One of my all time favorite hobbies is antique and thrift shopping. While I was out hunting for secondhand finds recently, I found this gorgeous decanter at an antique shop a couple of weeks ago. My mom had this great idea to fill the decanter with mouthwash and store it in the bathroom. What a fun way to repurpose such a gorgeous find, right?! I’ve spent the weekend experimenting with various DIY easy homemade mouthwash recipes to find one that I really liked.
Say goodbye to commercial mouthwashes loaded with artificial active ingredients and hello to fresh natural alternatives that not only promotes dental health but also lets you customize flavors and ingredients to suit your preferences.
Why You Should Make Your Own Homemade Mouthwash
Why did I choose to make homemade mouthwash rather than purchasing store-bought mouthwashes?
Reduce Plastic Waste: I’m trying my best to reduce waste in my home, and I figured the plastic mouthwash bottle is one less thing we could keep around the house. I haven’t seen natural mouthwash available in plastic free packaging at the grocery store unfortunately.
Avoid Chemicals: The second, more important reason is because I’m trying to avoid the chemicals (Sodium Benzoate, Triclosan, SLS, Alcohol) often found in conventional store bought mouthwashes. Many commercial mouthwashes contain artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives that may not be necessary or desirable for your oral care routine. Homemade versions allow you to skip these additives.
Customization: You can tailor your homemade mouthwash recipe to your specific needs and preferences. Whether you want a milder, soothing mouthwash with ingredients like aloe vera or a stronger antibacterial mouthwash with ingredients like tea tree oil, you can adjust the recipe accordingly.
Affordability: Another benefit of homemade mouthwash is that it’s dirt cheap to make. Making your own mouthwash can be cost-effective in the long run, as many of the ingredients are readily available and relatively inexpensive.
Freshness: Homemade mouthwash can be prepared in smaller batches, ensuring that it remains fresh and potent. This can lead to a more effective oral care routine.
Plastic Free Mouthwash Tablets
UPDATE: This blog post was first written four years ago, and finally in 2021, I’ve been able to track down a plastic free mouthwash option. Georganics makes their plastic free mouthwash tablets from entirely non-toxic and natural ingredients. The Fluoride, Glycerin and SLS free formula helps to restore a healthy pH balance to your mouth, maintain good oral health and freshen your breath.
Flavored with organic Spearmint oil or Orange oil (depending on which flavor you purchase), these eco-friendly tablets, that you add to water, are ideal for everyday use and travel. I adore their completely plastic free packaging! To use them, you simply dissolve a tablet in water and then swish for fresher breath. These tablets would be a great addition to your plastic free oral care routine.
Be sure to also check out our zero waste tooth paste and tooth powder, that go together so nicely with homemade mouthwash!
Mouthwash Recipe Experiments
These are the three different easy homemade mouthwash recipes I tried. I thought I’d share all three in case you’d like to do some experimenting of your own and make them all! Homemade mouthwashes can be fun to experiment with. You can try different combinations of herbs, essential oils, and other natural ingredients to find a formula that works best for you. I’ve seen other recipes with aloe vera juice and some with coconut oil. There really are many ways to prepare DIY mouthwash!
Recipe #1 – Baking Soda Mouthwash
1 cup distilled/purified water, 1 tsp baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), two drops of peppermint essential oil. The baking soda will eventually settle so you’ll need to shake it up a little before use.
Recipe #2 – Hydrogen Peroxide Mouthwash
1 part hydrogen peroxide, 1 part distilled/purified water, and two drops of peppermint essential oil.
Recipe #3 – Apple Cider Vinegar Mouthwash
1 cup distilled/purified water, 2 Tbsp. homemade ACV. *Apple cider vinegar has antibacterial properties. I great way to clean your mouth without toxic chemicals.
I stored my DIY mouthwash in a decanter in my bathroom but any glass jar or container will do. A classic mason jar works just as well!
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I chose the baking soda mouthwash to keep stored in my bathroom for regular use. I loved the saltiness of the baking soda mixed with the freshness of the peppermint oil. It also is the one of the three that is most similar in taste to conventional mouthwash.
