Homemade orange cleaner

This completely natural general purpose cleaner can be used all around the house. There are no nasty chemicals, and it’s a great way to use up leftover orange peel, or other citrus fruits. Here’s how to make it!

What you’ll need

• a large glass jar with a well-fitting lid
• about 1 litre of distilled white vinegar
• orange or citrus peel – about 10-12 small easy-peelers should be enough, but you can use more
• 10 drops of essential oil like bergamot or rosemary
• A sieve and funnel
• Empty spray bottle

Getting started

Fill your clean jar with the white vinegar. When you eat an orange or other citrus fruits, add the peel to the jar of vinegar. Over the next week, keep adding more peel, then place your jar in a cool, dark place and leave it for 3-4 weeks. Don’t worry if it takes you longer than a week to fill your jar!

Creating the concentrated orange cleaner

After four weeks the liquid in your jar will have thickened and turned a dark orange colour. Use a sieve and a large bowl to separate this liquid from the orange peel. Rinse out your jar and then use a funnel to refill with the concentrated orange liquid.

Dilute your concentrate to create a cleaning spray

This strong, vinegary liquid is too strong to use undiluted. To create a simple cleaning spray, half fill a spray bottle with your orange liquid and then top up the rest of the bottle with water. Add about 10 drops of essential oil of your choice – Bergamot is really lovely with the orange. Seal the bottle and give everything a good shake. You’re now ready to clean!

How to use your cleaner

I like to use my orange spray for all of my general household cleaning – from cleaning the soap scum off my shower screen, to wiping down the table and kitchen units. You could also use small amount of the concentrated formula diluted in a bucket of hot water to clean your floors. It smells amazing and it’s not too vinegary. For extra oomph when scrubbing, combine with a sprinkling of bicarbonate of soda. Please note: because this cleaner is acidic you shouldn’t use it surfaces like marble, granites, stone, painted surfaces and wood.