If you like this post, you should also check out Homemade Febreeze and Homemade Green Window Cleaner.
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone had the time and energy to dust all the surfaces in their home on a daily basis? It would be pretty awesome. But, unfortunately, it’s not gonna happen. So the next best thing you can do is use a spray that will help prevent dust.
Everyone loves pledge right? There’s no doubt it works. Problem is- the ingredient list is kind of scary: Isoparaffin, Dimethicone, Octylphosphonic Acid, Nitrogen, Polysorbate 80, Sorbitan Oleate, Polydimethylsiloxane, Aminomethyl Propanol, Fragrance from SC Johnson Fragrance Palette, Proprietary Thickening Agent, Methylisothiazolinone. Are these really necessary ingredients for cleaning? I don’t think so. These ingredients range from mild skin irritants to possible carcinogens. Definitely something you want to avoid.
Well, what if I told you you could make this at home, and it is just as effective, has no harmful ingredients, and less expensive? Pretty much a win-win situation. One batch only costs 42 cents to make.
All the ingredients serve a purpose, and are non-toxic:
- Vinegar: Great all purpose cleaner
- Olive Oil: Helps prevent dust for settling
- Lemongrass Essential Oil*: Anti-bacterial, repels insects, smells awesome
*Other great oil options include: lemon, lavender, peppermint, cinnamon, tea tree, and orange, among others. Anything that is anti-bacterial with a nice scent will work.
The recipe is ridiculously simple.
Homemade Dusting Spray
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 10-15 drops essential oil of your choice
Directions:
- Mix all ingredients together in an empty spray bottle
- Shake before use. Simply spray directly onto the surface you are dusting or a cloth (microfiber works best) and wipe the dust off.
This stuff works like a charm. You will still have to dust on a regular basis, but this dusting spray will make it less often.
There’s something about the smell of lemongrass that I just love. I chose it because it is anti-bacterial, repels insects, and I wanted a change from using my standard cleaning oil of plain lemon. I really can’t get enough of the scent.
With the vinegar- it’s really more than just a dusting spray. It also makes a decent all-purpose cleaner if you are in a pinch. (And if you aren’t, check out my Natural All Purpose Cleaner with Free Printable Label).
With the olive oil and lemongrass essential oil, it has a pretty yellowish color in the bottle. Don’t worry- it sprays clear onto surfaces and won’t stain. The olive oil is also great for wood because it helps it maintain moisture and keep its stain.
It’s easy to dust with a microfiber duster or cloth. I opt for a cloth because it’s multi-purpose. It’s also important to shake the bottle before use. It’s a step that can’t be ignored. You gotta make sure the oil and water mix up. You can also use it with a homemade reusable microfiber duster– you really can’t go wrong with it.
Try making your own dusting spray and let me know how it goes!
Don’t forget to check out how to make a reusable washable duster without sewing!
Supplies Used In This Post
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Kimberlee says
I make a lot of my own cleaning supplies and used to make a dusting spray but quit. After reading your info and dusting spray recipe I am going to start doing it again. One thing I didn’t like about the dusting spray I used to make was the vinegar smell – maybe if I add enough essential oil I won’t notice it so much. Stopping by from Someday Crafts link up.
Susie says
Yes- some of my cleaning recipes the vinegar smell is super strong. The floor cleaner in particular. With this dusting spray I really only smelled the lemongrass oil.
Meghan says
One way to make vinegar smell better is to let orange (or lemon!) peels soak in it.
Lorraine says
will the vinegar not take off the stain from furniture
Susie says
I haven’t had that problem, but if you are worried, test it on a small area first to see how the furniture reacts.
Margaret Little says
My concern is how the acidic vinegar affects finish on wood furniture. Perhaps leaving out the vinegar for use on wood surfaces is best option. I use vinegar as an ingredient in my homemade bathroom and all purpose spray cleaner.
Wendi says
My estate agent recommended vinegar and detergent to wash wooden floorsm
Kurt says
i just mixed this up and I put cinnamon oil in mine about 8 drops and that is all I smell the whole house smells good.
Susie says
Yay! I love cinnamon oil.
Laurie says
I wonder if lemon juice would work just as well a vinegar for the furniture polish/cleaner and I think the smell would be awsome!
Susie says
You can certainly try. Lemon juice has a shorter shelf life than vinegar so you would have to replace it more often. Lemon juice is a good cleaner but I find vinegar does a better job or some vinegar with some lemon juice.
