Mixing a 2:1 ratio of white vinegar and baking soda makes an effective cleaner to sparkling clean your toilet bowl.
If you are honest, the most hated job in the home is cleaning your toilet, especially the toilet bowl, right?
However, using store-bought commercial toilet bowl cleaners may help you do the task. But in the long run, it develops health risks due to containing harsh chemicals and releasing toxic fumes.
So, what’s the alternative but a safe solution?
Yes, that’s the homemade DIY toilet bowl cleaners.
This post sorts out the 5 treasure cleaner recipes that need hardly 10 minutes from scratch to make the cleaner.
Shall I explain?
Table of Contents
Eco-Friendly Cleaning: The Best Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner Recipe
Making a DIY toilet bowl cleaner is pretty easy, inexpensive, and easy. Here the secret sauce is all the ingredients and tools you will require are available at home, especially in the kitchen.
So, you don’t need to jump hither and thither to manage the ingredients. Moreover, you don’t even need to spend extra bucks to collect them.
That means, using DIY toilet bowl cleaners is natural, economical, and safe.
Recipe 1: Vinegar
Admit it; vinegar is not only a cooking ingredient to increase food texture and taste.
Rather, it’s a good mild acid with cleaning power. So you can use vinegar to make your toilet cleaner and this cleaning power to rejuvenate its shine.
However, using only this ingredient takes longer to clean your toilet bowl. But, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have pets, and kids at home.
What You’ll Need
- A bottle of 20% white vinegar
How To Clean Your Toilet Bowl
The ideal time to use this cleaner is before bed, because it requires 8-10 hours to work. So before going to bed at night, prepare the toilet bowl by flushing the water. If the vinegar is distilled with toilet water, the acid loses its effectiveness. So it won’t work at its best.
- Flush the toilet bowl and pour the white vinegar into it.
- When pouring, ensure the handle, rim, and bowl’s walls all get in contact with the vinegar.
- Shut the lid, and leave the toilet, closing its door.
- In the morning, you will find the toilet’s mild water, rust, and other stains are softer than last night.
- Thoroughly and gently scrub the entire toilet bowl with the toilet brush.
- Flush the toilet 2-4 times until the bowl is clean.
Note:
If other members of your family usually use the toilet at night. Inform them not to use the toilet as you pour vinegar to clean it.
Recipe 2: Baking Soda
Don’t you get time to clean your toilet bowl for many days? It gets too dirty with pop stains and water-pink rings by this time.
Now, you manage some time to clean the toilet bowl. But looking at these horrible stains, you think, what to do?
Are they possible to remove with homemade remedies?
Fortunately, yes.
White vinegar alone won’t be effective for these. But adding baking soda will do the magic because baking soda is one of the alkaline substances with an 8.3 pH level that helps to remove stubborn stains.
What You’ll Need
- 2:1 ratio of white vinegar and baking soda
How To Clean Your Toilet Bowl
This cleaner will take little time than the 1st remedy. Managing 30 minutes is ok to clean your toilet bowl.
- Flush the toilet and, if possible, wipe the bowl surface with a dry rug. So, the cleaner can work best on its dry surface.
- Pour the white vinegar soaking the bowl walls, rims, and handles.
- Sprinkle the baking soda to the toilet bowl vinegar. As soon as you add soda, it will react with the vinegar and create a fizz.
- Spread/scrub the solution with a brush, and rest it for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Again scrub the toilet bowl after 20 minutes.
- Flush the toilet repeatedly to remove the dirty water.
Tip: When scrubbing, focus on the hard-reach areas and stain spaces, as there is a high chance of the stains remaining even after cleaning. Otherwise, you may need to repeat the process. But focusing on those corners will help you avoid double job attempts.
Recipe 3: Borax
In most cases, after unclogging the toilet bowl, many users complain about nasty odors. If you recently unclogged your toilet bowl with a plunger and experienced foul smells, this toilet bowl cleaner with borax is for you.
Though borax is a weak base with about a 9.13 pH value, it is good to eliminate toilet odors. So you can confidently make and use it as your DIY toilet cleaner with no health hazards.
What You’ll Need
- White vinegar – 2 cups
- Borax – 1.5 cups
- Lavender essential oil – 1 ml
- Lemon essential oil – 0.5 ml
- Squirt bottle – 1 piece
How To Make
- Take the squirt bottle.
- First, pour the white vinegar into the bottle.
- Add borax, lavender essential oil, and lemon essential oil with the vinegar.
- Shake the bottle to mix the ingredients properly.
Tip: If there is no millimeter mark on the essential oil bottle, you can use roughly 20 drops as 1 ml and 10 drops as 0.5 ml.
How To Clean Your Toilet Bowl
- Remove the toilet’s regular water through flushing.
- Pour the remedy into the toilet bowl by clinging to the bowl walls.
- Let it sit for 3-4 hours or overnight.
