Make Your Own Toilet Bowl Cleaner {Green in 365: Bathroom}

 

This is Day 107 of the Green in 365 series!

By Hilary Kimes Bernstein of Accidentally Green

Thanks to a host of hazardous chemicals, toilet bowl cleaners are some of the most toxic cleaners on store shelves.

No one wants to be exposed to toxins – and mothers of young children should use extreme caution, since you never know if or when your little ones will end up playing in or drinking toilet water.

Fortunately there are several nontoxic and affordable ways to effectively clean your toilet.

• Simply sprinkling some baking soda and pouring a little vinegar in your toilet bowl and scrubbing thoroughly is one safe and easy way to clean.
• A fun and fruity method is to use powdered drink mixes that contain citric acid – like Lemonade Kool-Aid, Orange Kool-Aid, or Tang. Right before bed, flush your toilet. Sprinkle a packet of drink mix (it must contain citric acid) in the toilet and scrub with a scrub brush. Let the water sit overnight, and flush in the morning. Your newly cleaned toilet will smell like orange – or lemonade – and be completely safe. Hard water stains should disappear, too. (Personally, I prefer using the Lemonade drink mix since I’d rather not see orange toilet water.)
• Typically I clean my own toilet with baking soda and castile soap. I add a squirt of scented castile soap to the toilet bowl (peppermint is my favorite for this job), sprinkle a little baking soda, and scrub. The smell is wonderful. Because this method is completely safe, I’ve let my children help with this chore since they were toddlers.
• I also use a mixture of castile soap and warm water to wash the outside of the toilet, and disinfect the surface with hydrogen peroxide.
• Here is Emily’s method for cleaning the toilet without harsh chemicals.

What safe cleaning methods do you use while cleaning your toilets?

Hilary Kimes Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and writer who blogs about making healthy decisions that honor God and happen to help the environment at Accidentally Green. She’s recently released her first eBook, First Bites: How To Instill Healthy Eating Habits During Your Baby’s First Year.

 

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