The multi-purpose guide
The multi-purpose guide
You don't need a different product for every job. Almost everything in your home falls into one of four types of mess, and four simple tools cover nearly all of it.
Learn these four, and you'll know what to reach for without thinking twice.
The four building blocks
Soap spray
Everyday dirt, dust and grease
Window & glass spray
Mineral residue, streaks and soap film
Cleaning paste
Heavier build-up that needs contact time and scrubbing
Disinfecting spray
Germs, used only where there's a genuine risk
1. Soap spray
This is your everyday, reach-for-it-first spray. Castile soap and water, nothing more. It loosens grease and everyday grime on benches, cupboards, skirting boards, most sealed surfaces, really anywhere that isn't natural stone.
If you're not sure what to grab, grab this one first.
Soap spray recipe →2. Window & glass spray
This one's citric acid (works like vinegar), not soap, so it does a different job. Soap lifts grease, but it can't touch mineral deposits, hard water spots or the soap film soap itself leaves behind. That's what this spray is for.
Use it after the soap spray, as a finishing step, on glass, mirrors, shower screens and taps. Skip it on natural stone.
Window & glass spray recipe →Turn either spray into a gel
Sprays run straight off a vertical surface, which means the ingredient barely gets any contact time before it's gone. For a toilet bowl, a shower wall, or anything the mess needs a minute to actually work on, thickening the same spray into a gel keeps it exactly where you put it.
In a jug, combine 1 tablespoon of glycerine with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum first, mixing until smooth. This step matters, adding xanthan gum straight to water makes it clump.
Stir this paste into your spray instead of using it as a spray. It will keep thickening slightly over the next hour, so give it time before deciding it needs more.
Same ingredients, same chemistry, just held in place for longer. This is exactly how the Bathroom Spray & Gel recipe works, if you'd rather follow a complete version with exact amounts.
3. Cleaning paste
For the jobs a spray won't touch. This is thick by nature, not thickened like the gels above, made from coconut soap, washing soda and borax, so it clings, scrubs and holds its alkalinity against baked-on grease, soap scum and grout.
Ovens, stovetops, tile grout, stubborn sinks. It's your heavy-duty option, not your everyday one.
Cleaning paste recipe →4. Disinfecting spray
Hydrogen peroxide, used on its own, after everything else. This is the one tool on this list that isn't for everyday use. Soap and paste remove dirt and grease. This removes germs, and most surfaces don't need that step every time you wipe them down.
Save it for high-touch surfaces, after raw meat prep, or when someone in the house is unwell. Always clean the surface first, it doesn't work through grease.
Disinfecting spray recipe →How they work together
The order matters more than the products do. Same sequence, every room:
Soap spray or paste to lift dirt and grease.
Rinse before you move on. This is the step people skip.
Window & glass spray if there's mineral residue or streaking to clear.
Disinfecting spray last, only if this particular job actually calls for it.
Never combine steps. Soap and citric acid neutralise each other if mixed together. Hydrogen peroxide should never be mixed with anything else either, including vinegar or citric acid. Use each one as its own separate pass, not blended into one.
The four recipes
Under Your Sink · teaching you the system, one recipe at a time.