Top Antibacterial Essential Oils For Cleaning
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Ever go into a home an getting smacked with artificial fragrances from cleaning products? I feel like I am going to begin itching any minute from the chemicals that I am inhaling.
I use a variety of cleaning products without harmful chemicals to avoid this. These include some basic natural store-bought cleaners as well as homemade cleaners with antibacterial essential oils, white vinegar, among other natural household cleaning products.
I love using essential oils because they have active chemical components which make a great natural disinfectant. It is important, however, that you use high-quality pure essential oils to receive all of their benefits.
Additionally, with our sensitivities to chemicals and overreactive immune systems, using a natural alternative to harsh household cleaners is a must. If you want to protect your immune system both from bacteria and from chemicals, then you will want to know about the best antibacterial essential oils to use in your cleaning routine.
This post is about the top antibacterial essential oils for cleaning.
The benefits of antibacterial essential oils in cleaning
Antimicrobial Properties
The term antimicrobial encompasses bacteria, fungus, and viral activity. Different essential oils exhibit different properties. Therefore, some oils are more beneficial for certain cleaning tasks than others.
Antibacterial Properties
Different forms of bacteria are targeted by different essential oil properties. For instance, clove, thyme, and oregano have been shown in studies to be strongly effective against the strains Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Therefore, it is helpful to use different essential oils in conjunction with one another when cleaning. This is especially helpful during flu season and to fight conditions such as respiratory illnesses.
Using these essential oils also comes with other benefits. These additional benefits include antiseptic properties, antifungal properties, anti-odor properties, and they help with pest control as well.
Top Antibacterial Essential Oils for cleaning
Thyme essential oil is great to use while cleaning. It disrupts the cell membrane of fungi and bacteria. It has also been shown effective against some bacteria that comes from food.
Thymol is a component of thyme essential oil. It is a known to be an effective ingredient in many cleaning products on the market. Both Thyme essential oil or its compound thymol are a great choice in place of harsh chemicals.
This product is an excellent cleaning product that uses thyme oil as a main ingredient.
Many people relate a lemon fresh scent with cleanliness. We already stated that citrus oils are antibacterial, therefore, it only makes sense that lemon essential oil makes a great cleaning oil.
Lemon oil has also been proven to be effective against E. Coli and the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. It also helps to prevent and kill fungus.
Additionally, both lemon and orange essential oils are known for uplifting spirits and reducing stress. Therefore, you will get the benefit of less stress due to a clean and disinfected house as well as the naturally destressing properties of the oils.
Tea tree oil is great to use in cleaning because it can be used for killing bacteria but also serves multiple different purposes.
It can be used in different ways and has different natural benefits. For instance, the oil kills bacteria. These include staphylococcus epidermidis, E. coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, among others.
Fungal problems can also be addressed with tea tree oil and is helpful for addressing odors. We have use tea tree oil for many things, even keeping shoes smelling fresh.
Oregano oil also is useful in cleaning products. It is another essential oil that has been shown to be effective against E. Coli. Oregano's antimicrobial activity also makes it useful against fungi.
Spraying it in the air or using it in a diffuser will not only be helpful for mold in the air but also be beneficial for cold and flue season.
Eucalyptus essential oil is helpful in dealing with Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The biofilm was able to be broken down with the use of Eucalyptus oil, which can be difficult to do.
You can use it by itself in a DIY disinfectant, or you can use it together with other essential oils. Plant Therapy makes an essential oil that includes both Eucalyptus and lemon together.
Lavender oil is another great essential oil that offers many benefits as well as a calming effect. It is great to add to cleaning formulas because it is effective against several strains of bacteria and yeast.
While I am not a huge fan of the lavender smell, many confirm the pleasant aroma has a tranquilizing effect. Using it in conjunction with other essential oils makes a powerful cleaning disinfectant.
This antibacterial oil is often seen in other cleaning products such as laundry detergents and dishwasher soaps as well because of all of its positive attributes.
A few Great Antibacterial Household cleaning products (with essential oils)
Sometimes it is just handy to grab a cleaner on hand and go to work instead of formulating your own.
This carpet freshener is great. It uses baking soda and essential oils to create a natural fighter against bacteria and grime. Refreshen your area with an occasional sprinkle of this natural carpet deodorizer.
Formulating a furniture polisher on your own is not easy to do. Using this one instead from ECOS can come in super-handy and smells good and works very well.
This natural cleaner is a great disinfectant is another useful product to have on hand. I use this as well as the parsley formulated version often.
Getting stains out can be difficult. This product is not only natural but also has been shown to work well to remove stains and grime.
This post gave the the top antibacterial essential oils for cleaning as well as some great essential oil products.
- Puškárová, A., Bučková, M., Kraková, L. et al. The antibacterial and antifungal activity of six essential oils and their cyto/genotoxicity to human HEL 12469 cells. Sci Rep 7, 8211 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-08673-9
- Mallappa Kumara Swamy, Mohd Sayeed Akhtar, Uma Rani Sinniah, "Antimicrobial Properties of Plant Essential Oils against Human Pathogens and Their Mode of Action: An Updated Review", Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2016, Article ID 3012462, 21 pages, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/3012462
- Kowalczyk, A., Przychodna, M., Sopata, S., Bodalska, A., & Fecka, I. (2020). Thymol and Thyme Essential Oil-New Insights into Selected Therapeutic Applications. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 25(18), 4125. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25184125
- Camele, I., Gruľová, D., & Elshafie, H. S. (2021). Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Properties of Mentha × piperita cv. 'Kristinka' Essential Oil. Plants (Basel, Switzerland), 10(8), 1567. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081567
- Gao, S., Liu, G., Li, J., Chen, J., Li, L., Li, Z., Zhang, X., Zhang, S., Thorne, R. F., & Zhang, S. (2020). Antimicrobial Activity of Lemongrass Essential Oil (Cymbopogon flexuosus) and Its Active Component Citral Against Dual-Species Biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus and Candida Species. Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, 10, 603858. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2020.603858
- Elangovan, S., & Mudgil, P. (2023). Antibacterial Properties of Eucalyptus globulus Essential Oil against MRSA: A Systematic Review. Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland), 12(3), 474. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12030474
Antibacterial activity of essential oils, hydrosols and plant extracts from Australian grown Lavandula spp. School of Biomedical Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Locked bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia
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