Homemade Disinfecting Wipes~ Reuseable, Green & Natural!

Confession of a DIY homemaker. I have to admit I have always had a love / hate relationship with the "cleaning" aisle in the store. They have so many items, pretty packages and the claims of what they can do to help rid our homes of germs and dirt almost effortlessly!! Then I would look at the cost and wonder, how much is this REALLY going to cost me. What is in that stuff that makes it so valuable? What is in that stuff that is affecting my health? I would splurge on those items occasionally, but always hated that I had spent so much money on them! "I KNOW" It is so easy to think "oh it was only 5.00 dollars"!! It is so Convenient - but what if we have that attitude for 3 items per week - then suddenly that is 15.00 & that turns into 780.00 in a year! The good news is - I do not think there is ANYTHING on the cleaning aisle that you cannot make, cheaper, better and healthier!! Making your own Homemade Disinfecting Wipes is no exception! Making your own reusable wipes is super easy, only pennies on the dollar AND you can keep on saving money for MANY years to come! My DIY Wipes cost me .27 per batch!! - see breakdown below!

In this post we are going to focus on making the Disinfecting wipes for your home, but there are more recipes to further your collection of DIY home cleaning that I will share with in later posts. I have listed below a couple of reusable items you can turn into your wipes and given you hints / tips on what fabric is best for what job, just to get your creative "I CAN" juices flowing :)

First you will need the actual fabric that you are going to re-use for the wipes. Be creative, it is all about you, your tastes and reusing what you have :) A few suggestions (please feel free to add yours in the comments section) are:

Old T- shirts cut into squares - depending on what size shirts you have you could end up with 15+ on one shirt - In my humble opinion these make for the best all around Disinfecting wipes for your kitchens, counter tops, bathrooms, chairs, tables, desks - you name it. They have a tendency to not leave a lot of lint behind and they are thick enough to be a good candidate for your dusting as well :)

Baby receiving blankets cut into squares - maybe old ones you have on hand or can find in a thrift store. These are a good middle ground wipe, slightly thicker than the T-Shirt material. These are a good candidate for your really heavy dusting jobs like ceiling fans, top of hutches / cabinets and refrigerators.... you know the area's that you cannot see and only get to once in awhile ;0)

Light Colored Sheet - provides for 'many' wipe batches - In my humble opinion these make the best wipes for DIY baby, face & hand wipes - make sure to make an extra batch to keep in your car! If you have small children you KNOW how much money you will save on these!

A pack or two of cloth baby diapers - I prefer new.... you know, just because ;) - These are best used for extra heavy duty jobs like your floors. They make the perfect substitution for your "Swiffer Refills" - just think how much money you will save here!!

Next you will need a air tight container to store them in such as:






Plastic Coffee container - It is what I use
Baby wipe container / dispenser
Reuse a clorox wipes container
Plastic Shortening container
Tupperware container

Now that you have your "wipes" and your "storage" container. Let's make the solution for your disinfecting wipes

Homemade Disinfecting Wipes~ Reusable, Green & Natural!

1/2 cup Peroxide
2 1/2 cups of Water
1 tsp Dawn
10 Drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil
10 Drops of Peppermint Essential Oil
5 Drops of Lavender Essential oil
10 Drops of Lemongrass Essential Oil


* The essential oils above have anti viral, antibacterial, anti Fungal properties including resistant strains of Pneumonia, E-coli and MRSA. As referenced & published in the Oxford Journals Jan. 2001 - Full study and results here

Pour the water and Dawn into you mixing bowl, add in the essential oils. The Dawn will emulsify the oils and help them to blend with the water. 

Next add in your Peroxide. Stir to mix well.

 Now layer your reusable "wipes" into your storage container.  

Pour the solution over the wipes making sure to cover the whole surface. This should be enough to cover about 30 wipes (t-shirt type material) I made mine about the size of the store bought wipes - 1 Large T shirt got me 16 wipes each :) and as you can see ~ the 30 wipes filled up the coffee container

Make sure to make a label for the product, later on as you make more wipes for different applications this will become invaluable. You do not want to use these wipes to clean off your children's hands - we will make "those" kind of wipes in another post (yeah - big savings!)

** You could always make 2 sets of the "wipes" ones of thinner material to be used on your counter tops, fridge, table, car seats, toys etc. and ones of thicker material like wash clothes / baby diapers to use as your BIG job scrubbers for the bathroom sinks, tubs, toilet, floor etc.
Now you are ready to wipe down your surfaces. Use just like you would the disposable wipes, except now you will just put in your laundry and reuse. I wash mine with my other kitchen towels and dish rags. This mix smells very crisp and clean :)

Cost Breakdown:

1/2 cup Peroxide                $0.125 

2 1/2 cups of Water

1 tsp Dawn - 56 oz          $0.011 

10 Drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil 2 oz (5 ml = about 200 drops)   $0.042 

10 Drops of Peppermint Essential Oil 2 oz (5 ml = about 200 drops)   $0.050 

5 Drops of Lavender Essential oil 2 oz (5 ml = about 200 drops)          $0.019 

10 Drops of Lemongrass Essential Oil 2 oz (5 ml = about 200 drops)   $0.021 

                                                                           Total for Batch       $0.266 

Where else can you get that kind of service and price?! This is a change we can all live healthy with!

When buying essential oils, please make sure to purchase only 100% pure Therapeutic grade essential oils.

These particular oils can be used for SO many things in your DIY projects, cleaning, disinfecting, laundry, dishwasher, Air fresheners, deodorants and toothpaste to name a few and they will last you so long because it takes so little! yeah, I LOVE my essential oils!

**If you have cats make sure you keep the used rags in a closed container or area where the cat cannot get to them. Most essential oils are not good for cats - especially the Tea Tree oil. I do use these in my house and my cat (& dog are fine), you just do not want the cats getting it on their feet or laying on them where the oil could get on their skin / coat. Many essential oils CAN be used on Dogs, just make sure you research or ask your vet's opinion.

#DisinfectingWipes #HomemadeWipes #EssentialOils #DIYCleaning