Natural Solutions to Everyday Household Cleaning and Challenges
Don’t think that essential oils can only be used for aromatherapy or massage therapy—they have so much more to offer!
While going about your daily household tasks you’ve probably stopped to consider the effects of the artificial flavoring in foods or the synthetic compounds in your household cleaners or dryer sheets. More than likely you’ve wondered if these mystery ingredients are even safe to use in your home.
Young Living's pure natural essential oils can eliminate these concerns when you incorporate them into your daily household routine. Replacing man-made synthetics with natural, plant-based essential oils removes questionable ingredients from your home and adds countless benefits. Whether you use Young Living essential oils to infuse your favorite dishes with flavor in cooking, or clean your home without harmful chemicals, or supplement your existing first-aid kit with plant-based solutions, they're sure to safely and naturally enhance your experience.
In the Cooking with Essential Oils section, you will learn the difference between common vegetable oils—olive, flax, sesame, canola—and essential oils and how to use YL oils effectively in your favorite recipes. Be sure to visit our Cooking with Essential Oils: Our Favorite Recipes.
If you want to know which harmful chemicals are in your home cleaning products, the Cleaning with Essential Oils section below will teach you which chemicals are known to cause everything from skin to ovarian cancer. With all the focus on choosing eco-friendly solutions you'll want to know which ingredients in your current cleaning products that you use every day should be avoided - and which essential oils and oil-infused products can replace them.
Every home should have a first-aid kit, and in the Essential Oils and First Aid section you will learn which essential oils are good natural complements to your existing kit.
And to make your transition to essential oil cooking seamless, Young Living also offers a selection of top-of-the-line titanium cookware. Discover why your cookware makes a difference in the Cooking section.
Household Cleaning with Essential Oils
It can be daunting to live a healthier lifestyle, and one of the last areas you may think to change is your cleaning products. Most modern cleaning products require certain chemicals and surfactants (or cleansing agents) to make them work, and you should know what they are and their potential affects. It’s also important to find ways to limit your exposure to these toxins, and learn about safe, effective alternatives.
Here’s a brief run-down of some common chemicals in cleaning and personal care products:
- DEA (Diethanolamine)—Found in more than 600 home and personal care products, such as shampoos, conditioners, bubble baths, lotions, cosmetics, soaps, laundry and dishwashing detergents. Suspected of carcinogenic activity (causing or contributing to cancer) or of being potentially dangerous or hazardous to health.
- Propylene Glycol—The main ingredient found in anti-freeze; also common in shampoos, deodorants, cosmetics, lotions, toothpastes, processed foods, baby wipes, and many more personal care items. Implicated in contact dermatitis, kidney damage, and liver abnormalities; can inhibit skin cell growth in human tests and can damage cell membranes causing rashes, dry skin, and surface damage.
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)—Industrial uses include concrete floor cleaners, engine degreasers, and car wash detergents. Also found in shampoos, liquid soaps, conditioners, cleansers, toothpaste, and children’s personal care products. SLS is found in nearly all toothpastes, and is absorbed through skin contact and retained for up to five days.
- Talc—Chemically similar to asbestos, talc has been inked to ovarian cancer. It’s found in many body and baby powders, as well as many cosmetics.
- Alcohol—Most mouthwash products have a higher alcohol content than most alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, etc). Mouthwash products with alcoholic content greater than 25 percent have been linked to cancers of the mouth, tongue, and throat. Alcohol acts as a solvent inside the mouth, making tissues more vulnerable to carcinogens.
Essential Oil Cleaning Solutions
It may not be possible or cost effective to avoid all of these chemicals in your cleaning and personal care products, but there are plenty of ways to reduce your family’s exposure to them. Using therapeutic-grade essential oils is a safe, effective alternative to many store-bought cleaning products.
Some of the best single essential oils for cleaning include:
Cinnamon, Clove, Eucalyptus, Thyme, Spruce, Lemon, Lemongrass, Grapefruit
Some of the best Young Living essential oil blends for cleaning include:
Thieves, Purification, Citrus Fresh
Ideas for making your own powerful, natural cleaning solutions:
Household Cleaner:
- Fill a spray bottle with water and a squirt of dishwashing soap.
- Add 3–5 drops each of lavender, lemon, and pine essential oils.
- Shake well.
Sanitizing Floor Cleaner:
- Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to a bucket of water. Add 5–10 drops lemon, pine, spruce, melaleuca, or Purification essential oil.
Kitchen and Bathroom Purifying Spray:
1 quart spray bottle
2 drops Rosemary
4 drops Lemon
3 drops Eucalyptus
4 drops Lavender
water
Put water into spray bottle, add each of the essential oils. Shake before using. This spray can be used to clean all surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom. It also makes a lovely air freshener and is particularly useful for when the cold and flu bugs are going around.
Tip: a 4oz. spray bottle can be used to make a mini version of this to leave in the bathroom for instant freshening.
Window cleaner:
1 quart spray bottle
1 cup White Vinegar
10-15 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
water
Add vinegar to the spray bottle, water and essential oil. Shake and use.
Stain Removal:
- Use a drop or two of Lemon essential oil on stains, let stand and rub off with a clean cloth or throw into laundry cycle.
- Or, try Thieves Household Cleaner - put a dab of the concentrate on the stain (quite often works on old grease stains too), rub in, let sit for a minute and launder. Tip: do not let the Thieves Cleaner stay full strength on a stain for more than a couple minutes before laundering.
In the Dryer:
- Instead of using toxic and irritating dryer sheets take a dampened washcloth with 5-10 drops of lavender, lemon, melaleuca, bergamot, or other YL essential oil, toss into the dryer, dry laundry as normal.
- While the essential oils will not reduce static cling, they will impart a lovely fragrance to the clothes. Tip for Static Cling: static cling is a result of over-drying, simply adjust the temperature and time levels until you find the combination that ends static cling - simple and saves money too.
Fighting Dust Mites:
- Recent research has shown that eucalyptus essential oil kills dust mites that live in bedding.
- Add 25 drops of Eucalyptus essential oil to each load of laundry for an effective dust mite deterrent.
Hot Tubs and Saunas:
- Use 3 drops per person of lavender, cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, thyme, lemon, or grapefruit to disinfect and freshen the water.
- 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.
Tiny Ant Repellant:
1 quart spray bottle
15 drops Purification essential oil blend
10 drops Peppermint essential oil
Fill spray bottle 7/8 full with water, add essential oils, shake, spray.
Tip: if spraying is not practical (in cabinets), simply put several drops of both Purification and Peppermint on a cotton ball and set the cotton ball in a corner of the shelf of the cabinet. Peppermint is also known to deter rodents.
Shopping List for Young Living's Most Popular Oils for Cleaning
- Lavender essential oil
- Lemon essential oil
- Pine essential oil
- Eucalyptus essential oil
- Cinnamon essential oil
- Thieves® essential oil blend
- Purification™ essential oil blend
- Citrus Fresh essential oil blend
- Thyme essential oil
