Cheap & Easy DIY Natural Bathroom Cleaners

Bathroom cleaning doesn’t have to entail harsh scrubbers and nasty fumes. Get your bathroom sparkling clean without toxic chemicals by making your own cleaning formulas.

Reprinted with permission from Green EcoPath
September/October 2010
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Use household essentials and citrus to clean your bathroom.
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Lemon Soft Scrubber

Ingredients:
1⁄4 cup borax
1 cup baking soda
1 tablespoon biodegradable liquid soap
Water
10 drops lemon or peppermint essential oil (or a mix of both)

To use:
In a jar, mix borax, soda and soap. Add water; stir to a thick but pourable consistency. Stir in essential oil. Use on tubs, sinks and counters.

Antibacterial Spray

Ingredients:
1 cup white vinegar
3 cups water
10 drops grapefruit seed extract or tea tree oil
1 teaspoon biodegradable liquid soap
10 to 20 drops lavender or lemon essential oil

To use:
Combine ingredients in a 1-quart spray bottle. Spray on sinks, countertops or any smooth surface and wipe clean.

Natural cleaning essentials

White vinegar
White vinegar, a powerful antifungal and germ-killing liquid, also gets rid of hard-water stains and buildup. Spray white vinegar directly onto mildew stains and mold, let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then scrub and rinse (use your lemon soft scrubber for extra cleaning power).

Clean the toilet with vinegar and baking soda. Pour about a cup of baking soda into the toilet, followed by 2 cups of white vinegar. After the fizzing subsides, scrub the toilet with a toilet brush.

Tea tree oil
Add about 5 drops of this potent antifungal oil per 1 cup of white vinegar and spray onto mildew stains. To prevent hard-water buildup and mildew from returning, combine 1 part white vinegar, 2 parts water and 10 to 20 drops tea tree oil, shake well and spray shower and bathtub.

Reprinted with permission from Green EcoPath 

Buy it instead

If homemade cleaners aren’t your style, you’ll find a variety of natural, nontoxic cleaners in retail stores. Look for cleaners that are free of chlorine bleach, dimethicones (and any substance ending in “-cone”), parabens and other tongue-twisting ingredients. The following companies carry nontoxic, biodegradable, herbal and natural cleaning products for the bathroom and home.

Better Life 

BioKleen 

Clorox Green Works 

Earth Friendly Products 

Ecover 

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day 

Orange Mate 

Pristine Planet 

Seventh Generation 
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Archived Comments

  • Mrs. B 10/17/2010 11:41:09 PM

    I just made the antibacterial spray cleaner so that I could use it to clean my refrigerator. I was pretty impressed with the way it worked considering its simple ingredients. I ended up cleaning my entire kitchen and it looks great and smells clean not chemically. Thank you for this article. I will be saving lots of money by making this cleaner instead of buying stuff that contains things I don't know of.

  • Sonja Paiva 10/1/2010 8:58:31 AM

    I love the article on DIY cleaners I made them and they are wonderful. I love the idea of staying organic and not breaking the bank. Good job!!!

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