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Today, we are sharing the best DIY Disinfectant Spray plus how to actually use it.
Y’all, I get a little bummed when I am browsing through pinterest, and most of the search results for DIY disinfecting are vinegar based cleaners.
I love vinegar for specific purposes, but it is NOT a disinfectant.
It never has been.
Vinegar is a household acid, and it is great for cleaning many surfaces. It does not disinfect, nor is it all-purpose.
What you can make, is this spray below. This is going to be one of your best options if you want to create something at home that is very affordable, but also works.
If you have been a long time reader of Chemistry Cachet, you might already be using this! But I wanted to really get into this product and discuss how to use it properly.
DIY Disinfectant Spray Plus How To Actually Use It
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So, how do you make a disinfectant spray with 70% rubbing alcohol? It’s easy!
Ingredients Needed:
- 70% Rubbing Alcohol (60% is acceptable, 70% is best for this)
- Lemon Peels
- Lemon Essential Oil (optional, but a great addition)
- Glass Jar With Lid
- Glass Spray Bottle
How To Make Homemade Disinfectant Spray:
- First, you need to create your lemon infused rubbing alcohol. Fill a glass jar with lemon peels, top it with rubbing alcohol. Infuse for 2 weeks or so. Head to this blog post for an in-depth talk about lemon infused rubbing alcohol.
- Strain the lemon peels after two weeks and add rubbing alcohol solution to a glass spray bottle.
- Add in lemon essential oil for an enhanced lemon scent. This is optional! The smell of the lemon infused alcohol has a pleasant scent already.
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How To Use This DIY Disinfectant Spray Correctly:
Here is the crucial part of this guide today. Using this homemade disinfectant properly is what makes this work or not! I also recommend reading our post cleaning vs disinfecting.
- Step one: Clean the surface you want to disinfect. Cleaning is removing all the dirt and debris. You can clean with anything you like.
- Step two: Spray entire surface thoroughly with this DIY alcohol-based disinfectant and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- Step three: Wipe off with a microfiber, towel, or paper towel.
Why Do I Have To Wait 10 minutes??
If you have a store-bought disinfectant in your house right now, turn over the back and read the directions. It will have a few steps listed. Most will say things like, to clean with this follow these steps. The second part will explain disinfecting. Most of the store-bought products also say 10 minute wait time. The seventh generation disinfectant spray I have at home says the same thing, wait 10 minutes. In fact, when I went to Wal-Mart and searched all of the products, they all said 10 minutes. I have seen a few products say 5 minutes, but most were 10 minutes.
The reason for this is that is the time in which a substance will kill germs. This is the kill time necessary to eliminate bacteria and viruses. Also remember, the surface needs to be wet in order for disinfecting to happen. If your solution dries before the 10 minutes, you need to make sure it is more saturated when you spray. If the the solution dries on the counter around the 10 minute mark, that is fine. Don’t worry about wiping it off. If there is any wetness left, you can wipe it off at this point.
What if it dries around 8 minutes?
That’s okay! Isopropyl alcohol might dry a little bit earlier than the 10 minute mark depending on climate, so if it is close to 10 minutes, this is typically fine. Just make sure it is around the 10 minute mark to be a successful disinfecting timeline.
Why Is This The Best Homemade Disinfectant Spray?
When the pandemic started, I had many readers asking me what was a home remedy to disinfect my house? We have a great DIY Lysol spray you can read about which is a hydrogen peroxide base. The homemade Lysol is really great and perfect for many surfaces, but hydrogen peroxide is less stable than rubbing alcohol, so I still believe this particular DIY disinfectant spray with alcohol is the best choice overall. This is a solution you can keep in a spray bottle in your car for months, and you won’t have to worry about it loosing potency. The homemade Lysol is something that won’t last as long and a better choice for food surfaces, kid toys, and toothbrush holders. Things of that nature.
Why Do I Need A Disinfectant For My Home?
This is an important question to cover when it comes to keeping your home clean, safe, and disinfected. Over the years, this question has been asked many times by readers too. I think there are a few reasons why you need to disinfect your home, and I think it depends on many factors. There are two main reasons to disinfect:
- Disinfect your home after someone has been sick (common surfaces they’ve touched)
- Disinfect kitchen counters after cooking or handling meat
The kitchen is a place where disinfecting will take place more often than any other area since this is where food or raw meat is handled. I disinfect counters and sinks often in the kitchen. If someone in your home has had an illness, it is a good idea to disinfect doorknobs, bathrooms, laundry baskets, or other surfaces they have been around.
I disinfect my car often too like handles, steering wheel, or any other touched surface.
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Alexis is an investigative chemist sharing her expertise in cleaning, skincare, gardening, and home hacks. She personally tests out products like the best skincare products or home products then shares not only the science behind how it works, but also her personal results. She is the mom of two living in Texas with her husband. Find her on Instagram for fantastic videos, tips, and behind the scenes.
I wanted you to know that immediately after reading last month’s blog, I bought two bottles of “The Pink Stuff” and a jar of the paste. They are both great and will now be permanent members in my cleaning arsenal. I hardly go a day without using my “pink” friend. I cleaned my Mom’s bath and kitchen as well. The paste is phenomenal. Thanks so much for the tip!!! Also, perhaps at a later time you could explain WHY the 70% isopropyl alcohol is better at disinfecting than the 90%. It didn’t make sense to me until I Googled and read the explanation. I’m sure there are others like me who assume that a higher percentage of rubbing alcohol equates to a better job of disinfecting. Another great post, Alexis!!
That’s great! We love the pink stuff too it has been a game changer. We have a few articles about this I will link, but 70% is the optimum size for killing viral strands. 91% is too large and 50% is too small, 70% is just the right size for the best disinfecting. Here are some more articles, cleaning vs disinfecting, why rubbing alcohol makes the best cleaner. Let me know if I can help with anything else
I love DIY products. Another great tip from you and thank you!
Thanks! It is great!
what is the pink stuff??????//
kk
I am knew to this… i remember that the pavers we had put in patio they said to use Blue Dawn and spay it on and leave 10 min or so. scrub off (bird stuff or other items)
but i had pavers sealed 2 coats, and the white looks like mold spects on the porch coming thru .. any ideas?
Here is our post on the pink stuff. It’s possible it is mold, but with it being sealed, the mold might be under the sealant making it almost impossible to remove. This happened to my parents patio that was sealed. You can try our DIY patio cleaner to see if it helps.
Hello, instead of fusing lemon infused rubbing alcohol, can I use citric acid instead? If so, what would the ratio be?
Not for this one. It would be better just to use plain rubbing alcohol to disinfect.
Is the lemon peel necessary? Can I just use the essential oils instead?
To eliminate the rubbing alcohol smell and enhance its effectiveness, yes they are.
For your rubbing alcohol cleaner is it necessary to add water? If so how much?
For the disinfectant mentioned this post, it is important to use the full rubbing alcohol, no water added. If you are wondering about the DIY all-purpose cleaner, it is 1 cup of water to 1 tbsp of rubbing alcohol. It is like this recipe listed in this post.