If you love the fresh earthy smell of pine cleaners but not the overly strong smell of harsh chemicals, I know you're going to love learning how to make your own Homemade Pine Cleaner. Use this simple recipe in a glass spray bottle as your new go-to all purpose DIY kitchen cleaner.

How to Make This DIY Kitchen Cleaner

This recipe is so simple you won't need much time to make it. And by the way, it makes a great homeschool activity.

You will need

Glass jar with a lid
Vinegar
Pine needles
Essential oil- optional

…yep, that’s it!

Directions

Gather whatever kind of pine needles you have around your property.
Stuff several large handfuls of pine needles into your jar. A quart mason jar works well, but you can use any clean glass jar with a lid.
Cover the needles entirely with white vinegar and replace the lid.
For best results, please keep it in a cool dark spot (a cabinet or pantry is perfect) and let it steep for two weeks.
Remove pine needles. Dilute remaining solution 50/50 with tap water, well water, or lake water.

Want a printable copy of this homemade pine vinegar recipe? You'll find it down at the bottom of this post!

Why Make Your Own Cleaners?

Pouring vinegar into mason jar with pine needles

When you start creating your own natural cleaning solutions and homemade cleaners, you can be confident about what's in them.

No more toxic chemicals. And knowing that they are safer for your family is enough of a reason to make the switch!

And by the way, avoiding toxic chemicals is also the reason we prefer to make our own soap scrubs too.

This homemade DIY kitchen cleaner is made with just two natural ingredients, vinegar, and pine needles.

Vinegar is cheap. Even so, it's one of the things Dan buys in bulk when it is on sale.

Also, we can forage pine needles from all over our property. So this homemade kitchen cleaner helps us save money.

I think the best part of making homemade cleaning products is that it is safe for the kids to use.

So I don't have to worry about that while they are helping clean. And yes, my kids have all done chores since they were little because I believe cleaning is an important self-reliance skill for kids.

Even my toddlers would get a clean cloth and a cup of water to scrub the kitchen cabinets or stainless steel appliances.

DIY Kitchen Cleaner Ingredients

Many natural cleaners you can make at home include vinegar.

Vinegar contains acetic acid. This gives it great cleaning power so you'll find it's the base for many homemade cleaner recipes.

Sometimes all I use is equal parts hot water and vinegar to clean.

Especially if I am cleaning my coffee pot or mugs.

Vinegar also acts as a natural disinfectant for germs like salmonella and E Coli. And being an acid, it is also an excellent cleaner for cutting grease, soap scum, hard water, and more.

So it is a natural kitchen cleaner.

Pine needles have antibacterial properties and help boost the disinfecting properties of the cleaner, and help give your DIY cleaner a fresh, natural scent.

Don't Use These Pine Needles!

NOTE: Please avoid the following three pines for this kitchen cleaner. Their needles are toxic when ingested.

Yew
Ponderosa Pine
Norfolk Island Pine

Essential Oils in Homemade Cleaners

Do you have a few favorite essential oils? Adding in a few drops of your favorite essential oil is a great way to change the scent of your DIY kitchen cleaner.

Depending on which oils you choose, it could boost the antibacterial properties of the cleaner.

A few drops of lavender essential oil, tea tree oil, bergamot, clary Sage, cedarwood, cypress, rosemary, eucalyptus, Frankincense, Peppermint, Sandalwood, and Thyme all blend wonderfully with pine!

I love adding lemon essential oil or sweet orange oil to this recipe for a fresh spring scent. And I like to have a couple of jars tucked away so I always have plenty on hand.

Now, for many years I did use Young Living's Thieves Cleaner, which I do love.

I would add equal parts water and scrub away at hard water stains, oven racks, you name it!

However, Young Living natural products are excellent. Yet they're also really expensive. Plus, we pay a lot for shipping up here.

So in an effort to save money and cut costs, I've been experimenting.

And this is now my favorite all purpose kitchen cleaner!

I use this DIY kitchen cleaner as part of my regular cleaning on a daily basis. It's in a glass jar with a spray nozzle beside my kitchen sink. I use it regularly on my kitchen countertops.

And by the way, this also makes a great homemade gift from your kitchen.

FAQs

I don't like the smell of vinegar! How can I get rid of it?

Well, in this recipe, the pine needles act as a natural deodorizer. I find they help to neutralize the vinegar smell. But honestly, I much prefer vinegar to the smell of harsher cleaners such as chlorine bleach.

How can I make other natural cleaners?

There are many other natural cleaning recipes out there. And many of them use simple ingredients you likely already have on hand.

These include

baking soda
lemon juice
olive oil
citrus peels

Can I use this pine vinegar cleaner on natural stone countertops or granite countertops?

I would be careful trying this. I'm not sure how well the vinegar would act on the stone. It's best to try it on a small area first.

Can I use this on hardwood floors?

My advice is the same as for the stone countertops.

Please be careful using homemade natural household cleaners on wood. Honestly, you might try using vegetable oils and warm water with a microfiber cloth to wash your wood instead.

Pine Vinegar DIY Kitchen Cleaner

Yield: 1 quart

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Active Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Make this easy natural pine vinegar kitchen cleaner with just two simple ingredients!

Materials

Glass jar with a lid
Vinegar
Pine needles
Essential oil- optional

Tools

measuring cup
measuring spoon

Instructions

Gather whatever kind of pine needles you have around your property.
Stuff several large handfuls of pine needles into your jar, a quart mason jar works well but you can use any clean glass jar you have with a lid.
Cover entirely with white vinegar and replace the lid.
Sit in a cool dark spot (in a cabinet or pantry is perfect) and let it steep for two weeks.
Remove pine needles and dilute with water about 50/50.

Notes

You can use your pine cleaner in the jar to mop floors and clean larger spaces with a rag or transfer some to a glass spray bottle and use it as an antibacterial spray.