Like most people, I’m not the type who gets excited about cleaning the bathroom. You would have just cause to worry about me if I did. Anyhow, this scrub got me excited about bathroom scrubbing for at least a few minutes, and if that’s not a testament to how awesome it is, I don’t know what is.
It’s based on a few things I’ve tried. The first is my bathroom scrub, a paste made of baking soda (USA / Canada), liquid hand soap, a few drops of essential oils, and water. The second is a gentle clay facial scrub I made by blitzing together clay, baking soda (USA / Canada), a bit of black soap, and a few other things.
Soap scraps! Aren’t they pretty?
The idea with this scrub was to mix together a few great cleaning ingredients into one super-awesome scrub that I could use over time rather than mixing up on a weekly basis.
Baking soda, borax, and essential oils complete my ingredients list.
I started with baking soda (USA / Canada), of course. Next up was the dried-out scraps of soap I had been saving from my soaping; the bits I scraped off the ends of the mold or trimmed off the top of the loaf. Then borax, one of my favourite natural cleaning products. Lasty, essential oils of lemon and lime for a nice, fresh scent.
The first grinding up of the soap. Not even close to fully ground here.
After that, it was just a mixture of grinding everything together. I used a coffee grinder, so I had to work in batches. The soap initially broke down into little colourful pebbles that looked like something you’d decorate a cake with, but that wasn’t small enough for me—they would have sunk to the bottom of the baking soda (USA / Canada)/borax mixture pretty quickly.
After I reached that stage I blitzed the soap together with baking soda (USA / Canada) until the entire mixture was very finely ground and I couldn’t see any bits of soap.
Next up, blitzing some essential oils into some baking soda (USA / Canada) and mixing that in with everything else.
Adding the essential oils will introduce enough moisture that you’ll notice soft little clumps forming in the mixture. Stir away, it’s no big deal.
My borax needed to be run through the coffee grinder as well as it had clumped up.
Here the top layer is the soap and baking soda fully blended together, while the bottom hasn’t been blended enough.
Then, mix everything together and store in a mason jar. The result is a gentle scrub that won’t scratch your tub or sink, but with the gentle abrasion of the baking soda (USA / Canada), scum just melts away!
Even Better Tub Scrub
½ cup ground soap
2 cups baking soda (USA / Canada)
½ cup borax
10 drops lemon essential oil
10 drops lime essential oilGrind everything together in a coffee grinder until you can’t recognize any distinct elements. The soap will require the most grinding; after you’ve taken it down to tiny pebble sized, grind it with baking soda (USA / Canada) to blend everything together.
Once everything is all mixed together and there are no lumps or clumps, store in a mason jar. To use, sprinkle a tablespoon or two on a sponge and scrub out your tub and sink. Rinse, and revel in the cleanliness!
EASY WAY OUT TIP:
Want to do this the easy way without a coffee grinder? Just mix together the baking soda (USA / Canada) and borax in a jar. When you want to do some cleaning, spoon some into a small container and add a squirt of hand soap and a few drops of essential oils. Add just enough water to make a stiff paste and scrub away!
Thank you for the Tub Scrub recipe. Do you know if this is safe to use on acrylic tubs?
It should be, Frani—I believe my tub is acrylic and it looks great!
I know this is an older post, but I had to write and tell you how amazing this cleaner is.
I am trying to make my home as chemical free as possible and just made the cleaner this morning.
I had a bar of lemongrass home made soap that my sister brings from Australia when she comes home to visit.
I knew it was good and dry because I had it in a bowl for months as an air freshener.
I grated it on my cheese grater and it grated right into a powder. I didn’t even have to put it in the spice grinder.
The first thing I cleaned was my kitchen sink. AMAZING! Then I used it on my acrylic tub with the slip resistant bottom which collects all the soap scum and again AMAZING.
I will certainly be passing this recipe along to family and friends.
Thanks so much for posting it.
Thanks so much, Marilyn—I love hearing that my recipes are working for people 🙂 And congrats on your chemical-free journey, it’s a fun one! Thanks for reading & DIYing with me 🙂
I just tried this scrub recipe. Well, mostly this recipe. I was out of borax, so I substituted salt. It still works beautifully. My husband works on cars and always leaves traces of grease in our cream-colored shower. This removes it easily! Also, my eight year old daughter likes to clean the bathroom. If I add a few drops food coloring, it’s easier for her to see where she has scrubbed!
Fantastic! I love your swap, too 🙂 Enjoy that shiny shower of yours!
If I don’t have homemade soap what can I use in its place.
Store bought soap 😉 Just try to get a bar of real soap made from fats and lye, without any artificial fragrances or added surfactants.
Made this and very happy as cleans well. One question popped in my head: would you substitute baking soda for washing soda? Washing soda seems to be stronger, so was thinking to do a batch with it but before wanted to hear your thoughts. Thanks
Yeah, for sure! That’s basically what this stuff is, and it’s amazing.
Awesome, thank you. I put a ‘Comet’ in a small Mason jar and topped it with stainless Steel Cocktail Shaker. Looks great and seems to be quite useful as the shaker has the cover which does not allow the EO to evaporate. Will make your Cleaning Powder as well. Also bought d-Limonene and will be making your Lemon Cream Cleaning Spray when it comes. I love my home made cleaning supplies.:-)
Fantastic! I love knowing that I’m not inhaling strong chemicals as I’m scrubbing out my tub, too 🙂