Granite Loving and CLEAN!

GRANITE SAFE All-Purpose Spray Cleaner

1 ¾ cup hydrogen peroxide

1 ¾ cup warm water
½ Tablespoon baking soda
42 drops of essential oil for extra cleaning and germ-fighting prowess (tea tree, lavender, sage, peppermint, etc.)

Using a funnel, add hydrogen peroxide and warm water to a 28 oz (or so) spray bottle.  Add your essential oils and cap and shake about. 

Background:

So, we have been living in our new house for almost three moths now! I figure it's about time that I record (and share) how I've learned to clean my granite countertops in my kitchen. In our old home, we had silestone, a quartz/plastic hard surface that is totally no maintenance. When we built our new home, we learned that silestone had risen in price, and so opted for the more frugal granite. Little did I know at the time, that granite actually requires some maintenance, and that  substances like citrus juice and vinegar are actually harmful to the stone! BUMMER. Especially since I had recently become so enamored with my homemade all-purpose cleaning spray.

After some on-line research, and a few months of experimentation, I've settled on the recipe above. I have been pretty happy with this spray and happy to learn that hydrogen peroxide is more effective than vinegar at fighting bacteria found in raw meat!  I use this spray to clean and spot clean just about everything on the first floor. I am not a fan of housing a large collection of different cleaners, and find that the recipe above does just fine safely cleaning my granite as well as my sinks, bathrooms, faucets, base boards, side tables, dining table and chairs, the coffee table where the kids eat and play, our leather couches, spots and messes on the wood floor… the list goes on and on!

Additional Notes:

Everyone’s nose and body tolerance to essential oils is different.  For this recipe, I found my body to be happiest with the following essential oil mix:

14 drops of Tea Tree Oil

14 drops of lavender

14 drops of Peppermint Oil or sage

For my nose, the tea tree is the strongest oil and I find that sage oil tempers it a bit. 

If you read my recipe for an all purpose cleaner that includes vinegar, you know that ANTS HATE PEPPERMINT OIL!  So, in the spring and summer months, I make sure to use peppermint oil instead of sage oil :-)

Hydrogen peroxide does a great job on mildew in the shower- so I have been known to cart the downstairs spray bottle upstairs to pay a visit to our shower, especially where the shower door connects to the actual shower... I find that spraying on a dry surface and then letting it sit a good half hour or more before wiping off, works best.

Pin It