- Now, scrub the toilet bowl with the toilet brush.
- If needed, add some extra borax when scrubbing for stubborn stains.
- Flush the toilet to drain dirty/contaminated water.
Note: Here the borax works as a base cleaner, and essential oils kick off nasty odors and spread a fresh smell. However, when using this cleaner, be careful not to splash the cleaner ( internal link) and get contact with your skin, nose, and throat. As that may be slightly irritating or allergic prone.
Recipe 4: Citric Acid
What if your toilet smells bad between the cleanings?
Though, most people use commercial air fresheners and deodorizers to get rid of these in this situation.
Is there any natural deodorizer that can be made at home?
Yes, there is also an efficient solution that works like a natural smell fighter. Once you use the cleaner, you get a fresh, soothing, and charming smell in the toilet. And the best thing is it is as good as the commercial ones.
What You’ll Need
- Baking soda – 1 cup
- Citric acid – ⅔ cup
- Water – 1 tablespoon
- Lavender oil, Peppermint oil, and Lemon oil – 1.5 ml each
- Silicone ice tray, small glass bowl, a wooden spoon – 1 piece each
How To Make
- Combine solid ingredients (baking soda and citric acid) in the bowl.
- Stir them with a spoon for perfect mixing.
- Add liquid ingredients (water and 3 essential oils) with the mixture.
- Again stir them, and it will make the solution like toothpaste.
- Now, pour the solution into each cell of the silicone ice tray and let them dry for 3-5 hours.
- Once they dry, you find them as toilet bowl cleaning tablets.
How To Clean Your Toilet Bowl
- To use the cleaning tablet, remove them from the ice tray.
- Drop 1-2 tablets into the toilet bowl and let them distill. It may take several hours.
- Once they are distilled and mixed with the water.
- The chemical reactions will kill bacteria and spread a fresh smell in the toilet air.
- The fresh smell will eliminate the toilet odor.
Tip: Check the consistency of the paste before pouring them into the ice tray. If it feels sticky and squeezy, that is ok. If it’s too solid, add a few drops of water.
Recipe 5: Hard Water Stains
Believe it or not, approximately 85% of users get a hard water supply from the municipality in the USA. So, irrespective of state and city, you are probably also supplied with hard water in your toilet.
So, in most cases, rust-colored stains in the toilet bowl may be due to hard water’s chalky white residue.
In that case, you have to be smarter to make homemade toilet cleaner than regular remedies.
What You’ll Need
- White vinegar – 2 cups
- Baking soda – 1 cup
- Hydrogen peroxide – ½ cup
- Glass bowl – 1 piece
How To Clean Your Toilet Bowl
- Pour vinegar and hydrogen peroxide into the toilet bowl.
- Add baking soda to the liquid and scrub the toilet with a toilet brush to reach the remedy in each space.
- Let them sit in the bowl for 30 minutes for chemical reactions that’ll eat away the stubborn hard water stains.
- After 30 minutes, again scrub the toilet and flush up to 5 times.
Caution
- After pouring vinegar and hydrogen peroxide into the toilet bowl, immediately add baking soda.
- A little late can make a hazard, as mixing vinegar and hydrogen peroxide create peracetic acid, which is dangerous and can burn skin, eyes, nose, and respiratory system.
Spark Clean Your Toilet Bowl With Homemade Cleaner
DIY cleaners are 100% harsh chemical free, non-toxic, and easy to make. Even these natural cleaners are safer and promote a healthier and happier life.
Just one thing to remember, if there remains any extra cleaners after use. Ensure storing them in an airtight glass container, out of child reach.
Related Questions
What ingredients can I use to make homemade toilet bowl cleaner?
Some common ingredients used in homemade toilet bowl cleaner include baking soda, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, essential oils, and borax.
Is homemade toilet bowl cleaner effective at removing stains and odors?
Yes, homemade toilet bowl cleaner can be very effective at removing stains and odors if the right ingredients and proportions are used.
Are homemade toilet bowl cleaners safe for septic systems?
Yes, many homemade toilet bowl cleaners are safe for septic systems as they use natural ingredients that won’t harm the system.
How do I apply homemade toilet bowl cleaner?
Apply the homemade toilet bowl cleaner by pouring it directly into the bowl and letting it sit for a few minutes before scrubbing with a toilet brush.
How often should I use homemade toilet bowl cleaner?
Use homemade toilet bowl cleaner once a week for regular maintenance or more frequently if your toilet needs extra cleaning.
Can I use homemade toilet bowl cleaner on other surfaces?
While homemade toilet bowl cleaner is specifically designed for toilet bowls, some ingredients like vinegar and baking soda can be used on other surfaces such as sinks and countertops.
Will homemade toilet bowl cleaner damage the toilet bowl?
No, homemade toilet bowl cleaner is generally safe for toilet bowls and won’t cause damage if used as directed.