I also liked the ACV recipe, because it had a really mild flavor. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the aftertaste of the ACV mouthwash. I didn’t dig the hydrogen peroxide mouthwash, but everybody’s taste buds are different so might be worth a try for you!
More Natural Homemade Mouthwash Recipes to Try
If you didn’t find what you were looking for in my mouthwash recipe, there are heaps of other DIY mouthwash recipes you can find on Pinterest. I also have some fellow blogger friends that have shared zero waste mouthwash recipes that they use and love. You can find their recipes here:
Wasteland Rebel Homemade Antibacterial Mouthwash
The Zero Waste Chef DIY Mouthwash
Going Zero Waste Homemade, Zero Waste Mouthwash
Oil Pulling
Have you heard of oil pulling before? This is another natural mouthwash alternative. Oil pulling is a traditional oral hygiene practice that has gained popularity for its potential benefits in recent years. This ancient Ayurvedic technique involves swishing a small amount of edible oil, typically coconut or sesame oil, around in your mouth for 15-20 minutes, then spitting it out.
Proponents of oil pulling claim it can help improve oral health by reducing bacteria, preventing cavities, freshening breath, and promoting overall gum health. While scientific research on its efficacy is limited and mixed, many people include oil pulling in their daily oral care routines as a natural and holistic approach to maintaining a clean and healthy mouth.
Other Zero Waste Oral Care Essentials
The Tiny Yellow Bungalow shop has got you covered when it comes to zero waste oral care supplies as well as other eco friendly and natural products. We’ve got bamboo toothbrushes, zero waste tooth powder, natural toothpaste, zero waste tooth tabs with fluoride, and even plastic free mouthwash. Everything you need to fight bad breath and keep your pearly whites clean and healthy. The plastic free mouthwash is a recent addition to our little eco shop! We try our best to have lots of different options for all your sustainable teeth cleaning needs. Check out the photo links below for more details on these products!
We hope you’re as excited as we are about this natural, cost-effective, and eco-friendly approach to oral care. Crafting your own mouthwash not only puts you in control of what goes into your daily routine but also allows you to tailor the flavors and ingredients to your liking.
Whether you’re looking for a fresh breath boost, gum health support, or simply want to reduce your environmental footprint by avoiding plastic bottles, homemade mouthwash offers a host of benefits. So why not give it a try? With these recipes and a dash of creativity, you’ll have a mouthwash that’s as unique as you are, promoting a healthier smile and a more sustainable lifestyle.
Have you experimented with homemade mouthwash recipes?! If so, what’s your favorite??
You might also enjoy these blog posts from Tiny Yellow Bungalow!
Making the Switch to Zero Waste Toothpaste
5 Simple Switches for an Eco friendly Bathroom
How to Go Zero Waste on a Budget
I love this! Can’t wait to try it the baking soda recipe. Thank you!!!
It’s so simple to make, we love it! Let me know how you like the recipe if you get a chance to try it out! 🙂
Looking forward to trying these and testing them out. Will probably go with the baking soda recipe first. Thanks for sharing!
Certainly! We love the baking soda recipe. It’s really refreshing!
I need to try this, thanks for sharing! 🙂 I’d love to use less packaging and waste in our bathroom.
Certainly! We’ve slowly been eliminating plastic and packaging in our house and I feel like the bathroom is such a good place to start! We use this homemade mouthwash, as well as compostable toothbrushes, zero waste tooth paste, soap bars, shampoo bars, and safety razors! 🙂
Hi, could you please answer a question for me? In all the recipes it calls for distilled/purified water. Would just regular tap water work?
Thanks
Andrea
Hi Andrea! The recipes call for distilled/purified water for a couple of reasons. Tap water often contains trace amounts of chemicals and metals like chlorine so using distilled water means you’ll have a mouthwash devoid of chemicals. Also, everyone’s tap water tastes a little different so using distilled water in the recipes is a way to make sure the recipes are always consistent and taste the same no matter where you make them!
What is the shelf life for the baking soda mouthwash?
It ultimately boils down to what you need to use an oral rinsing solution for. Saltwater rinse is often recommended for soothing oral pain as mentioned above and it is excellent at killing bacteria because the said bacteria cannot live in salt.