Aprill says
I make my own dusting spray — vinegar and lemon juice. That’s it. It does have a strong vinegar scent but it doesn’t last long. Works extremely well.
Vinegar is also a good laundry softener and there’s no smell.
Lara Schalburg says
do you have any concoctions that work on wood laminate floors? The products I use are making my floors dull and streaky. I’ve tried expensive stuff that are at Home Depot and same outcome.
Susie says
Sorry Lara, I have no experience with wood laminate. but if you want you could try using my hardwood floor cleaner recipe without adding the olive oil.
Aprill says
Try just plain vinegar. I used to clean houses for a living and that’s all the company would let us use on wood floors. Doesn’t take much either, so don’t go overboard.
Holly says
I use about a 1-5 ratio of Murphy’s Oil soap and water, shake well, and spray onto floor lightly and rubbing with a dust mop. Works great with no streaks.
Elizabeth says
I make my own laminate floor cleaner, & it works great. My recipe is 5oz of water, 5oz of rubbing alcohol, 5oz of vinegar, & 10 drops of essential oil of choice, add ingredients to a spray bottle, shake spray microfiber mop & mop away!
Ann says
I am going to try this..thank u!
Liz says
There is a lemon scented vinegar sold now!
Natalie says
I like this a lot, I only had tea tree on hand. I dont mind the vinegar smell but is lemon grass much stronger than tea tree? I might grab it next time I’m out or maybe just add more tea tree to this batch.
Susie says
Personally I like tea tree, but it’s not as good at hiding other smells as some of the more citrus-ey scents. Lemon and lemongrass are so strong that you can’t smell the vinegar. Tea tree is a strong smell too, but it just doesn’t counteract the vinegar smell for whatever reason. When I use tea tree in cleaning products I usually use it with another oil as well for scent.
Michelle says
I found a recipe for oven cleaner that instructed you to put thyme oil in the vinegar – I didn’t have any so I infused about a teaspoon of dried thyme for a half hour or so, and then strained it out. It’s the best smelling vinegar cleaner I’ve ever made – and it’s full strength vinegar, not diluted.
Susie says
Awesome! I’ll have to try it.
Kathleen says
I am going to try this for sure. I’m trying to switch over to natural cleaners and this sounds great. However, I truly HATE to dust. It is my least favorite chore. Maybe the fantastic scent will help. This post will be this week’s feature on Tips and Trick for Fearlessly Creative Mammas. We hope to see you this week. Thanks so much for linking up.
Ginger says
YES! Love it. I’ve been looking for a homemade dusting spray – perfect timing. Pinning. Thanks for linking up to Gingerly Made!
Jaime says
I just make up a bottle of this (using cinnamon EO) and dusted our lounge and bedroom. I’m allergic to dust and normally i would be sneezing like crazy and my sinuses would get blocked up when I dust, but i didn’t sneeze once while using this, even though the dust was pretty thick. the only tricky part was remembering to shake the bottle a few times before spraying, but otherwise it was fab. Found this post via LiveSimply
Susie says
Awesome! I’m so glad to hear it! I might have to try my next batch using cinnamon, that sounds wonderful.
M says
If you use a dark-coloured glass bottle the essential oil will retain its properties longer and wont eat into the plastic (which means chemicals in the plastic leach into the mixture). I save glass bottles and repurpose them; unscrewing the spray attachment from the store-bought ones or the saved ones from the commercial cleaning products.
Natalie says
Could I use something other than olive oil?
Susie says
I suppose you could use any kind of oil, but I don’t know if they will work as well. It’s the olive oil that prevents future dust from settling.
Susan says
I wondered about using mineral oil. We have some handmade furniture and they told us to use that on them, so it kind of makes sense.
Susie says
I’m personally not a fan of mineral oil in general. You could certainly try it! Olive oil is also great for wood.
Clare says
On sunny days the dust in my house really stands out, I’m going to try your spray but will use another oil rather than olive oil. Maybe it would be okay at such a small amount but in general it isn’t used on wood because it stays sticky. Walnut oil works very well, in fact most cooking oils (except olive) don’t remain sticky.
Debbie says
I have made a number of homemade cleaning supplies. I love how they work and also that they are not full of chemicals. The other great thing is they are so budget friendly. Thank you
Jill Coleman says
All my surfaces are painted, or plastic. Should I still add the oil?
Susie says
I would test it on a small area first. Personally it works fine for me on painted surfaces, but it’s better to be cautious. That being said, without the oil it won’t prevent dust from staying on surfaces.
