These DIY Cleaning Wipes Are Money-Saving, Eco-Friendly Magic

DIY Reusable Disinfecting Wipes

While there’s no denying the convenience of store-bought cleaning wipes, they’re far from a perfect solution! That’s what motivated me to come up with the homemade alternative I’ll be sharing with you today: DIY cleaning wipes.

We’ll start by exploring some of the things that give these homemade wipes an edge over the store-bought variety, then we’ll dive right into the simple tutorial for how to make them. By the end of this post, you’ll know everything you need to know to make your own reusable cleaning wipes! :-)

For more recipes for DIY cleaning products and tips for using them, check out my eBook Cleaning House! You can buy it in my shop, or get it for free if you’re an OGT Plus member!

Related: This Is What You Need To Know About Cleaning Vs. Disinfecting

Reusable Disinfecting Wipes

The Problems With Store-Bought Disinfecting Wipes

1. They Create Waste

Any sort of disposable product creates waste, and wipes are no exception. While disposable wipes can be a smart choice in high-risk environments like hospitals, they aren’t typically necessary for home cleaning and disinfecting.

Related:  11 Easy Ways To Make Your Paper Towels Last Twice As Long

2. They Contain Harsh Chemicals

You don’t need a laundry list of chemicals to clean surfaces or kill bacteria and viruses. But store-bought wipes feature a lot of them, including synthetic fragrances, toxins, and respiratory irritants.

3. They’re Costly

One container of cleaning wipes doesn’t usually last very long, especially if you clean frequently. Even if you’re paying just a few dollars per container, that can add up fast!

Related: This Is The Best Way To Clean & Sanitize Your Hands On The Go

Reusable Disinfecting Wipes

The Solution? Make Your Own Cleaning Wipes!

But you can avoid all of those drawbacks just by making your own cleaning wipes at home. They’re easy to make, cost-effective, and reusable—what more could you want?

Before we get to the how of making them, let’s quickly review what exactly goes into them. (I’ve provided a few alternatives in the following section just in case you have trouble finding certain ingredients.)

Reusable Disinfecting Wipes

What’s In It? Ingredients For DIY Cleaning Wipes

You only need three ingredients to make your own DIY cleaning and disinfecting wipes:

  • Rubbing Alcohol – Rubbing alcohol is an extremely affordable disinfecting agent and is effective against many viruses at concentrations of 70% and up.
  • Dish Soap – Adding a bit of Dawn dish soap to your homemade wipes enhances their ability to cut through greasy messes.
  • Simple Clean Essential Oil BlendSimple Clean makes a great addition to almost any homemade cleaner. It has a fresh, clean scent and it gives the wipes another boost of germ-killing power!

No Rubbing Alcohol? Try These Alternatives

  • While rubbing alcohol makes an ideal disinfectant because of how cheap it is, there are other options you can use if you can’t find it:
  • Bleach – Add 2 teaspoons of household bleach to 2 cups of water to make a simple yet effective disinfecting solution. (To avoid any potential of creating hazardous fumes, avoid mixing bleach with anything except water.)
  • Hydrogen Peroxide – You can use undiluted 3% hydrogen peroxide to disinfect hard surfaces around your home.
  • Soap And Water – Good old soap and water will get the job done too! Soap lifts viruses and bacteria from surfaces so you can rinse them away.
Reusable Disinfecting Wipes

How To Make Reusable DIY Cleaning Wipes

Ingredients:

Other supplies:

Reusable Disinfecting Wipes

Directions:

Add the rubbing alcohol, dish soap, and essential oils to your jar. Put the lid on and swirl or shake gently to mix.

Next, remove the lid and add your cloths or rags to the jar. Continue adding more until the cleaning solution has saturated all the cloths, then add one more for good measure.

Replace the lid on the jar, then turn it upside-down for a minute or so. And voila, your reusable cleaning wipes are ready to use!

Reusable Disinfecting Wipes

How To Use Your DIY Cleaning Wipes

You can use your homemade wipes to wipe down countertops, clean up spills, dust your baseboards, and more. If you’re using them to disinfect frequently touched surfaces, pre-clean the surface with soapy water first, then use your cleaning wipe and allow the surface to air dry.

Collect the dirty/used wipes in a container, then when you’ve used them all, toss them in your washer to clean them. Once they’re clean, add them to a fresh batch of the cleaning solution and use them again!

Be sure to thoroughly clean both the jar you store the wipes in and the container you use to hold the dirty wipes between uses too.

Have you tried making your own reusable cleaning wipes?

diy reusable cleaning wipes

Reusable DIY Cleaning Wipes

Jill Nystul
Can't find cleaning or disinfecting wipes in stores? Not only is it easy to make your own at home, but they're cheap, effective, and infinitely reusable too!
3.10 from 102 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Active Time 2 minutes
Wait Time 1 minute
Total Time 8 minutes
Cost $20
Yield 8 reusable wipes

Equipment

  • Quart Sized Mason Jar
  • Several Clean Cloths or Rags

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups Rubbing Alcohol 70% or higher
  • 1 tsp Dawn Dish Soap
  • 20 drops Simple Clean Essential Oil Blend Or your favorite essential oil

Instructions
 

  • Add the rubbing alcohol, dish soap, and essential oils to your jar. Put the lid on and swirl or shake gently to mix.
    mix cleaning wipe solution
  • Next, remove the lid and add your cloths or rags to the jar. Continue adding more until the cleaning solution has saturated all the cloths, then add one more for good measure.
    add cloths or rags to cleaning wipe solution
  • Replace the lid on the jar, then turn it upside-down for a minute or so.
    soak cloths or rags in cleaning wipe solution

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Jill Nystul (aka Jillee)

Jill Nystul is an accomplished writer and author who founded the blog One Good Thing by Jillee in 2011. With over 30 years of experience in homemaking, she has become a trusted resource for contemporary homemakers by offering practical solutions to everyday household challenges.I share creative homemaking and lifestyle solutions that make your life easier and more enjoyable!

About Jillee

Jill Nystul

Jill’s 30 years of homemaking experience, make her the trusted source for practical household solutions.

About Jillee

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