DIY Granite Cleaner

A good vinegar and water solution will clean just about anything, but there are some exceptions. Vinegar, along with any citrus-based cleaner, is not good for granite. It’s too acidic. Over time, it will dull and scratch your beautiful stone. (Also DO NOT use Windex on granite –  it strips the counter of it’s sealant).

Granite is a porous stone the requires a special type of cleaner. There are plenty of safe, natural granite cleaners available (Method and Howard’s Naturals are two I like), but I haven’t found a granite cleaner for under $8 anywhere.

I like to clean my granite counter tops A LOT, so I went looking for something homemade (read – safe and cheap).

I didn’t make up this recipe. I grabbed it from a site called Mama Cheaps. Here is that recipe along with my modifications:

1/4 cup rubbing alcohol or vodka
3 drops of dish detergent
1 cup water
A few drops of essential oil (to make it smell pretty)

I used vodka instead of rubbing alcohol . Vodka of the Gods to be exact, so fancy – or, Trader Joe’s cheapest brand.

I have a large spray bottle so I doubled the recipe. And because it’s the holidays, I used a few drops of peppermint oil. It smells like Christmas every time I clean the counters!

I don’t know precisely the cost of 1/4 cup of vodka, three drops of dish soap and a few drops of essential oil, but I can tell you one thing – it’s a fraction of the $8-$10 cost of over-the-counter granite cleaner.

This recipe, an empty spray bottle (you can even reuse your store-bought bottle) and a soft cloth is all you need to keep your granite sparkling clean – at a fraction of the cost!