DIY Disinfectant Spray with Alcohol: Lysol Alternative Made at Home
This DIY disinfectant spray with alcohol is a Lysol alternative you can make at home to clean and disinfect naturally. No headaches, No toxins, and No chemical smells!
When I was newlywed years ago, I cleaned our home with countless bottles of harsh cleaners that always left me with a headache. Just spraying and wiping down the bathroom mirror would make me cough. By the time I scrubbed the bathtub and shower, I would have to stop at times to avoid coughing up a lung.
With grace, a friend opened my eyes to essential oils and the best homemade disinfectant. Several years forward, with two cross-state moves, a beautiful daughter, and a new Vizsla puppy, I replaced every plastic bottle of chemicals and learned how to clean our home naturally.
This is a new cleaner I’m adding to my DIY natural cleaning kit. It’s another solution to cleaning more efficiently. I stopped wasting time searching in our laundry room, pantry, and under the sink for a dozen different cleaners years ago, and you can, too!
If you’re tired of the headaches and horrible chemical smells or just want a simplified cleaning approach keep reading about how to make the most effective natural disinfectant.
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Why make a DIY disinfectant spray?
If the coughing and headaches weren’t a good enough sign to find an alternative to Lysol and other harsh cleaners – our daughters are- furry or not.
My daughter loves to help Mommy. Whether I’m making bread, cake, candles, soap, or cleaning – she wants to be a part of it! That, for me, is more than enough reason to make a homemade disinfectant spray with essential oils.
If you’re about to reach your turning point, here are all the reasons I love using our homemade disinfectant spray:
- It includes CDC-approved ingredients to sanitize and disinfect
- It’s a powerful, natural, non-toxic cleaning recipe
- No Headaches and No Coughing
- SO EASY to make
- Fights Mold & Mildew
- Shines faucets and doorknobs, too
- No more strong chemical smells – fresh essential oils instead
Clean, sanitize, and freshen your home all at the same time with this DIY disinfectant spray.
Make this a part of your kitchen and bathroom cleaning checklists. Print one or all of our cleaning checklists from the Simple Living Library!
Related To: DIY Dish Soap Bar Recipe
Where can you use a homemade disinfectant spray?
You can use this homemade natural cleaner in a number of places! Just shake before use and spray directly on the surface. To disinfect, leave it wet on the surface for a few minutes and allow it to dry.
(Avoid using it on some furniture finishes like varnished or lacquered types as it may remove some of the finish.)
Here’s a List of Places to Use Disinfectant Spray:
- door handles – don’t forget the fridge handle
- remotes for the TV, soundbar, ceiling fan, or anything else
- all around the toilet
- faucets: this will make them shiny too
- light plates and switches
- countertops, especially after preparing raw meat
- garbage bins
- dog kennels
- your desktop and computer mouse (spray it on a cloth first, then apply it to your keyboard or laptop keys)
- sofas, chairs, and throw pillows that don’t have a removable cover (if someone has been sick in the house, give them a cleaning)
- floor mats
Related To: How to Disinfect a Cutting Board
How to Make DIY Disinfectant Spray
What can replace disinfectant spray? Or, in other words, what can you use as a Lysol alternative? Well, according to the CDC, you can use alcohol that is at least 70% alcohol to disinfect surfaces.
70% isopropyl alcohol is what I use. If it’s sold out here, check the pharmaceutical aisle at your local Target or supermarket. You can use a higher strength, like 91% isopropyl alcohol, but you’ll have to dilute it. Four parts alcohol and one part water will create a homemade disinfectant spray with 72% alcohol (91 x 4/5).
And if you are wondering what disinfectants kill COVID-19? The Mayo Clinic published a list from the EPA, including 70% alcohol and hydrogen peroxide. Another study also backed this up, stating “that viruses could be “efficiently inactivated” with disinfectants that contain alcohol and .5% hydrogen peroxide.”
So, what is the best homemade disinfectant? A cleaner made with 70% alcohol and .5% hydrogen peroxide.
How do you make disinfectant spray with 70% rubbing alcohol?
You can clean and disinfect naturally with this DIY disinfectant spray made with 70% rubbing alcohol. And the combination of essential oils in this recipe is a bonus. They smell fresh and bright and add to the cleaning power, eliminating stinky odors, among other things. (Look here to find more essential oil cleaning blends.)
No headaches, No toxins, and No chemical smells!
DIY DISINFECTANT SPRAY INGREDIENTS
1 glass 8-ounce spray bottle
7 ounces 70% isopropyl or rubbing alcohol
½ teaspoon hydrogen peroxide
12 drops tea tree essential oil
8 drops lavender essential oil
6 drops eucalyptus essential oil
8 drops lemon essential oil
DISINFECTANT SPRAY RECIPE
1. Using a funnel, pour 7 ounces of 70% isopropyl alcohol into an 8-ounce spray bottle. Add ½ teaspoon hydrogen peroxide to the alcohol.
2. Then, add 12 drops of tea tree essential oil, 8 drops of lavender essential oil, 6 drops of eucalyptus essential oil, and 8 drops of lemon essential oil.
3. Place the spray nozzle and cap on the bottle and shake well to combine.
Print this Disinfectant Spray Recipe Here
DIY Disinfectant Spray
This DIY disinfectant spray with alcohol is a Lysol alternative you can make at home to clean and disinfect naturally. No headaches, No toxins, and No chemical smells!
Materials
- 1 glass 8-ounce spray bottle
- 7 ounces 70% isopropyl or rubbing alcohol
- ½ teaspoon hydrogen peroxide
- 12 drops tea tree essential oil
- 8 drops lavender essential oil
- 6 drops eucalyptus essential oil
- 8 drops lemon essential oil
Tools
- funnel
Instructions
- Using a funnel, pour 7 ounces of 70% isopropyl alcohol into an 8-ounce spray bottle.
- Add ½ teaspoon hydrogen peroxide to the alcohol.
- Then, add each drop of the essential oil blend: 12 drops of tea tree essential oil
8 drops of lavender essential oil, 6 drops of eucalyptus essential oil, and 8 drops of lemon essential oil. - Place the spray nozzle and cap on the bottle and shake well to combine.
Notes
You can use this homemade natural cleaner in a number of places! Just shake before use and spray directly on the surface. To disinfect, leave it wet on the surface for a few minutes and allow it to dry.
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What are you going to clean first with this DIY disinfectant spray? Clean up, sanitize, and freshen your home all at the same time with this DIY disinfectant spray! Print the recipe or PIN it to make it later. And don’t forget to grab a printable cleaning checklist, too—tag #lifenreflection on Instagram to share your natural cleaning tips with us.
This is just the thing I was looking for! My kids got sick recently and I am in the process of disinfecting everything to make sure my husband and I don’t get sick from them. I’ve already cleaned every toy and doorknob, and I even had an upholstery cleaner come by and disinfect the couch. Needless to say, the smell of commercial disinfectant wipes is getting old, so I’m going to use this recipe to finish cleaning everything!
Awe, I can imagine. Happy to help and I hope they’re well soon.
How do you recommend using this recipe with 91% isopropyl alcohol?
That would be too strong; you could possibly dilute to 3 ounces of distilled water and 4 ounces of alcohol.