Beth says
I have a question. I make some of my own cleaning solutions at home as well using cleaning vinegar. Have you ever tried this with the cleaning vinegar as opposed to the distilled white vinegar? Just curious! :)
Susie says
No, but as I understand it cleaning vinegar is just a more diluted version of white vinegar. I might be wrong though. You can definitely try it and let me know if it still works! Any version of white vinegar should work- I just specify so that green cleaning newbies don’t try to use apple cider or balsamic vinegar. May seem crazy, but I’ve seen it happen!
Nicole S says
Cleaning vinegar has a higher molarity- it’s slightly more concentrated, 6%-7% vs the 5% in regular vinegar. It’s not really necessary to use cleaning vinegar as you are going to dilute the vinegar by adding the water called for in the recepie. Save your pennies (nearly 100 of them!) and get regular vinegar. I loved this recipe y’all! I used a heavy olive oil and it did not leave a sticky residue at all!
Susie says
Thanks Nicole! I thought it was the opposite.
Mirian says
Can this be used on basically everything?
Susie says
As far as I know. I use it on basically everything when I dust. If you’re nervous, I would test it by spraying it on the rag and testing a small area instead of spraying directly onto the surface you want to dust.
Cheri says
I just mixed up a bottle of this and love it! I used lemon essential oil. Thanks for the recipe it cleans the wood beautifully and I feel so much better about using these ingredients!
Kate says
Why do you use distiller vinegear, as opposed to ordinary vinegar?
Susie says
You can use either distilled white vinegar or white vinegar. Both will work well.
Kim says
I am impatient to use this, but I do not have any essential oils. Will this work without the essential oils?
Susie says
Yes, it will work without the essential oils. They add beneficial properties and smell, but the oil is the most important ingredient.
Lily says
I love this recipe. I would add an asterisk for certain essential oils if you have pets. Cats are especially sensitive and some oils can be toxic. http://cats.about.com/od/housekeeping/a/aromatherapy.htm
Susie says
Thanks Lily, I don’t have cats and didn’t know.
mandy cat says
Thanks very, very much for this link. I currently have two 12 week old kittens bouncing around the house, determined to investigate every square inch of every surface of every room and it didn’t occur to me to add essential oils to my list of things to worry about. It’s a good thing those little pumpkins are so loveable and fun. I really am too old for this.
Michelle @Feed Your Skull says
I can’t wait to try this! Thank you!!
Letty says
Where can I buy the scented oils to make the dusting spray? I know olive oil is easily found at the local grocery store but the essential oils, I have not seen.
Susie says
I know Whole Foods sells essential oils, but I’m not sure about other stores. You can also buy them online.
Andrea says
I am fairly new to homemade cleaners but already a huge fan! I made some dusting spray and used lemon juice instead of the EO, but wonder about it going bad. Do you have any experience with that?
Susie says
I have a floor cleaner that I make with lemon juice that can go for a few months without going bad. Lemon juice is a great cleaner but the benefit of using a lemon essential oil is that it is concentrated and you need much less of it and it actually helps preserve your cleaners for longer. Nothing wrong with using lemon juice but just make sure to check that your cleaner hasn’t gone bad when you use it.
Judy says
Is your floor cleaner good for hardwood floors? If so, could you provide the recipe?
Susie says
Yes! You can find it here: http://pinsandprocrastination.com/natural-wood-floor-cleaner-recipe/
Laurie says
Would using lemon or lemongrass essential oils in with an alternate lemon juice option instead of vinegar help prolong the life of the lemon juice solution?
Susie says
I’m not sure I follow your question completely. Using lemon juice instead of vinegar would not last as long because lemon juice has a much shorter shelf life than vinegar. Lemon or lemongrass essential oils can help prolong shelf life of cleaning products, but still be careful and if your product looks or smells off, don’t use it.
Charles Riley says
Recommend substitute mineral oil. Will not go rancid and does not grow bacteria.
Marie says
How long does the during spray last in the bottle before having to be replaced with a new batch?
Thanks,
Marie Moore
Susie says
I’ve had mine about 6 months and it is still fine. It can probably last quite long if you use an antibacterial essential oil.
Crystal says
I was wondering would it be okay to double the recipe?
Susie says
Absolutely!
Leigh Ann says
Great recipe! I’m going to try this. I don’t have lemongrass on hand…what would be your second choice of essential oil?
Susie says
Cinnamon bark. orange, or lemon are all wonderful. And lavender is great in pretty much everything.
