DIY: Make Your Own Bathroom Tub and Tile Cleaners

Written by Taylor, Contributing Author

Cleaning your bathroom is something we all have to do, but it most likely doesn’t rank high on your list of favorite activities.

However, our families spend a lot of time in this room, and in the process we expose our bodies to whatever chemicals and substances we’ve used to clean it up.

Here are some recipes you can use to keep your bathroom tub and tiles clean without breaking the bank and exposing your family to harsh chemicals. Plus, you can have your older children use them without worry and pass on this cleaning chore to them!

I’m providing several recipes, depending on what type of cleaning you need for your bathroom.

DIY Bathroom Tub & Tile Cleaners

Homemade Scouring Powder

Ingredients:

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1 cup borax
• 1 cup salt

Directions:

Combine ingredients, shake to mix (with a lid on) and place in a reusable canister that you can save in a dry location.

Also, get an old large spice shaker or Parmesan cheese container that you can clean out and reuse and fill some of the mixture into the shaker.

Then, shake out onto the surfaces you want cleaned, and then rub with a damp to slightly wet sponge, scrubbing the tiled surfaces which need it. Then, rinse thoroughly and dry the surface.

Homemade Soft Scrubbers (2 versions)

Sometimes you don’t want or need a scouring powder, but instead want to clean with something more gentle. Here are two variations of a recipe for making your own soft scrubber for use on your tub and tiles, which not only is gently abrasive but also cleans away dirt and grease as well.

Soft Scrub Version 1 (Using Borax):

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup borax
• 1/2 teaspoon dish soap (castile if you’re wanting to be natural)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Soft Scrub Version 2 (Using Baking Soda):

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup baking soda
• enough dishwashing liquid to make thin paste
• 1-2 drops essential oils (optional)

Directions for both Soft Scrub recipes:

For either of these recipes, once you mix up the cleaner it will resemble a thin paste. Simply spread this onto the tub and tiles on your bathroom, rub with a sponge, and clean the surfaces. Rinse thoroughly.

Please note there are lots of uses for borax around your home for cleaning and stain removal. To find out more about this versatile ingredient check out this article about uses for borax powder.

Make Your Own Soap Scum Remover

Finally, if you’re bathroom’s tub and tiles have soap scum build up using these essentially alkaline cleaners above won’t make a dent in the problem. That’s why you’ll need the power of vinegar, as well as some abrasion, to remove the soap scum.

Here’s a recipe for an effective homemade soap scum remover.

Ingredients:

• 1 part distilled white vinegar
• 1 part dish soap

Directions:

Heat the white vinegar until it’s hot (but not so hot as to melt the spray bottle!). Combine vinegar with the dish soap and put into a spray bottle. Mix well.

Spray the mixture onto the soap scum and let it sit for approximately 30 minutes and then use a plastic scrubber or non-scratching scrubber sponge to scrub at the mixture. The combination of the acidity from the vinegar, the cleaning of the soap, and the abrasiveness of the scrubber will wipe away the soap scum.

As you may have guessed, although I’ve suggested these recipes for the bathroom they’ll also work well in other areas of your home, and can be great kitchen cleaners as well. Next month I’ll provide a couple more good kitchen cleaner recipes as well.

Tagged as: baking soda, DIY, homemade cleaners, Vinegar