buy new plastic bottles.
Conclusion
Storebought and homemade cleaners both have their own benefits and drawbacks, but if you are health-conscious, switching to homemade cleaners seems to be the better choice. It may add a little more time and effort to your routine, but the results will be worth it!
