I love a good re-purposing recipe and this DIY enzyme cleaner is one of my all-time favorites. When it comes to kitchen scraps, I normally just toss them in the trash (I blame our food-crazed pup for our lack of compost bin). But this all-purpose cleaner actually takes leftover food scraps and converts them into a super effective enzyme cleaner you can use on everything from counter tops to laundry (I would avoid light colors, but everything else is fair game). Simply let them ferment for a few weeks to extract the enzymes and voila! An all-purpose cleaner that really does it all. Here’s how to make your own.
DIY Enzyme Cleaner from Kitchen Scraps
First things first: start collecting your scraps.
A lot of the foods we eat on a regular basis, like oranges, lemons and pineapples, have naturally occurring enzymes on their skins, so any of those would be great for your homemade cleaner. Last time I made this I chose pineapple skins because they contain protease, the same protein enzyme used in most commercial cleaners. But this time I went with old grapefruit and lemon rinds because I love the way they smell in homemade cleaner.
But this recipe doesn’t discriminate. Use apple peels, citrus rinds of all kinds or even the skins from kiwis, mangoes or papayas. Just be forewarned, I haven’t tried all those scraps myself so I can’t tell you how well they work. If you try them, I’d love to hear how it turns out.
Once you’ve gotten your hands on about 2-3 cups of old rinds or fruit skins, you’ll want to let them soak in a sugar-yeast solution so the bacteria can ferment the sugars into alcohol (a potent germ-fighter) and extract the enzymes—AKA the building blocks of the perfect everyday cleaner.
I let my enzyme cleaner ferment inside a glass jar as opposed to a plastic bottle since I try to avoid plastic whenever possible. But fermentation has a tendency to cause pressure to build up inside whatever container you choose. If you’re using glass, you’ll need to ‘burp’ your container (remove the lid to release the built-up gas) more often than when using plastic. This will help prevent an explosion.
I burped my container once a day and it was fine, but I also used a super heavy duty Weck jar that’s made to withstand some pressure. If you’re using a thinner jar, burp it twice a day to be on the safe side. Or use a plastic soda bottle, which only needs to be burped every other day. It’s safe to use another kind of container, just make sure the lid forms a tight seal and it’s thick enough to withstand some pressure.
Just a quick note about homemade enzyme cleaner: while it does use yeast and sugar to make the cleaner, once the sugar runs out and the solution is mostly made up of alcohol, the bacteria culture should stop growing or die off altogether. That means that you shouldn’t have bacteria growing on your plates or counter tops after using your cleaner. And assuming you let it ferment long enough, there shouldn’t be any sugar left in your cleaner to attract ants or bugs.
Try to use up your enzyme cleaner within a month or two. At which point, you can try your hand at making another of our favorite homemade cleaners or make a fresh batch using different scraps.
DIY Enzyme Cleaner from Scraps
Ingredients
- 2 cups citrus rinds or other produce scraps
- 4 cups filtered water
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon bakers' yeast
- 2 liter plastic soda bottle or glass canning jar I couldn't find the exact Weck jar I used but a 1-gallon kombucha jar should work
Instructions
- Place the produce scraps in the base of your jar and add the water (if using a soda bottle, puree the scraps and filtered water in a blender to make a fine slurry that can be poured into the bottle. If you need to add more water to make it pourable, that's fine.)
- Add the yeast and brown sugar.
- Screw on the lid and give it a good shake to mix everything together. Place in a warm, dark cabinet to ferment.
- Once or twice a day, shake the mixture and unscrew the lid to release any built-up pressure inside the jar. If you don't, eventually your jar could explode, so it's best to keep an eye on things.
- After 4 weeks, strain the liquid into a glass spray bottle. Wrap the solid scraps in a piece of cheesecloth and squeeze it to get any lingering enzymes.
Hi there,
We’ve just got a puppy and so I’m really excited make this. Do you know how long this cleaner would keep after it’s been bottled?
Thanks
Ally
Hey guys if you are really the online card game player then here on our homepage you will play free freecell card game it is the multiplayer card game the goal of the game is to score more points than your opponent player you love to play for free
Hey what is up bhai
See you next day/1 Great re bhai
Hey sir are you goof now
I made it and I love it. It took me a little while to adopt the consistency and when I added the castile soap, I got my ultimate dish liquid which removes everything, including the hard stains from all the pots, I occasionally happen to burn.
However, I wanted to pick your brains and got to the bottom of something. I have been told recently that homemade enzyme cleaners with yeast carry on growing bacteria. Basically, when I use my enzyme cleaner on plates they grow bacteria after being washed and placed in a cupboard…. which I find hard to believe, as the water surely washes of any residue, right? Unless they talk about people who only scrub and don’t rinse the dishes perhaps…. one sink with water and washing liquid and the other with rinsing water….. does the yeast cause the bacteria to grow where the enzyme cleaner has been sprayed?
Not true. Even you don’t rinse them properly the east needs sugar and water to grow. I supposed nobody keeps their plates in sugar watery solution. There is nothing to worry about.
In the video, you forgot to mention to release the gas regularly which might lead to an explosion. I hope you’d be able to add a note there.
I was wondering if I could ferment this in a flip top lid (minus the rubber seal)…similar to sauerkraut…that way there wouldn’t be a gas build up. Any idea if this would work?
I was also interested in the answer to someone elses comment regarding bacteria.
I found a recipe for hand sanitiser that used plant enzyme instead of being alcohol based…but now I’m having second thoughts.
If this contains sugar, will it attract ants?
I just made 30 oz. using my big Saurkraut jar. It worked well. I covered it with a linen towel to keep light out- and prevent fluid bursts from getting all over during the venting period. Then I moved it to the bathroom for 3 months- checking on it once a week. Amazing smell today. I just cleaned the floors and counters in the kitchen and bath- 10:1 super cleaner. Now I am soaking an old tiny blood stain on a cuff. I am hooked.
This sounds great! Can I use dried yeast?
HI, i don’t know if this be convenient for you but you can try keeping your compost in the fridge until you are ready to take it out to the compost bin outside. I keep mine in an air tight container so it doesn’t smell.