Pine Needle Vinegar Cleaner Recipe + How to Use It (2024)

Monday, February 20, 2023

Learn how to make a pine needle vinegar cleaner. This infused vinegar makes a great cleaner, and the pine covers the smell of the vinegar and boosts its cleaning powers. Making a DIY pine cleaner is easy and inexpensive, but it does take a while to infuse.

Pine is wonderful for cleaning, especially when combined with vinegar. Pine naturally disinfects and deodorizes, so I like to use it for my floors and general cleaning.

It's very easy to a pine needle cleaner recipe. This is like a homemade Pine Sol with pine needles, and you can use it in much the same way.

First we'll go over how to make a pine needle spray, then we'll talk about how to use pine vinegar for cleaning your home.

For more natural DIY cleaning recipes, check out these posts:

• Homemade All Purpose Cleaner Recipe
• Soap Nut Liquid Concentrate
• Soap Nut Laundry Detergent Recipe
• DIY Dryer Sheets
• DIY Stain Remover
• DIY Soft Scrub
• Homemade Laundry Scent Booster
• Natural Bleach Alternative
• Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
• Homemade Dishwasher Tablets
• 14 Fels Naptha Uses
• DIY Dusting Spray

For more natural cleaning recipes, I have a Natural Cleaners ebook. You can print it and make a binder or read it from your phone, computer, or tablet.

Pine Needle Vinegar Benefits

A homemade pine needle vinegar cleaner has several benefits.

• Infusing pine needs with vinegar helps cover the vinegar scent. Although the scent of the vinegar goes away in a few minutes, this helps your home smell like fresh pine naturally.
• Pine needles have some antibacterial properties (source). It's not known if infusing them will be a high enough concentration to kill all germs, so keep that in mind.
• It's all natural. Since pine infused vinegar can be used for flavoring foods and pine needles can be used in tea, this is a natural cleaner. Although it won't taste great if you drink it, it won't hard children or pets.
• No toxins. You know exactly what's in this homemade Pine Sol with pine needles. There are no toxic ingredients that can harm your family or pets.
• Pine needles help cut through grease and dirt.
• Pine vinegar evaporates to leave surfaces cleaner without leaving a residue.

How Do You Make Pine Cleaner?

Making pine vinegar for cleaning is very simple. You'll just need fresh pine needles, vinegar, and time.

You don't need to dilute it or add anything else. I don't recommend adding essential oils because you really don't need them, and they won't mix with the vinegar anyway.

However, you can add some essential oils to your DIY cleaning recipes. Pine blends well with the following essential oils:

• Lemon
• Peppermint
• Tea Tree
• Rosemary
• Bergamot
• Grapefruit
• Eucalyptus
• Thyme

I get my essential oils from Simply Earth, Revive, or Plant Therapy. You can also use a homemade Thieves oil blend for cleaning.

You can also make a lemon peel vinegar cleaner using a similar method as this one.

Best Vinegar for a Homemade Pine Cleaner

There's no need to use a fancy or expensive vinegar to make DIY pine cleaner. You can just a jug of cheap distilled white vinegar.

There is a cleaning vinegar that has more acid in it, but I don't bother with it.

You can also use apple cider vinegar for cleaning. It has some antibacterial properties that make it great to use for cleaning. ACV isn't as acidic as white vinegar.

Learn how to make apple cider vinegar from scratch.

Tips for Making DIY Pine Cleaner

Here are some tips for making a pine need vinegar cleaner:

• You can use any pine needles, but some pine needles smell like pine and some do not. I recommend using Spruce needles.
• The infusion can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months. The longer you let it infuse, the stronger the pine vinegar will be.
• You can heat the vinegar before pouring it over the pine needles if desired.
• I infused my pine needle vinegar in a bowl, but you can infuse it right in the jar.
• Dilute your pine vinegar for cleaning 1:1 with distilled water for cleaning.
• Only use this homemade Pine Sol with pine needles on surfaces that can be cleaned with vinegar. Do not use on stainless steel appliances, unsealed, or porous surfaces.
• I like to use plastic mason jar lids. You'll need to shake the jar gently, and this will prevent spills.

How to Use Pine Vinegar for Cleaning

Use this homemade pine cleaner like you would vinegar in DIY cleaning recipes. Generally, you'll want to dilute it 1:1 with water for cleaning.

Use it in the kitchen, bathroom, or even in the laundry room for deodorizing or removing stains. I like to use it for wiping surfaces like counters and cabinet doors to remove the oil and grime.

You can also add it to hot water to use to mop floors. Here are some ways to use your pine needle vinegar cleaner:

• Use it full strength or diluted to clean the bathroom.
• Mix with dish soap 1:1 to clean showers and bathtubs.
• Dilute 1:1 with water to use as an all purpose spray. Use on countertops, sinks, toilets, and other surfaces.
• Add 1/2 cup pine vinegar to a gallon of hot water to mop floors.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon pine vinegar per 4 ounces water to make an air freshener spray.
• Combine 1/3 cup pine vinegar, 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol, and 30 ounces of water to make a window cleaner.

I like these glass bottles with measurement lines to make DIY cleaners.

Homemade Pine Cleaner Ingredients

You will need the following to make a homemade Pine Sol with pine needles:

• Pine branches
• 2.5 cups white vinegar
• Quart mason jar or bowl with lid

How Do You Make Pine Cleaner With Vinegar?

Step #1

Gather pine needles. You'll want enough to fill the jar loosely packed so there's enough room for vinegar. Wash the needs and let dry.

Step #2

Place the pine needles in a mason jar and cover with white vinegar. Place the lid on it and let sit for at least 3 weeks. Shake gently to stir every few days.

Step #3

Check on the pine needle vinegar after two weeks. The vinegar should smell like pine and turn a golden yellow. Let infuse longer if needed.

Once it's done infusing, strain out the pine needles and discard or compost them. Save the pine vinegar for cleaning.

How will you use this pine needle vinegar cleaner?

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