What equipment do you need to make cleaners at home?
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Very little. For the published extension recipes you need a few spray bottles, a funnel, a set of measuring cups and spoons that never go back into food use, a jar or two, labels and a waterproof marker, and gloves and eye protection for the stronger ingredients. Laundry recipes add a grater or food processor, a saucepan and a 5-gallon bucket, and a kitchen scale helps if you want powder batches to come out the same every time. This page lists each item, what it is for, and what to look for when you choose it.
The whole kit at a glance
| Item | What it is for | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Spray bottles with trigger sprayers | Glass, counter and all-purpose sprays | A trigger that suits the job (stream, mist or foam); a new bottle you can label clearly |
| Jars with tight lids | Infusions, storing extra window cleaner, powders | Glass for vinegar mixes; never a jar that children associate with food |
| Funnel | Pouring into narrow bottle necks without spills | Plastic or stainless, kept for cleaners only |
| Measuring cups and spoons | Every recipe in household measures | A separate set, marked for cleaning |
| Kitchen scale | Repeatable powder batches; converting recipes to weight | Reads in grams, with a tare button |
| Labels and a waterproof marker | Contents, date, warnings | Labels that survive a wet hand |
| Gloves | Bleach, ammonia, washing soda, borax | Long enough to cover the wrist |
| Eye protection | Pouring bleach, ammonia or any concentrate | Splash goggles that seal around the eyes |
| Grater or food processor, saucepan, 5-gallon bucket | Laundry recipes | A bucket with a lid; tools you can wash well |
Spray bottles and trigger types
Most published home recipes end in a spray bottle. NMSU's first window cleaner is mixed right in it: "In a spray bottle, mix 1 cup distilled vinegar with 1 cup water" [1]. UF/IFAS's window cleaner is the same: "Combine all ingredients together in an empty spray bottle and shake well" [2].
Trigger sprayers differ in what comes out of the nozzle:
- Stream and spray adjustable triggers are the usual choice for all-purpose and glass cleaners. A stream reaches into corners; a spray covers a window.
- Fine misters put out a light, even coat for glass and fabric, but they can clog faster with anything that leaves solids behind.
- Foaming triggers make a clinging foam from a liquid with soap or detergent in it, useful on vertical tile.
Some recipes are hard on sprayers. A powder that is not fully dissolved, such as washing soda or borax, can dry in the nozzle, and UF/IFAS warns that its cornstarch window cleaner needs a shake with each use if cornstarch gathers at the bottom [2]. The causes, and how to clear a trigger, are on the streaks and clogs page. How triggers are built and which seals stand up to which ingredients is covered on the triggers and sprayers page.
Start with new, empty bottles made for cleaners. An emptied store-cleaner bottle is not a refill: Clorox's bleach safety data sheet says "Do not reuse empty containers" [6], and the bottles and labels page explains why, along with the food and drink containers never to use.
A funnel and jars
One NMSU recipe includes the step "Use a funnel to pour the warm solution into a spray bottle" [1]. A funnel saves spills, and spills near other products are how accidental mixing starts. Keep one for cleaners only and rinse it between products, so a drop of one cleaner never rides into the next bottle.
UF/IFAS lists "Jars for mixing and/or storage (do not use containers that children associate with food)" [2], and NMSU says to store extra window cleaner "in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid" [1]. A wide-mouth glass jar suits the UF/IFAS orange peel and vinegar cleaner, which sits for about a week before you pour it into a spray bottle [2].
Measuring tools kept apart from the kitchen
The extension recipes are written in household measures: cups, tablespoons and teaspoons. UF/IFAS lists a "Measuring cup" among its supplies [2]. Buy a separate set for cleaning, mark it, and store it with your cleaning supplies rather than in the kitchen drawer. Poison Control's advice is to store food, beverages and medicines in a different place from chemicals and cleaning products [3], and a measuring cup that moves between the two breaks that separation.
A kitchen scale for powder recipes
Cups measure volume, and powders pack differently from one scoop to the next. If you make a powder such as the UF/IFAS laundry powder (1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda, 1 bar of soap) [2] and want the same result each batch, weigh what your cup holds once, write the weights on your recipe card, and weigh from then on. A digital scale that reads in grams and has a tare button is enough. If you later move toward selling, weighing becomes the standard; the weighing page shows how to convert a household recipe.
Labels and a marker
"If you make your own cleaner, always label it," says UF/IFAS [2]. NMSU says to "Label mixed solutions and keep them out of reach of children" [1]. A waterproof marker on a plain label, or on tape across the bottle, is enough. What to write on it (contents, date, a never-mix warning and the Poison Control number) is set out on the bottles and labels page.
Gloves and eye protection
CDC tells anyone using bleach to check whether the label calls for protective equipment such as gloves or eye protection [4]. NC Cooperative Extension advises gloves to protect your skin and goggles when you use strong cleaners [5]. For vinegar-and-water sprays, gloves are a comfort choice. For bleach, ammonia, washing soda, borax and any concentrate you pour, wear gloves and splash goggles. Which tasks call for which protection is on the protecting yourself page.
Laundry tools
The UF/IFAS powder detergent says to "Finely chop the bar of soap in a food processor," and its 10-gallon liquid version uses a small saucepan to melt grated soap and a 5-gallon bucket to mix and thicken overnight [2]. Wash any food processor, grater or pan thoroughly afterward, or keep a set that is used only for soap. A bucket with a lid keeps the mix covered while it sits and keeps children and pets out of it.
What you do not need yet
A pH meter, an overhead mixer and production vessels belong to making cleaners for sale, which the first production run equipment page covers. For your own house, the list above is the whole kit.
Setting up your bottles before the first batch
Once the tools are together, decide which bottles you will use and how you will mark them. The bottles and labels page covers glass or plastic for each kind of mix and the label every homemade bottle should carry.
References
- New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service, Griffiths R. and Koukel S. (rev.), *Green Alternatives to Toxic Household Products*, Guide G-313, revised February 2019. https://pubs.nmsu.edu/_g/G313/index.html
- University of Florida IFAS Extension, Griffin A. and Cantrell R.A., *Homemade Household Cleaners*, FCS3319, Release Date October 7, 2025. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FY1449
- Poison Control (National Capital Poison Center), Soloway R.A.G., *What Belongs in a Soft Drink Bottle? The Dangers of Container Transfers*, undated, read October 2026. https://www.poison.org/articles/what-belongs-in-a-soft-drink-bottle
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, *Cleaning and Disinfecting with Bleach*, last reviewed April 24, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/cleaning-and-disinfecting-with-bleach.html
- NC State Extension, Yancey County Center, Maness N., *Health Risks of Mixing Household Cleaners*, November 1, 2024. https://yancey.ces.ncsu.edu/2024/11/dontmix/
- The Clorox Company, Safety Data Sheet: Clorox Regular Bleach2, revision 3, December 9, 2020. https://www.thecloroxcompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/US001153-Clorox-Regular-Bleach2_3.pdf
