How To Clean Your Toilet Without Getting Your Hands Dirty
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So I don't know about anyone else but my all time least favorite household chore is cleaning the bathrooms. Anyone else out there who just hates the thought of scrubbing the place where all the germs go to thrive? Well once I started making my own household cleaning products I started researching for the best toilet bowl cleaner to find something to help get me through my least favorite chore. I came across several recipes on Pinterest for different toilet bombs and I have to say they are my new favorite Pinterest find! It took me a few tries and a couple of "volcano" type messes to perfect what I think is the perfect recipe but I am so glad I was persistent. All you need to do to maintain a clean toilet is do a thorough cleaning about once a month and then just use these toilet bombs a few times a week in between cleanings. I like to think of them as both a toilet cleaner and a toilet freshener. Your toilet will smell and look fresh and you can thank me, or Pinterest, later!
Ingredients And Supplies Needed
2/3 cup Baking Soda
1/4 cup Citric Acid
1/2 Teaspoon Vinegar
15 drops Thieves Essential Oil
10 drops Orange Essential Oil
10 drops Lemon Essential Oil
Glass or Ceramic Bowl For Mixing
Clean Mixing Spoon
Optional: Mini Funnel
Recipe Makes about 20 - 1.5 inch diameter toilet bombs, you can double the recipe to make more at a time.
Toilet Bomb Recipe
Now that I have been through all the trial and error, these are actually quite quick and easy to make. If you are sensitive to fragrance or dust at all you will want to wear a mask when mixing as the mixing process sends up a lot of fragrance and some powder into the air. The first thing you will want to do is pour your measured baking soda and citric acid into your bowl and mix thoroughly. You will then combine your vinegar and essential oils into a very small glass spray bottle (you can use a funnel to make this process a little easier) and you will want to shake the bottle to mix the ingredients well. Now here comes the part where you need patience. You will now spray about three sprays worth at a time into the bowl and mix. If you spray too much at one time the baking soda will begin to fizz away. I like to say the more it fizzes when mixing, the less it will fizz when you drop it into the toilet which will greatly diminish the cleaning power. There will remain a small amount at the bottom of the bottle that will no longer spray out. At this point you will want to slowly drop it in drop by drop while constantly stirring to decrease the amount of fizz lost. Now you should have a slightly moist, easily packable powder that you will then pack down firmly into your silicone mold. The bombs will expand slightly so do not overfill. Let dry at least 24 hours, or ideally a few days before removing from the mold. Store in an air tight container and enjoy a clean and fresh smelling toilet! To use place one into the toilet and let sit for 20-30 minutes, scrub if needed, and flush. Use a few times a week for best results and sit back and relax while they do the work for you!
Regarding the ingredients, the baking soda provides the fizzing action needed to disperse the citric acid and essential oils which will help clean the toilet. The citric acid is a safe cleaner and degreaser used in many natural cleaning products. The essential oils are both antimicrobial and will help remove stains, dirt, and film. The vinegar adds the moisture needed to hold the mixture together while also providing a small amount of anti fungal and cleaning power. In one method I tried using hydrogen peroxide to make it have more of a whitening and brightening effect but the hydrogen peroxide added too much moisture and too much chemical reactivity. It caused the mixture to expand greatly, even when I underfilled the wells to account for this. In the end I was left with volcano of baking soda and citric acid all over my counter. So no hydrogen peroxide it is!
Alright, that's it for today! Hope you all enjoy, please let me know if you try it out!
