The BEST Homemade Bathroom Cleaner (Tested, Proven, Only a Few Items)

With the holidays around the corner, you might have family coming over or staying awhile. Your home will probably be getting messy and dirty too!
We wanted to share a DIY chemist solution from the new eBook Chemistry Hacks for Home & Outdoor. This is an exclusive recipe developed for this book along with 30 others.
The reason this is the best homemade bathroom cleaner is how effective and easy it is to make. When it comes to cleaning bathrooms, you want something that is powerful enough to cut through bathroom grime. At the same time, you need just the right amount of chemicals so it doesn’t damage your surfaces.
I will tell you I tried so many different combinations, amounts, and methods for this cleaner until I finally found one that was good. The key to this solution is the balance of acid, salt, and surfactant. Combing these in the right amount create a great cleaner for bathrooms.
Make sure to stay tuned after this recipe for some more details on these chemicals.
Ingredients:


½ cup lemon infused vinegar


2 tbsp borax**


1 tbsp blue Dawn® Dishwashing Liquid


2 cups warm water


**update:: if you don't have access to borax, you can substitute sodium carbonate, also known as washing soda. Also found in laundry section :)


Directions:


Mix the warm water with the borax until dissolved. In a spray bottle, add in this borax water, vinegar, and soap. Give it a little shake.


Be sure to head to the link for a small video too :)


This works exceptionally well on ceramic showers, outside of toilets, sinks, bathroom counters, bathroom floors, and anything around the bathroom. Since it contains vinegar, you must be VERY CAREFUL with surfaces, read why here.
Chemist Tips on Why These Ingredients Work!


make sure to click here for important FAQs on this solution and other chemist tips


The best part about this book is there aren’t any special ingredients really needed. It doesn’t rely on essential oils to create the recipe, although you can definitely add the in if desired. For this recipe, the pleasant scent is just made from infused vinegar. Infusion is actually a very simple chemical process. It will essentially remove scent (or taste like in extracts) from one substance to another. For infused vinegar, just fill a jar with white distilled vinegar, add in lemon PEELS, and allow to steep a few weeks.


The lemon peel is where the oils are, so this gets the most scent out of it.


Dishwashing Liquid


Dish soap, technically dishwashing liquid, is the ultimate home chemical surfactant. This repels or pushes away grime, oil, or soap scum. The reason for adding only 1 tablespoon is to create just the right texture, scent, without too much foaming. I tested out many different proportions and this one worked best.


Borax


I use many borax solutions in the book and explain it’s chemical history in depth, but basically it is a great cleaning addition. Most people are familiar with borax in laundry solutions, but it does well at cleaning many things. I love using it for bathroom uses since it can cut through many substances. Using borax with vinegar is a great combination since borax is alkaline, it keeps this solution from being too acidic. It won’t neutralize it completely since there is a small amount of borax. Just the right amount 🙂


More details below!
Alexis @ Chemistry Cachet
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 37 questions
  • Oem49500002 Oem49500002 on Sep 21, 2022

    Does it help with hard water marks?

  • PamPam PamPam on Sep 22, 2022

    Will it remove the smell of cat urine from my shower tile floor? My kitty like to use that instead of his litter box.

  • Barb Brown Barb Brown on Sep 22, 2022

    Does this work on grout? The rental I moved into has extremely dirty grout and I don't think it's sealed.

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