During the 2024 Christmas season, my social media algorithm kept showing DIYers turning their Christmas trees into homemade cleaners. Each video highlighted the same three points: the method was simple and tidy, the cleaner offered antibacterial and antimicrobial benefits, and it provided a clever way to reuse your tree before setting it out on the curb.
I doubted the effectiveness of the hack at first. But as a scientist, I didn’t want a gut feeling to lead me to the wrong conclusion, so I started digging for facts. I couldn’t find any formal research on the power of homemade pine cleaner, but I did find solid information about the antibacterial properties of vinegar and the antimicrobial compounds found in pine needles. Vinegar has earned its reputation as a reliable cleaner, but the natural chemistry of pine needles surprised me. They contain terpenes, polyphenols, stilbenes, tannins, and shikimic acid—compounds that vinegar can extract as the mixture steeps for a month. Since both ingredients offer real cleaning benefits on their own, I felt confident that this eco-friendly, tree-saving cleaner had legitimate potential.
Then it hit me: Christmas also overlaps with peak citrus season. Citrus peels seemed like the perfect way to add a bright, fresh scent. When it came time to say goodbye to our tree, I handed our oldest a pair of gardening shears and asked her to fill a wide-mouth mason jar with clippings. We had grapefruits, oranges, limes, and lemons on hand, so we tossed the peel from one of each into the jar and covered everything with vinegar. The mixture went into a cool, dark spot for a month.
When we strained it later, the liquid had turned a warm amber color and smelled like pine and citrus in perfect balance. And that’s how Twas the Season Cleaner was born. Some people find vinegar overpowering, but we didn’t notice a sharp smell here. If vinegar isn’t your favorite, you can make a citric-acid cleaner instead. The Spruce has a great tutorial on citric-acid mixtures. Add pine clippings and citrus peels to that base for a similarly fresh, festive cleaner.
As with any cleaning product, test it on a small area first to make sure it doesn’t bother sensitive surfaces.
DIY Pine Citrus Cleaner
Ingredients
- a large glass jar
- pine tree clippings
- citrus peels as desired
- vinegar, enough to fill your jar
Instructions
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Fill a large glass jar with clippings from your pine or fir Christmas tree.
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Add the peels of various citrus fruits.
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Cover the mixture with vinegar.
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Seal the jar with a lid or plastic wrap and let it sit for one month in a cool, dark place.
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Strain the liquid into a spray bottle and enjoy the bright, pine-citrus scent every time you clean.