Create Your Own Homemade Disinfecting Wipes

Ask any woman you know and they probably have disinfecting wipes, whether at home or in their purse. Disinfecting wipes are quite handy for cleaning surfaces as well as parts of your body throughout the day. If you use disinfecting wipes regularly, then you probably spend a fair bit of money on them each month. Have you ever considered trying to make your own DIY disinfecting wipes with your favorite essential oils?

Can Essential Oils Disinfect Surfaces?

The short answer: yes!

Essential oils have numerous properties and uses. Aside from their ability to calm you down, a good number of essential oils have antiviral, antibacterial, and antimicrobial properties. You may not be aware of this, but every time you use your nebulizing diffuser, you get various health benefits from the essential oils you choose. Since your nebulizing diffuser disperses essential oil particles in their undiluted form, those particles can disinfect the surfaces that they land on.

With this homemade disinfecting wipes recipe, you can harness the disinfecting abilities of essential oils.

The Ingredients

This recipe requires only a handful of ingredients that you likely already have at home.

1. Essential Oils

A lot of essential oils have disinfecting properties, but for this recipe, use the following:

• Lemon essential oil – Antimicrobial, antiviral, antiseptic, and antifungal
• Clove essential oil – Antiviral, antibacterial, antiseptic, and antifungal
• Cinnamon bark essential oil – Antiviral, antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiseptic
• Eucalyptus essential oil and rosemary essential oil – Antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiseptic

These essential oils complement not only each other’s disinfecting properties but also each other’s scents. You will find that these will make your disinfecting wipes smell wonderful. If you are not fond of any of these essential oils, possible alternatives are lavender, geranium, orange, peppermint, and thyme essential oils.

2. Alcohol

Alcohol is capable of killing viruses and bacteria. You will need at least a 70% alcohol solution in your disinfecting wipes for them to be effective. Here are your options:

• 70% or higher isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol
• 140 proof or higher ethanol alcohol or drinkable grain alcohol, examples of which are Everclear, Spirytus vodka, and Golden Grain

3. Hydrogen Peroxide

A small amount of hydrogen peroxide (0.5%) will make your wipes more efficient at disinfecting.

4. A Glass Jar And A Glass Measuring Cup

Store your disinfecting wipes in a glass jar. Glass is the best storage option for essential oils since they can break down plastic. You can also use a stainless-steel container.

5. Paper Towels

You can use any type of paper towel for your wipes; just make sure that they are thick enough to be submerged in the disinfecting solution without dissolving. Fold your paper towels to a size that fits your jar. You can soak 30-40 sheets of paper towels with this recipe.

How to Make DIY Disinfecting Wipes

1. In a large bowl or measuring cup, mix the following:

• 3 cups of alcohol of choice
• ¾ teaspoon hydrogen peroxide
• 20 drops of lemon essential oil
• 15 drops of clove essential oil
• 10 drops of cinnamon bark essential oil
• 5 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
• 5 drops of rosemary essential oil

2. Pour 2 cups of the disinfecting solution into your container.
3. Stack your paper towels neatly and carefully insert them into the container.
4. Cover the container and turn it around to soak the paper towels with the disinfecting solution.
5. Pour the remaining disinfecting solution over the rest of the wipes to make sure that they are completely wet. You will see that there is some liquid left at the bottom of your container. Leave it that way as that will keep your disinfecting wipes moist.
6. Add a label. This is optional but highly recommended to avoid any confusion.

Additional tip:

If you have a portable stainless-steel container, you can pack these homemade disinfecting wipes and take them anywhere.

Why Use A Homemade Disinfectant Cleaning Spray?

These homemade disinfectant wipes are made with potent essential oils. Here are the benefits of using essential oils as disinfectant wipes:

1. Say Goodbye To Harsh Chemicals

Essential oils are all-natural, non-toxic disinfectants. You can disinfect your house and everything else you want to clean without having to use harsh chemicals.

2. They Smell Great

Essential oils have pleasant scents, unlike the chemicals used in store-bought disinfectant wipes. You could even customize the scent of your wipes based on your preferences. Just make sure to use essential oils with antiviral, antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antiseptic properties.

3. Multipurpose

You can use the disinfecting wipes on any surface in your home, including remote controls, light switches, and carpets.

4. Environmentally Friendly Alternative

These DIY disinfectant wipes are free of toxic chemicals that are harmful to the environment. You can also recycle or upcycle materials for this recipe.

5. Economic Option

The individual ingredients can be a bit costly, but you can make 2 to 3 batches of disinfectant wipes with them. You will definitely get the most bang for your buck.

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