DIY Granite Cleaner and DIY Sanitizing Spray

This DIY granite spray is our go to kitchen cleaning and DIY sanitizing spray. Read on to find out how I make it, why we changed to this DIY cleaner, and how we use it for way more than granite. We call it our “Disinfecting Spray!”

The other day, I found myself searching this site to find my homemade cleaning recipe for DIY All-Purpose Kitchen Spray.  Yes, I forgot what I use in my own recipe. As I clicked the search result, I realized that I haven’t had to refill my spray bottle in almost two years! No wonder I couldn’t remember it. (I thought it was just my over-forty brain muddling things up again.)

I used to make that recipe so often I barely needed to measure the ingredients to mix it up.

How did I go from using my “Super Spray” for everything to using the same bottle for months without running out?

I moved to a new house.

While the all-purpose spray works wonders for the counters, stove top, refrigerator and the floors at my old house, its use is much more limited in our new home.

Our last home was a forty year old house that featured vinyl or carpeted floors and laminate everything. 

The new house is more of a natural stone, tile, stainless steel, and granite extravaganza. All of which are surfaces that should never be cleaned with vinegar-based cleaners. The vinegar is too acidic for natural stone because it can cause etching and damage the granite, marble, or tile.

 

The surface you clean matters!

While I haven’t been mixing up the old all-purpose cleaner, the same can’t be said about the new one. 

I originally whipped it up to clean our large kitchen island, which happens to be the stickiest, crumbiest spot in the house at any given moment. It is the preferred spot for breakfast, snacks, homework. Sometimes my kids just like to stare at me while I cook or wash dishes from across the island. (Ironically, I myself, rarely sit at the island.)

So I named the new version, “DIY Granite Cleaner,” instead of something like DIY Kitchen Spray 2.0.  

DIY Granite Cleaning Spray / DIY Sanitizing Spray

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I normally call this concoction my “counter spray” or “disinfecting spray.” However, while the main ingredient kills bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other germs, it does not kill bacterial spores — which technically makes it a sanitizer rather than a true disinfectant. 

Luckily, granite does not naturally harbor bacteria when it is properly maintained and kept dry. It’s also ridiculously easy to clean and maintain. 

And the bonus is that the ingredients for this homemade solution are cheap and easy to find. Plus, the granite spray is truly versatile.  It cleans and sanitizes some of the messiest areas of my house. I use it on the granite, of course.

I also use it on our stone backsplash and in our bathrooms. I spray particularly filthy areas of the tile floor before I steam mop.  And I use it to sanitize door knobs, light switches, etc throughout the house. Unless a surface has been freshly painted, is made of rubber, or has a finish that can be damaged by alcohol, I consider it fair game in my efforts to keep my house virus free. (Alcohol is a solvent which means it can strip the paint.)

I’m going to share my original recipe but if you hang on until the end, I will let you in on a secret that will cut the cost. 

How to make your granite shine with ingredients you already have:

You’ll need: 

• 1/4 cup Vodka (the cheaper the better)*
•  1/4 cup 70% Rubbing Alcohol (Isopropyl alcohol)
• Distilled or filtered/purified water 
• 3-5 drops Dawn, Castile Soap, or other liquid detergent
• 10 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil (optional)
• 10 drops of Lavender Oil (optional) 
• Glass Spray Bottle (if using the essential oils) or Plastic Spray Bottle 

Mixing your homemade sanitizer

Using a funnel, or a steady hand (or an unsteady hand that is too lazy to grab the funnel) pour the vodka and the rubbing alcohol into the spray bottle. Vodka is generally around 40% alcohol, which means it doesn’t contain the enough alcohol to be considered a “sanitizer on it’s own.” It needs at least 60% alcohol content per the CDC to kill germs. Which is why the recipe also calls for rubbing alcohol. 

Alcohol is great at disinfecting and sanitizing but only “okay” at cleaning. Like bleach, organic dirt decreases its effectiveness. That’s why we add the few drops of soap. 

I confess, I am a Dawn loyalist. There will always be bottles of blue Dawn at my house. I like things that work, what can I say? I don’t like to use castile soap for this because Florida’s water is hard, which means it can react with castile soap and leave a film. 

There are a few specific instances when I use Lemishine Dish Soap, but I’ve been waiting a year for the one thing it worked amazingly well on to get dirty again. So I can take photos while I clean it. Until then, here is a link to the sponsored post I wrote few years ago for this brand: Four overlooked kitchen areas you should clean this spring.  Apparently, the joke is on me because I loved it so much I’ve been buying it ever since. I use it to clean the greasiest things!

Next, I add my essential oils. This step is mainly for scent and can be left out. I just happen to love Rosemary and Lavender.

Finally, I fill the spray bottle the rest of the way with distilled water — because it isn’t full of the hard minerals that are in our tap water.  I can actually taste it in our filtered water, as well. Gotta love Florida! I buy distilled water instead of using filtered because the white film that our hard tap water leaves around the faucets are the bane of my existence. 

Now you can screw on the lid and gently shake it.

How I clean my granite counter daily with this homemade natural stone spray

Throughout the day, I try to clear clutter off the island. (That way, everyone has a clear surface on which to put new clutter.) I wipe up spills with a damp soapy rag. 

At the end of the day, I grab my DIY sanitizing spray and spritz it onto the counters. I work my way from one end of the island around to the bar side of it and back to the sink, spraying liberally. Then I go and grab a fresh microfiber cloth and wipe it up. I don’t wipe it as I spray it so that it has a little bit of time to sit and complete it’s germ killing mission. 

I usually get a little spray happy at this point and also spray the refrigerator handles, the keurig, the light switch, and the microwave door, handle and buttons. 

If I want it to really shine, I use another clean and dry microfiber cloth to buff the counters. Super easy! 

Want to save even more money without affecting the cleaning and disinfecting power of this homemade granite cleaning solution?

Replace the vodka with an additional 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol and skip the essential oils. Isopropyl alcohol is very inexpensive and is the real powerhouse behind this cleaning solution. 

I use vodka for air freshening sprays and instances when I don’t want the smell of the alcohol to be distracting. But during cold and flu season, and with all these news reports of the COVID-19 coronavirus, I’ve opted to drop the vodka and use the 70% alcohol in it’s place. But–don’t use 90% alcohol for this recipe! It evaporates too fast to kill all the bad germs. The 30% distilled water in the 70% alcohol slows the evaporation rate so that the alcohol has time to work.