Claudia Phillips says
I can’t wait to try this. Recently I bought a bottle of lemongrass oil. I love it! It’s better than lemon oil. Makes the house smell so fresh and clean.
Tanja says
can you use extra virgin olive oil?
Susie says
Yes! That’s what I use because that’s what I keep around.
Jessica says
I see people have asked about the oil going rancid in the spray bottle and all, but what about the dusting spray once it has been sprayed on the furniture? Will the olive oil go rancid and then make a stench later on the furniture? I’m worried about this (it’s all that’s keeping me from making this right now) because I had a family member years ago who had some vegetable oil spill on a table and though she cleaned it up, the oil that soaked into the wood table eventually began to stink and eventually they had to get rid of it. Any thoughts?
Susie says
All I can say is I have never had olive oil go rancid before, and that my furniture all still smells great. It’s such a small amount of oil vs. what I assume was a large spill. Some should get absorbed by the furniture, but not a lot. And I only need to use this spray about every two weeks. Maybe if you use it every single day, oil buildup might be something to consider. But I don’t use it that often. If you are using a high quality olive oil I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
Tiffany Mathews says
How long does this last before it goes bad?
Susie says
I’ve had mine for over 6 months without going bad. It will just depend on how you store it and how fresh the ingredients are. If it smells off, don’t continue to use it.
Wanda Perry says
I also do homemade green cleaners and I love to experiment and mix different household products together! Thank you for sharing your homemade dusting spray recipe! It seems great!
Natasha says
I have to ask, where do you find your spray bottles and do they leak? I have had a heck of a time trying to find good spray bottles and yours look pretty good.
Susie says
I’ve gone through a bunch of bottles myself trying to find the best ones! The ones in this picture are sold at target but they don’t sell them online, but they are great. My favorite bottles are on amazon (http://amzn.to/1LEVtOT) but they are a little pricey because they are glass. I’ve found that anything with a square sprayer adjuster doesn’t work as well as a round sprayer adjuster. I’ve found good ones at ace hardware as well. Hope this helps your search!
victoria j ingham says
Hello just to say I made the dusting spray using your recipe only I used orange sweet essential oil and oh my gosh its so beautiful the smell lingers for quite some time and it is way better than pledge and I stand by that and another thing since ive made my own products ive saved money but the best thing is its beter for ones health I just want to state tea tree oil upsets cats so personally I would not use that if you have a cat im just so amazed with this dusting spray im continuously dusting although I do like cleaning but now this as made me dust more im pinning this also im going to make one for my family and I know for a fact they will never use pledge etc again bye bye chemicals hello clean smelling fresh infact im going to make different fragrances but orange sweet is my favorate at moment thank you so much for sharing you have a lovely website kind regards
Young Meagher says
Love this DIY dusting spray. Going to try it over the weekend.
Pat says
I would be afraid that it would harm my wood. Can I be sure that it won’t do that?
Susie says
I can’t give you an all clad guarantee. It hasn’t harmed any of mine. You might want to spot test it first.
Angelika says
I also make some cleaning products. I was intrigued by your Dusting Spray and tried it. However , it is NOT for good wood furniture! SORRY. I do NOT recommend it to anyone for good wood furniture unless you want to ruin it! I will stick with my Pledge for that job!
Susie says
So sorry it didn’t work for you! I’ve used it tons of times on wood furniture and never had an issue.
K. Kernitzki says
I would be VERY hesitant to use tea tree oil if I had cats – it’s toxic for them. Always check any essential oils and possible adverse effects on pets – birds, reptiles and rodents can be sensitive to chemicals that we consider safe and not in high concentrations.
Janet Connolly says
This is a great dusting spray. I have used it on stained wood furniture, polished wood furniture, window sills, dresser top, bedside tables, etc etc. I used peppermint essential oil 15 drops. There is no offensive smell after I use it, perhaps because I make sure I wipe till the surface is dry. Thank you.
Tom says
This sounds great, but the ingredients list does not show how much water to use.
Thanks for any help
Susie says
You use one cup of water.
Giny says
I have what i call mustard yellow wash painted solid wood mid century modern furniture from the 50’s. Wouldn’t the water and vinegar in this cleaner damage the wood? Would the dusters work as well without the cleaning solution?
Susie says
If you’re nervous about it you can test a patch of it somewhere on the furniture that isn’t super visible. The duster will work without the spray but it’s more effective with it generally. It’s always a good idea to test with pieces like that (which sounds totally awesome).