The Homemade Way to Clean the Loo

For the longest time, cleaning the bathrooms was my least favorite chore. Aside from the obvious gross-ness of the whole task, the process seemed to take forever and as soon as I was done they were dirty again.

So, I devised a system to make this daunting duty a little friendlier. Gone are the harsh detergents, headache-inducing fake fragrances, and uber-expensive household cleaners. I now opt for a homemade approach to tidying the bathroom that gets the job done and saves me lots of money.

I use only two ingredients: vinegar and castile soap (I like Dr. Bronner’s Almond because the scent is softly sweet). I find the notion of “antibacterial” in the bathroom to be hilarious – as soon as one of your loved ones uses the bathroom gone are the “benefits” of antibacterial products!! Plus, unless you’re living in a hospital, antibacterial products are bad for your health and bad for the environment (as I wrote about here).

Why vinegar? Vinegar is acidic, so it does a great job of breaking up mineral deposits, soapy residue, and water spots. It is non-toxic and inexpensive – a homemade mother’s dream product!
Here’s my typical bathroom procedure:

I stop up the sink and fill it with hot water. Add in a couple good squirts of the castile soap and 1/3 cup of vinegar. Wearing a cute pair of plastic gloves, I take a clean rag and scrub the faucet, sink and counter top. Using the same rag, I then wipe off the outside of the toilet (including the seat).

To the toilet water, add one tablespoon castile soap and 1/2 cup of vinegar. Let sit for a few minutes. Toss in the rag, and scrub away.

You can use the sink solution to clean the floors, too. I’m still working on a good homemade glass cleaner, so while I continue to experiment I use Method brand to freshen the mirror.

Afterwards, the bathroom looks and smells fresh. The task is done and I’m free to play with Evelyn!!

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11 Comments for this entry

  1. cmooretech says:

    I'm also a big fan of vinegar…as I'm allergic to almost every type of fragrance out there. Great Blog, thanks for all the helpful hints!

  2. Maureen Smithe Brusznicki says:

    Now that I've gotten rid of the conventional products I absolutely cannot stand any artificial frangrance — even perfume gives me a head ache now!

  3. Paige says:

    I have a great way to clean the bathroom AND have extra time to play with Kinsey. It's called a cleaning lady! No really, loving your blog and keep it up, I would love to find some time in between our non-stop moving to try some of this stuff. I'll let you do the research and then I can steal your recipes. 🙂

  4. Meghan Smithe Shriver says:

    What about Nature's Source from Windex for glass cleaning? It's a natural product that cleans glass and mirrors to a streak-free shine.

  5. DrummerGrl says:

    Thanks for the info. I'll try it.

  6. rachwp says:

    Have you tried cornstarch for streak-free glass? I have heard about it, but haven't tried it myself.

  7. Jessica says:

    Here's a link to glass cleaner for you, Maureen!
    http://www.easy-homemade-recipes.com/no-streak-glass-cleaner.html

    And if you ARE worried about disinfecting with your homemade cleaner, add a few drops of Tea Tree Oil, a natural disinfectant and something that I add every time I do a load of cloth diapers! :0]

  8. HomemadeMother says:

    Thanks, Jessica! I've been trying a few different versions of homemade glass cleaner. As soon as I have it perfected, I'll blog about it.

  9. Mommaof3grlz says:

    Vinegar water n cornstarch makes amazing glass cleaner!!!!

  10. Mlearning says:

    I read somewhere that vinegar and Castile soap cancel each other out. I think it was on dr. Lisa Bronner’s site.

    • Maureen says:

      I don’t know about that, but it might be true. I never had a problem with castile soap, but I stopped using it because it got rather expensive. I use dish soap now, and it seems to work great.

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