How To Make A Non-Toxic Soap Kitchen Cleaning Spray

Homemade cleaners can save you so much money. This non-toxic kitchen cleaning spray recipe is made from two simple ingredients - natural castile soap and water.

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This is the easiest DIY natural kitchen cleaning spray recipe you’ll find.

Not only is there no stinky vinegar to pour, it only has two ingredients and takes a couple of minutes to make.

I’ve been using castile soap sprays to clean my home for years now with no issue and I find it super cost-effective.

It can be hard to remember what to do when your cleaning spray runs out, so I’ve created printable instructions for you to stick to the wall, pop in a folder, or laminate - scroll to the end to get a free download link.

But first, here’s my recipe for a non-toxic homemade kitchen cleaner.

COMING UP

How to make a DIY Castile soap kitchen cleaner
What’s the difference between castile soap and traditional soap
How do you know if soap is non-toxic?
- Ingredients to avoid
What is the best natural and non-toxic soap?
Can you clean your kitchen counters with soap in hard water areas?
Free printable

HOW TO MAKE A homemade non-toxic kitchen cleaner

To make your natural kitchen cleaning spray, you should use 1 tablespoon (15ml) of Castile or liquid soap per cup of water (250ml). You can adjust this recipe depending on the size of your bottle, e.g. if your bottle is 750ml you would use 3 tablespoons of liquid soap.

INGREDIENTS

500ml boiled water
2 tbsp of liquid or Castile soap - see below for where to buy it

EQUIPMENT

A measuring jug (500ml)
A tablespoon (15ml)
A spray bottle - reuse an old plastic one (like my tacky pink one!), if you don’t have any, you can find glass bottles in the UK here, or in America here

METHOD

Boil 500ml (2 cups) of water
Pour out 500ml into a measuring jug and wait for it to cool a bit (for safety reasons)
Transfer it to your empty spray bottle
Add two tbsp of liquid soap to the water and twist on the nozzle
Turn the bottle around in your hands slowly to mix the water and soap together
For dried-on food, spray and leave for 30-60 seconds before wiping

That’s it! Isn’t it simple? If you’d like a printable sheet, scroll down to the bottom of this blog post.

2. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SOAP AND CASTILE SOAP?

Castile soap is a natural, vegetable soap that gets its name from the Castile region in Spain. Traditionally it was made from olive oil, but nowadays, people make soap from different vegetable oils and call it Castile.

The main difference between Castile soap and traditional soap is that the latter can be made from animal fats. Castile soap is always made from 100% plant-based oils and fats.

For my recipe, you can use any kind of natural soap as long as it is liquid, however, I would recommend using an eco-friendly one to minimise your impact.

3. How do you know if soap is non-toxic?

There are lots of liquid soaps on the market and some of them have controversial or toxic ingredients added to them. In this section, I’ll help you read the ingredients list so you can work out if the soap is non-toxic.

Traditional soap is made by mixing lye and plant oil, a process called saponification, to create soap. This soap is non-toxic and safe for both people and the planet.

Lye can also be called sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. The name of the other ingredients will depend on which type of lye is used, for example, coconut oil would become sodium cocoate or potassium cocoate.

Natural plant oils will be labelled:

coconut oil = potassium cocoate
olive oil = potassium olivate
palm oil = potassium palmate/ palm kernalate
hemp oil = potassium hempseedate
jojoba oil = potassium jojobate

Glycerin - another non-toxic ingredient you’ll see is glycerin, this can be derived from animal or plant sources, so double-check if you’re vegan. It can also be made using palm oil, so check for responsible sourcing (RSPO) if you aren’t avoiding palm oil.

Preservatives - any product containing water (aqua) needs a preservative to prevent bacteria from forming. In non-toxic liquid soap, the most common preservatives found are citric acid and vitamin E (tocopherol).

Ingredients to avoid in soap

If you want the most natural and non-toxic soap there is, you should avoid antibacterial ingredients, synthetic detergents, toxic preservatives and fragrances.

Antibacterial ingredients - the FDA has put out a warning saying that there is not enough science to prove that antibacterial soap is effective, studies prove ordinary soap washes just as well. They are also concerned about the health impact of using biocides on a daily basis.

Toxic ingredients to avoid - triclosan, benzalkonium chloride
Fragrances - while natural fragrance from an essential oil is generally non-toxic to most people, there is no regulation on the word “natural” so don’t just believe brands if they don’t tell you what’s in their “natural perfume.” Synthetic fragrances are problematic as they contain hormone-disrupting or carcinogenic chemicals. Whereas, essential oils are toxic to children and pets, and can cause allergies, so think the decision through if choosing a scented product.

Toxic ingredients to avoid - fragrance oil, Lilial, synthetic fragrance, undisclosed parfum
Synthetics detergents - products that contain sulfates and other surfactants have been included in this section because they are not soap. There are a variety of surfactants and I’m not saying they are all toxic, just that if your product contains them then this is a detergent, not Castile soap.
Ingredients to avoid - sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine, sodium methyl 2-sulfolaurate
Controversial preservatives - preservatives are necessary for liquid soap because it contains water. Some preservatives have been linked to health conditions, like parabens, are common skin allergens (isothiazolinone), or have been mixed with carcinogenic ethylene oxide (phenoxyethanol) and are likely contaminated with 1,4 dioxin which is bad for the environment.
Toxic ingredients to avoid - methylparaben, phenoxyethanol, methylisothiazolinone, benzisothiazolinone

4. What is the best non-toxic soap to use?

Here are some non-toxic liquid soaps that will work in my homemade castile soap kitchen cleaner:

1. Dr Bronners

Contains Fairtrade palm oil, is cruelty-free and vegan, and comes in a recycled bottle.

2. Funky Soap

Vegan, palm free, organic and comes in a glass bottle (refill pouches available too)

And Keep (UK)
Friendly Turtle (UK)

3. Biome Body - Genuine Castile Soap

Made from olive oil, vegan, palm-free, cruelty-free, and made in Australia. Comes in a plastic bottle or glass pump.

Biome (AU)

4. Dri Pak

Budget option - vegan, palm-free, comes in a plastic bottle

Ethical Superstore (UK)
Big Green Smile (EU)

5. Whole Naturals

Unscented, palm-free, vegan, cruelty-free and GMO-free

Etsy (USA)

5. Can you clean your kitchen counters with soap in hard water areas?

Yes! I live in a very hard water area and I have no issues cleaning my home with a soap spray.

I have wooden countertops, so there is always the possibility that you’d get different results with different materials, though.

If you're experiencing streaks or mineral residue, you can always try my 3 ingredient kitchen cleaner which removes minerals from the spray bottle.

Alternatively, you could spray the streaky area with my DIY limescale cleaner (just 2 ingredients).

6. FREE NATURAL CLEANING PRINTABLE

To make natural cleaning easier, I’ve made a selection of printables with instructions for my cleaning routines and how to make all my favourite DIY products.

(No email or sign-up required!)

You can either laminate them and stick them to the wall by your machine, or you could pop them into a cleaning folder. Whatever works for you.

You can find all my free cleaning printables here

If you make this product, let me know, I’d love to hear your feedback. For more content on green cleaning, check out the cleaning category on my blog.

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