Making your own DIY Disinfectant Spray
Disclaimer:
While this disinfectant spray can help you clean surfaces around your home and fight germs, it cannot prevent or treat COVID-19 or any other specific illness. We are not medical professionals, and nothing in this article constitutes professional medical advice. Moreover, this DIY spray cannot substitute for washing your hands or following other appropriate protocols for preventing COVID-19 or other illnesses.
Has your local supermarket run out of disinfectant spray, or do you simply want to learn how you can make your own disinfectant spray yourself at home?
In this article, we will explore how you can make disinfectant spray on your own out of simple natural supplies.
You will Need 70% Isopropyl Alcohol to Make an Effective Spray
If you want to make your DIY disinfectant spray as effective as possible against germs, it is essential to make sure you get the right alcohol concentration.
But, what is the right concentration?
One source explains that ‘many forms of alcohol can kill germs. You can dilute alcohol with water, but be sure to keep an alcohol concentration of around 70%’.
This language is a little confusing if you have never looked at the back of a bottle of isopropyl alcohol.
Do they mean that you should get 70% isopropyl alcohol and combine it into as much or little water as you want? Or do they mean you should mix 100% alcohol with water in a 70/30 ratio?
The University of Maryland Medical System says, “Use a solution of 70 percent isopropyl alcohol and 30 water, as recommended by the CDC.”
If you have a bottle of isopropyl alcohol at home right now, turn it over and look on the back.
You’ll see two ingredients:
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Water
In other words, if you have 70% isopropyl alcohol, the remaining 30% of what is in that bottle is already water—that is ideal. That is the exact correct ratio for maximum effectiveness against germs.
But if you have a higher percentage, like 99% isopropyl alcohol, you need to water it down to make it more effective.
Ingredients and Supplies for DIY Disinfectant Spray
Below are two different recipes for DIY disinfectant spray. You can choose one based on the concentration of isopropyl alcohol you have.
Option #1:
You will need the following supplies and ingredients to make this DIY disinfectant spray:
- Spray bottle (we prefer glass, but plastic is okay)
- 70% isopropyl alcohol
- Essential oil
The type of essential oil you use is entirely up to you. You can add essential oil to improve your spray’s efficacy or give it a more pleasant scent.
In fact, research has taken place to identify whether essential oils might be of value in combating COVID-19.
The researchers state, “The existing information about these essential oils is very preliminary, and the majority of claims are based on data obtained from computer-aided docking and preliminary in vitro studies.”
In other words, we don’t know right now how useful or otherwise essential oils might be concerning COVID-19.
And again, these recipes are not a way to prevent or treat COVID-19.
But what is of greater interest in the paper is the researchers’ note that eucalyptus oil is used in traditional medicine to remedy a wide range of respiratory ailments and does display antiviral properties.
So, those antiviral properties do make it an excellent option to consider for your disinfectant spray.
Steps:
1. Pour the alcohol into the spray bottle. You do not need to water it down, nor should you.
2. Add several drops of essential oil.
3. Put the cap on and shake the spray bottle so that the essential oil integrates.
Option #2:
- Spray bottle
- Your choice of vinegar (unless you want to clean marble or granite—if so, skip this ingredient)
- Water
- 99% isopropyl alcohol
- Essential oil
Steps:
1. Pour the 99% isopropyl alcohol into your spray bottle along with water and/or vinegar. The important part is to ensure that your mixture consists of around 70% alcohol and about 30% water and/or vinegar.
2. Add in several drops of essential oil.
3. Put the cap on the spray bottle and shake it so that all the ingredients are evenly mixed.
How to Use DIY Disinfectant Spray
Once your homemade disinfectant spray is ready, you can use it on surfaces you frequently touch.
Just spritz it, then wait for a few seconds, and then wipe it dry.
Making Your Own Disinfectant Spray is Fast and Easy
Now you have ingredients and steps for making your own DIY disinfectant spray.
You also know the appropriate proportions of alcohol and water, depending on what concentration of alcohol you purchased.
Making this spray can be a fun project, and it can help you save money and hassle if disinfectant spray from the store is overpriced or unavailable.
Just don’t forget that nothing can replace scrubbing your hands with soap and water and using CDC-recommended disinfectant products.
