Orange Peel Vinegar & All Purpose Cleaner

I wish I could say that this idea was all my own, but I actually first saw this on Pinterest. I thought it was a genius idea and had to try it for myself. Making it was pretty easy and I love that I am using things that I would normally toss in the compost pile! But why go to the bother of making this? I plan on using it in my natural all-purpose cleaner. Not only does it smell fabulous (really hides the vinegar-y smell), but it also has some other benefits. The orange oil derived from the orange peels is a natural, non-toxic disinfectant. Vinegar also has some really great benefits for cleaning in a non-toxic, natural way. It is an excellent cleaning agent, especially when it comes to cutting grease. It’s a wonderful antibacterial disinfectant, as well as a natural deodorizer. So the combination of the orange oil derived from the orange peels and the vinegar make for a powerful natural, non-toxic household cleaner!

Making Orange Peel Vinegar is really simple and easy. All you will need is a large mouth canning jar, orange peels and plain white vinegar. What I did was start off with the peel of 1 orange in the jar and then covered it with white vinegar. Then over the week, I had my family save all their orange peels and I added them to the jar along with more vinegar to cover. I did this until the jar would hold no more orange peels and vinegar. Then I stored it on the window ledge and shook it several times per day to make sure the orange peel was constantly in contact with the vinegar. I also would store the jar upside down every-other-day to help ensure that peels were constantly in contact with the vinegar. I smelled it everyday to see how it was smelling. That’s how I judge whether or not it was “done”. When it smelled more like oranges, then vinegar then I was happy with it and it was done. This was 7 days. After 7 days, it looked like a cloudy orange juice. As you can see from the picture on the right.

Now pour out the contents of the jar into a bowl. Then I washed the canning jar and lid. I also grabbed a clean bandana and a rubber band. I placed the bandana over the mouth of the canning jar with the rubber band to filter out any solids in the vinegar. I wanted the vinegar to be as clear as possible so when I used it for my all-purpose cleaner that it would go through the spray bottle without clogging it up. So now, I poured the liquid through the bandana into the jar. I kept putting pressure on the orange peels to make sure I extracted all of the vinegar. When no more liquid would come out, I squeezed the bandana into the jar to make sure I got out all the vinegar.

I ended up with 1-1/2 cups of orange peel vinegar in the jar. Now because I wanted to make sure that no mold or grody stuff grew, I added 1-1/2 cups more of the plain white vinegar. I was worried that this would bring the strong vinegar smell back, but actually it really didn’t. The Orange Peel Vinegar still smelled more like oranges than vinegar. Still a very pleasant smell and now it was ready to use in my all-purpose cleaner. And let me tell you! I absolutely LOVE IT. It makes cleaning with vinegar an absolute pleasure! No more does my house smell like vinegar for hours after cleaning, but now has a pleasant orange smell that really makes me smile!

Now, I’m going to show you how I use it! Not only does it smell fabulous (really hides the vinegar-y smell), but it also has some other benefits. The orange oil derived from the orange peels is a natural, non-toxic disinfectant. Vinegar also has some really great benefits for cleaning in a non-toxic, natural way. It is an excellent cleaning agent, especially when it comes to cutting grease. It’s a wonderful antibacterial disinfectant, as well as a natural deodorizer. So the combination of the orange oil derived from the orange peels and the vinegar make for a powerful natural, non-toxic household cleaner!

Making it is super simple. You will only need 3 items: an empty spray bottle, your Orange Peel Vinegar, and plain old water. The first thing you will do is pour in 12 ounces of Orange Peel Vinegar into the spray bottle. The one I have has markings for different measurements and I just filled it up to the 12 ounce line.

Once you’ve added the Orange Peel Vinegar, you just fill the spray bottle up to the 24 ounce mark with plain water. To use, just shake and spray. I use this on all my counter-tops, tables, stove, microwave, refrigerator, etc. It cuts grease so well and leaves a nice, clean orange scent behind. I love that I can make this cleaner using inexpensive, natural, and non-toxic ingredients. Also since I’m using the peels that I would normally just toss in the compost, the Orange Peel Vinegar in practically free! Sure beats having to purchase orange essential oil do to the same thing!

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