Natural Cleaning with Essential Oils

In the search for natural cleaners, essential oils stand out as some of the most effective and powerful natural cleaners available. Pine and lemon oils, for instance, have been used for years in a variety of cleaning products. The problem is, years ago chemical versions were substituted for the original natural pine and lemon oils, creating an artificial, toxic cleaner.

It's time to go back to the original. Nothing can substitute for pure, therapeutic-grade pine oil or lemon oil… or any of the other oils mentioned below. Therapeutic-grade oils are safe, health-giving, biodegradable and eco-friendly, and beneficial overall.

“Before I vacuum, I take out the HEPA filter and put on a few drops of Thieves®—or whichever essential oil I'm in the mood for at that particular moment—and pop the filter back in. The air flowing through the filter disperses the wonderful aroma throughout the room.”

- Kelly Palazzi

Here are some ideas of essential oils you can use for healthy, natural cleaning:

Natural Household cleaners:

1. Fill a spray bottle with water and a squirt of dishwashing soap.
2. Add 3–5 drops each of lavender, lemon, and pine essential oils.
3. Shake well.

Floor cleaners:

1. Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to a bucket of water.
2. Add 5–10 drops lemon, pine, spruce, melaleuca, or Purification essential oil.

Fighting dust mites:

1. Recent research has shown that eucalyptus essential oil kills dust mites that live in bedding.
2. Add 25 drops of eucalyptus essential oil to each load of laundry for an effective dust mite deterrent.

Hot tubs and saunas:

1. Use 3 drops per person of lavender, cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, thyme, lemon, or grapefruit to disinfect and freshen the water.
2. For saunas, add several drops rosemary, thyme, pine, or lavender to a spray bottle with water and spray surfaces. This water can also be used to splash onto hot sauna stones.

Kitchens and bathrooms:

1. Mix into 1 quart water: 2 drops rosemary, 4 drops lemon, 3 drops eucalyptus, and 4 drops lavender.
2. Shake well and put into a spray bottle. Shake again before using.

1. Mix in 1 quart spray bottle: 1 cup White Vinegar, 10-15 drops of Lemon Essential Oil, water.
2. Mix vinegar and water in spray bottle.


3. Add essential oil.


4. Shake and use.

Stain Removal:

1. Use a drop or two of lemon essential oil on stains.
2. Let stand and rub off with a clean cloth or throw into laundry cycle.

In the Dryer:

1. Instead of using toxic and irritating softening sheets in the dryer, toss in a dampened washcloth with 10 drops of lavender, lemon, melaleuca, bergamot, or other oils added.
2. While the oils will not reduce static cling, they will impart a lovely fragrance to the clothes.

Young Living’s Most Popular Oils for Cleaning:

Most often used in skin cream and shampoos, it can also leave your bathroom and bedroom wonderfully clean and fragrant.

An incredible green cleaner for counters, stains on dishes, wood furniture – and one of the best ways to remove tree sap, gum or just about any heavy, sticky glue. And nothing beats its clean, fresh scent!

Pine oil has been used for centuries to clean surfaces, freshen and deodorize rooms.

As one of the most antimicrobial essential oils, nothing beats the cleaning power of cinnamon.

A blend of powerful, therapeutic-grade, antimicrobial essential oils (including cinnamon and cloves). Tested at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, the Thieves proprietary blend was found to be 99.96 percent effective against airborne bacteria. The Thieves® blend in one of the main ingredients in Thieves® Non-Toxic Cleaner mentioned above.

A delightfully fresh-scented antiseptic blend formulated for diffusing to help purify the home and work environment. It does a wonderful job of cleansing the air and neutralizing mildew, cigarette smoke, stale air and any disagreeable odors.

Ecologically friendly, sustainably sourced, and biodegradable, Thieves Cleaner gets its power from the most effective, 100% plant and mineral based ingredients, including Therapeutic Grade™ essential oils and a proprietary suspension of safe surfactants. As a powerful concentrate, it can be diluted and used in a spray bottle or bucket, or used straight for extra strength.

Which to choose?

It's best to choose according to the task and fragrance. If you need to clean wood furniture and have a clean, lemony smelling kitchen, try lemon oil. For a clean, pine-scented bathroom and kitchen, choose pine oil. To neutralize mildew, cigarette smoke, stale air and disagreeable odors, diffusing or even spritzing Purification in the room works wonders. For getting everything sanitary and cinnamony, try cinnamon oil. Or get a bottle of Thieves® Non-Toxic Cleaner for practically all your household cleaning needs.

Whichever oils you'd like to try, get started today with essential oils for natural cleaning.