TIPS AND RECIPES FOR ALL NATURAL DISINFECTING
I am sure you all have been bombarded with news alerts, newspaper headlines, 24-hour coverage and the social media onslaught in regards to the Coronavirus. It can be fearful, overwhelming, and tiring. Am I right? After answering some emails and sharing some tips with family and friends, I wanted to do a special Friday post to help share some of my tips and products we are using in our home to stay clean and protected the natural way and hopefully bring some calm and help your way. Our home’s motto that I posted: “Keep consistently clean. Disinfect lightly daily.”
You do not need to do an upside down, top to bottom hazmat-type cleaning. 🙂 Focus on the areas that really matter: shared spaces and frequently touched surfaces.
In doing the disinfecting of our home, I did not use sponges as I did not want to risk having any bacteria simply pushed around. I used paper towels for the toilets that were disposable and cloths that I could wash on a very hot cycle. I have recipes below for the products I made and used.
LIST OF THINGS TO DISINFECT:
Phone. This includes cell phones and land line phones. Cold and viruses can survive on them for quite a while.
Remote Control. I did not realize until recently that it is one of the most touched, but least cleaned items in the house. If someone sneezes and then touches the remote, BOOM, germs!
Bathroom. The key here is to use a separate cloth or paper towel for the sink and then the toilet.
Tables. Spray and then wipe clean. They are touched often and need to be disinfected often.
Computers. Never spray the computer keyboard or screen directly. I lightly spray a microfiber cloth with my DIY disinfectant and wipe both areas.
Stuffed Animals. If possible, toss them in the washer and give them a good wash. If they are not machine washable, what I do is spray with the DIY disinfectant spray and then set them out on our deck in the sun and let nature do its work!
Sheets, blankets, and towels. I washed all of ours on a hot water cycle with the bleach alternative by colors.
RECIPES:
DIY Natural Disinfectant Spray Recipe. Take 3/4 cup of distilled water and 1/4 cup of witch hazel, 10 drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil, 5 drops of lemon essential oil. Combine all of these in a spray bottle and shake well. (I doubled the recipe and put in a 32 ounce spray bottle to make sure I had enough for my whole house).
DIY Hand Sanitizer. 1/4 cup of Aloe Vera Gel (sold in most nature grocery stores) and 20 drops of either lemon essential oil or tea tree essential oil. Combine in a small plastic bottle and shake well, Use as necessary. The craft section at Walmart has small plastic containers that I use so our family can carry one with us in to work and school.
All Natural Bleach Alternative. This yields 16 cups. Take 1 3/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of citric acid, 20 drops of lemon essential oil, and 1 gallon of distilled water. Take the first 4 ingredients and add them to an empty gallon jug. Mix well by shaking the jug gently. Fill the rest of the gallon jug up with water and shake to combine. Add 1 cup of the alternative to your laundry as usual. This can be stored up to 1 month in the container in a cool, dark place.
Stay safe and healthy everyone! I will be back on Sunday for the next installment.
Credits: WebMD; Essential Oils for a Clean and Healthy Home
Lemon and Rosemary 