To make your own disinfecting spray that can be safely used on a variety of surfaces around your home, just combine the following ingredients in a large glass spray bottle: 1 cup water, 1 cup white vinegar, 2 tablespoons rubbing alcohol, 20 drops lemon essential oil, 20 drops tea tree essential oil.
White vinegar is made from acetic acid and water, and it's a power cleaner—easily cutting through grease and removing mildew, odors, stains, and wax buildup. Thanks to its high acidity, white vinegar reduces surface bacteria, making it a safe (though slightly less effective) alternative to bleach.
Best Disinfectant
For those times when you need real disinfecting power to eliminate viruses and bacteria, it's hard to beat the power of bleach. Clorox Clean-Up spray is ideal for sinks, floors, countertops, and more — but be careful of delicate surfaces and avoid using this spray on textiles.
All-Purpose Cleaning Spray: Stir 1/2 cup vinegar and 2 tablespoons baking soda into 1/2 gallon of water and transfer to a spray bottle.
Rinse in hot water. Immerse glass, porcelain, china, plastic dinnerware and enamelware for 10 minutes in a disinfecting solution of 2 tablespoons of chlorine bleach per gallon of hot water. Disinfect silverware, metal utensils, and pots and pans by boiling in water for 10 minutes.
Just add 1 tablespoon liquid chlorine bleach to 1 gallon of water. Store the solution in a spray bottle and make a new solution every 2 to 3 days. You should clean thoroughly before you disinfect. Food or grease buildup won't allow the disinfectant to get through.
In a restaurant, we use commercial food grade bleach. In a household, mixing standard bleach about 1/4-1/3 cup to fill a gallon of water will make a strong enough solution to sanitize.
1 - Vinegar
It's made up of 95% water and 5% acetic acid, which kills about 80% of germs. As such, it's a powerful, natural disinfectant that can be used to clean your sweat-stained clothes, wash your dishes, clean rusty tools, and remove hard water deposits.
Hydrogen peroxide is an effective disinfectant and its foaming action aids in cleaning. Hydrogen peroxide can be used as an effective natural disinfectant in every room in the house, and its uses extend to personal care, gardening, food preparation, stain removal and more.
Hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar form the basis of many of these home solutions. Some of them work well as cleaners and can even kill a majority (up to 80% - leaving the surviving 20% to grow stronger creating superbugs) of some germs and bacteria.
To make a spray that will clean just about anything—countertops, the sink, light fixtures, and more—mix 13 ounces of hot water, ½ cup of white vinegar, 15 drops of grapefruit essential oil, 10 drops of lavender essential oil, and seven drops of lemon essential oil in a spray bottle, says Kimberly Button, a certified ...
That being said, most products will work great for at least 3 months after mixing them up. Still, I find it easiest to mix up just the amount that will fit inside my spray bottles. I prefer not to be storing large bottles of excess product in addition to the spray bottle that I'm actually using for cleaning.
But when you combine the two, you get an effective, sprayable miracle cleaner that clings to surfaces. Just spray it on, let it sit for a while, then scrub lightly and rinse, and you'll be amazed at the results every time!
Using White Vinegar
If you're looking to disinfect your kitchen sink, vinegar is also your answer. White vinegar can kill bacteria without presenting the same risks as chemical cleaners. To clean your sink with vinegar, mix up a solution of equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle.
Instead of wasting a lot of cash on a branded cleaner with toxic chemicals, you can mix water and vinegar. If your countertops are not made from stone, granite or marble, then you can create a mixture containing one part water and one part vinegar and put it all in a spray bottle.
Kitchen Sponge/Dish Rag
The item most frequently used to clean dishes and countertops was actually the germiest place found in most homes. Sponges and dish rags can pick up bacteria during the cleaning process, and, if not properly sanitized between uses, can be a prime spot for germ growth.
Dish Sponges
The dish sponge is not only the filthiest item in your kitchen—it's the nastiest, grossest, most germ-infested thing in your entire home. A recent study found your average kitchen sponge contains roughly 10 million bacteria per square inch, making it 200,000 times dirtier than your toilet seat.
To disinfect, use an EPA-registered disinfecting product or a stronger bleach solution. Clean the surface with soap and water first. Always read the label of disinfecting products to make sure the products can be used on the type of surface you are disinfecting (such as a hard or soft surface).
For sanitizing dishes, you can either use sodium hypochlorite or hot water. You can also preferably use a dishwasher or a dish pan. You will need a gallon of cold water and a tablespoon of sodium hypochlorite. Soak your dishes in the solution.