Homemade Orange Cleaner

I kept seeing this homemade orange cleaner on pinterest and knew I had to try it. If you've seen my other instructable on green cleaning products, you know that I love cleaning with vinegar! However, it is stinky. 

This helps combat that problem. :D

I use vinegar on windows, and in the kitchen and bathroom. This orange cleaner is great for wiping down surfaces!

Step 1: What You'll Need:

• a glass jar
• citrus peels (I used two oranges, one grapefruit and one lemon)
• white vinegar
• a spray bottle

Step 2: Steeping the Citrus Peels

This part takes a little while, but thankfully you don't really have to pay attention. I just shook my jar every few days. :D

I trimmed away as much of the white pith as possible from the peel and put them in a jar. Pour in enough white vinegar just to cover the peels and put on the top of the jar. Let this mixture sit for 1-2 weeks, or until the vinegar has turned a dark orange. It should also smell of oranges - if it doesn't you might need more time and/or peels.

This took about a week for me - I think shaking the jar helped speed up the process!

Keep in mind this will NEVER completely get rid of the vinegar smell, but it will mellow it out and cover it up.

Step 3: Straining

Once the vinegar's nice and orange-y, strain out any excess peels. You can either do this directly into a spray bottle, or pour it back into the original jar to hang out until you need it.

Step 4: Dilution and Use

I typically dilute my vinegar 50/50 with water, which is what I did here.

A 50/50 dilution is great for wiping down bathroom and kitchen surfaces.

You can use the vinegar full strength for things like hard water spots, soap scum and grease, too! Play around with it and figure out what works best for you. :D