After the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, people started disinfecting their homes more often. It was only after the fear of catching the deadly COVID-19 virus took over that people realized how important it was to keep their homes free of germs and pathogens. Disinfectant sprays were soon off the shelves as the demand for this product increased among the masses. This is when many people started to look for ways to make a homemade disinfectant spray.
Most people thought that cleaning their houses was all it takes to maintain hygiene. Little did they know that there were plenty of germs and microorganisms lurking in their homes that could cause serious infections.
You need an effective disinfectant spray to get rid of these pathogenic germs, bacteria, and viruses. Simple cleaning with a cleaning solution was just not enough.
There are innumerable disinfectant sprays available in the market today. However, restocking them every few weeks isn’t just inconvenient but also adds to the overall household cost. Making disinfectant spray at home may seem like a hassle at first, but once you get to it, you’ll realize what a convenience it is!
Continue reading this blog if you would like to know more about a homemade disinfectant spray. Here’s what it contains, how it is made, and the right way to use it.
Homemade Disinfectant Spray vs. Commercially Available Disinfectant Spray
You may want to know if the hassle of making disinfectant spray at home is worth it. Although making a homemade disinfectant spray is quite easy, you still have got to make it, rather than just grabbing a readymade product off the shelf. So, what does a homemade spray have to offer that makes it a better option than commercially available disinfectant sprays?
Cheaper
A homemade disinfectant spray is a lot cheaper than the disinfecting products that you’ll find on the market. They’re literally half the cost – sometimes even lesser.
Offer Convenience
While you may think that getting readymade disinfecting spray is more convenient than making your own at home, it’s actually the other way round. You’ll have to go all the way to a supermarket to buy the product every time your stock ends.
Moreover, you’ll have to spend money every single time. However, if you’ve got the ingredients at home, you can prepare a homemade disinfectant spray in a matter of minutes. It’s quicker, cheaper, and saves you the money you’ll spend on fuel.
Safer
Commercially available disinfectant sprays are loaded with harmful chemicals that aren’t just harmful to your health but to the environment as well. Moreover, they pose a danger to children and animals. However, a homemade disinfectant spray is made using minimal ingredients that are absolutely safe to handle and use.
Homemade spray reduces the toxic load, and therefore, is safer.
Smells Great
You can customize homemade disinfectant spray to smell as you like. You can choose the essential oil you like, and your spray will have just the right fragrance to suit your preferences. Therefore, making disinfectant spray in a fragrance that you like is surely a better option!
Homemade Disinfectant Spray Recipes
You can make homemade disinfectant sprays at home in no time and half the cost of what your regular disinfectant spray costs you. Moreover, you need only the basic household ingredients to make a homemade disinfectant spray.
You’ll be amazed to see how easy and quick making disinfectant spray at home is – and of course, how cheap!
Alcohol and Hydrogen Peroxide
The first recipe contains alcohol and hydrogen peroxide as the main ingredients. It’s as effective as any other disinfectant spray.
Ingredients
- 70% Isopropyl alcohol
- 0.5% Hydrogen peroxide
- Essential oils
- Spray bottle
Procedure
Step 1: Sanitize the Spray Bottle
A disinfectant spray doesn’t clean but disinfects. This means that it kills germs and microorganisms. Therefore, the first and foremost step in making a homemade disinfectant spray is sanitizing the spray bottle.
You can sanitize the spray bottle by boiling it on your stove or cleaning it in a dishwasher.
Step 2: Mix All Ingredients
Pour 70% alcohol into the spray bottle up to the collar. Next, add 10 drops of 0.5% hydrogen peroxide, followed by 30 drops of essential oils. Essential oils have anti-microbial properties, and they make your disinfectant spray fragrant. Shake well and close the spray bottle.
Step 3: Label the Spray Bottle
Always label the bottle of your disinfectant to avoid any confusion and prevent accidents, especially if you’ve got children at home.
Alcohol and Vinegar
Another popular homemade disinfectant recipe includes alcohol and vinegar.
Ingredients
- Water
- Vinegar
- 70% Isopropyl alcohol
- Essential oils
Procedure
The procedure to make this disinfectant spray isn’t any bit different than the procedure discussed above. You’ll start with sanitizing the spray bottle. You’ll mix all the ingredients in the bottle, shake well, and spray away!
Word of Caution
- Vinegar is acidic and can damage certain surfaces. Vinegar-based disinfectant spray should be used on hard surfaces only. Therefore, it’s not suitable for unsealed natural stone surfaces that are porous.
- Don’t use regular tap water to make disinfectant sprays as it’s usually contaminated. Always use distilled water for this purpose as it has been stripped off of all contaminants. Tap water can even leave watermarks on surfaces due to the presence of minerals in it.
Where Can You Use a Homemade Disinfectant Spray
Homemade disinfectant sprays can be used on plenty of hard surfaces, including floors, doors, doorknobs, keys, credit and debit cards, counters, tabletops, toilets, chairs, and anything that gets touched frequently.
How to Use Disinfectant Sprays
Shake the bottle well before every use to homogenize the disinfectant mixture. Make sure you’ve cleaned the surface that you wish to disinfect before applying the spray. Disinfectant sprays aren’t meant to clean but to disinfect only.
Therefore, make sure all visible dirt and debris are cleaned beforehand.
Spray an adequate amount of disinfectant onto the surface. The quantity should be enough to make the surface wet. Don’t wipe excess liquid away. Allow it to air dry. It’ll take about a minute as alcohol is volatile, and it’ll evaporate soon.
Word of Caution
Apply disinfectant spray to a small area of any wooden surface first to make sure the spray doesn’t damage the wooden surface.
How Important Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are one of the key ingredients of all homemade disinfectant spray recipes. They don’t just make your disinfectant spray smell good, but they play other important roles. Each essential oil has unique properties that account for the overall efficiency of the disinfectant spray.
Let’s have a look at the properties of some of the most commonly used essential oils. Choose the essential oils that align with your disinfection needs.
- Lavender Essential Oil: It’s antiseptic, anti-infectious, and anti-fungal
- Orange Essential Oil: It’s antiseptic
- Tea Tree Essential Oil: It’s anti-viral, antiseptic, antibacterial, and anti-fungal.
- Clove Essential Oil: It’s anti-infectious, antibacterial, antiseptic, anti-viral, and anti-parasitic.
Let’s say you want to make a disinfectant spray for mold, lavender, and tea tree essential oils will be the right choice. Similarly, if you want to make your home safe from COVID-19, the anti-viral clove essential oil will be more suitable.
With zero hassle, you can prepare a disinfectant spray that’s as effective as any other commercial disinfectant spray at home. All you’ve got to do is stock ingredients in bulk and mix them up whenever the disinfectant solution finishes. It’ll take just a few minutes, and you’re all set to disinfect your home and make it a cleaner, healthier, and a lot more hygienic place to live!
