Homemade Natural Granite Cleaner

It’s kind of funny. For as much as I love cleaning, organizing, and diy-ing. . .the task of switching from store-bought cleaners to homemade cleaners felt a bit daunting. Even though the whole process was completely voluntary, somehow the idea of researching everything, making the solutions, and then testing them out was almost too much for me. Luckily we’re on the other side of it all now, and I can really laugh about the whole thing. In fact, it sort of reminds me of the time that I told Ryan that I didn’t have enough time to bake bread from a book titled “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.”

Realistically speaking, making your own cleaners is the most trouble-free and time-saving thing that you can do for yourself. And once we had created a formula that we loved for our Natural All-Purpose Cleaner, everything else suddenly felt a whole heck of a lot more fun and easy. We knew what we liked (natural ingredients), we knew what we wanted (to simplify our lives), and we were officially committed (to be honest though, I was really the only holdout).

But granite can be finicky. Over the years we’ve had a tough time finding a cleaner that would yes, clean. . but also not dull the finish or leave behind any streaks. And surprising but not surprising at all, the homemade solution that we created turned out to clean better, and leave our granite sparkling. Two thumbs way up, and a big YES to simpler, easier, quicker, and natural ingredients! Oh, and did I mention that there is also the perk of this being dirt cheap to throw together? Yep, there’s really no looking back once you go homemade.

Homemade Natural Granite Cleaner

1/4 Cup 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol

1 Cup Filtered Water

5 Drops Natural Dish Soap (we use this one)

Pour all of your ingredients into a clean, reusable spray bottle, and swirl to combine. Then spray and use as needed! But as a reminder, just as you would with any new cleaner, test this granite cleaner in an inconspicuous place first.

Tips and Tidbits:

• Our recipe can be easily halved, doubled, etc. . .depending on the size of the bottle that you are using to hold the cleaning solution.
• We like to keep our cleaning solutions organized by different colored spray bottles. We use green for our all-purpose cleaner, blue for our glass spray, and pink for this granite cleaner. (Although these colors will be slightly changing because we have recently switched from plastic bottles to these glass ones from Grove Collaborative.)
• To help cut down on waste, we also use reusable microfiber cleaning cloths. Not only do they hold up better and not leave behind any fibers, but they also wash like a dream.
• The science behind using the 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol, is basically that it takes longer to evaporate. Which in turn means that it is sitting on the surface of whatever you are cleaning for a few extra seconds = greater cleaning power.
• By not including any acids or vinegar in our ingredients, this is the perfectly gentle solution for all granite surfaces.
• You can feel free to add 5 – 10 drops of your favorite essential oil to create a “scented” spray. Just remember not to use any citrus oils, as those would damage your counters.