How to Make The Best Non-Toxic Natural Bathroom Cleaners

Chemicals are not bad (everything from air to baking soda has a chemical composition). The goal isn’t to go chemical-free. The goal is to use safe chemicals for cleaning.

I’m going to share everything you need to know to confidently clean your bathroom the natural way: the safe and essential ingredients to stock and how to clean every surface.

What You Need to Clean The Bathroom Without Toxic Chemicals

With a few natural ingredients, you’ll make your own bathroom cleaners. The top ingredients you’ll need:

• Baking Soda
• Vinegar
• Liquid Castile Soap
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Essential Oils

Baking Soda

Baking soda is cheap and has many cleaning uses. When used in the bathroom, baking soda acts as a deodorizer, to lift stains and smells trapped on surfaces.

Keep a box of baking soda in your cleaning caddy for sprinkling on surfaces or to make cleaning products (just never mix baking soda with vinegar).

Vinegar

Most household vinegars contain 4-6% acetic acid. White vinegar is considered to be the most acidic vinegar and the strongest option for making a household cleaner. Vinegar has antimicrobial properties, making it a natural antibacterial ingredient.

If you don’t love the smell of vinegar, make orange vinegar with orange peels and use in place of white vinegar.

Liquid Castile Soap

Castile soap is a plant-based soap made from vegetable oils (olive, coconut, palm) and plant oils. It was first created in the 11th Century, in modern day Syria.

The beauty of castile soap and why it works so well for cleaning is because it easily picks up dirt, bacteria, and grime from surfaces. It’s also safe to use on the body (all body recipes using castile soap)!

The soap doesn’t kill bacteria, but it does easily lift and remove bacteria from surfaces. Antibacterial products, on the other hand, are designed to kill bacteria (not lift and remove the bacteria from the surface, as soap does).

Hydrogen Peroxide

Use 3% hydrogen peroxide (a wound care ingredient that’s easy to find) for its disinfecting and whitening properties. Use hydrogen peroxide as a bleach alternative to whiten bath towels and polish sinks and tubs. As a disinfectant, use undiluted hydrogen peroxide in the toilet bowl.

Essential Oils

Essential oils can be added to natural cleaning products for their antibacterial properties, like Tea Tree Oil, or used as a natural air freshener. To learn about cleaning with essential oils, check out this article: Natural Cleaning with Essential Oils 101.

How to Clean a Bathroom Naturally

Here’s how to clean every bathroom surface, without toxic chemicals, using homemade products. I’ll also share store-bought options that work, because you don’t have to make your own cleaners to go all natural.

Countertops

Spray countertops and the vanity with all-purpose cleaning spray. After spraying, use a damp sponge or cloth to wipe the surface clean, rinsing the cloth and repeating as needed. A few favorites:

• Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner Spray: Combine 1 cup white vinegar and 1 cup water in a spray bottle. Never use vinegar on marble, granite, unsealed surfaces, or stone surfaces. Add a squirt of Sal Suds (a tough non-toxic soap) for soap scum buildup removal.
• Castile Soap All-Purpose Spray: Combine 1 cup water and 2 tablespoons castile soap in a spray bottle.
• All-in-One Bathroom Cleaner: Combine 1 tablespoon baking soda with 2 cups warm water in a spray bottle. Shake to combine. Add 2 tablespoons castile soap.
• Branch Basics: A store-bought option. Use coupon code livesimply for extra savings.
• Force of Nature: Another store-bought option that works as a cleaner and disinfectant. Use coupon code livesimply for extra savings.

Toilets

For the outside of the toilet, use All-Purpose Surface Cleaner Spray, All-in-One Bathroom Cleaner, Branch Basics, or Force of Nature.

For the toilet bowl, use a baking soda cleaner (see 2 recipes below), then undiluted vinegar or hydrogen peroxide to disinfect.

• DIY Toilet Bowl Cleaner: Combine water, baking soda, castile soap, and lavender essential oil (optional) in a squirt bottle. Squirt in the toilet bowl and scrub with a brush. After flushing, spray the toilet bowl with undiluted vinegar or hydrogen peroxide to disinfect.
• Toilet Bowl Powder: Combine baking soda, borax, and coarse salt in a jar. Shake into the toilet bowl, scrub, then flush. Spray the toilet bowl with 100% vinegar or hydrogen peroxide to disinfect.

Mirrors and Glass Shower Doors

Tile & Grout

There are various cleaning solutions, from sprays to a scrub, that work for cleaning wall tile and grout in the bathroom. A few favorites:

• Scrub Cleaner: Combine baking soda, castile soap, hydrogen peroxide, and a cleaning essential oil (optional) in a jar. Use a scrub brush to apply the paste to the tile and grout, scrub, and rinse with a damp sponge.
• Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner Spray: Combine 1 cup white vinegar and 1 cup water in a spray bottle. Never use vinegar on marble, granite, unsealed surfaces, or stone surfaces.
• All-in-One Bathroom Cleaner: Combine 1 tablespoon baking soda with 2 cups warm water in a spray bottle. Shake to combine. Add 2 tablespoons castile soap.
• Branch Basics: A store-bought option. Use coupon code livesimply for extra savings.
• Force of Nature: Another store-bought option that works as a cleaner and disinfectant. Use coupon code livesimply for extra savings.
• For tile floors, I recommend using the floor cleaner recipes in the next section.

Floor

Use a mop and floor cleaner on tile floors or make your own Swiffer-like wipes. For a small bathroom, your favorite all-purpose spray will work well for cleaning floors. A few favorites:

• Vinegar Floor Cleaner: Combine 1 cup vinegar with 2 gallons warm water in a bucket. Add a fragrance with a few drops of essential oil, if desired. Use a mop to clean the floor.
• Castile Soap Floor Cleaner: Combine 2 gallons warm water with 2 tablespoons castile soap (or a squirt of Sal Suds) in a bucket. Add a fragrance with a few drops of essential oil. Use a mop to clean the floor.
• DIY Floor Wipes: Combine vinegar and water in a jar, add small towels to the mixture. Attach a towel to a Swiffer base to clean the floor.

Shower Spray for Mold and Mildew

If you have mildew buildup in the shower, here’s a homemade shower cleaner to use directly on the problem spots.

• Easy DIY Mildew Spray: Combine rubbing alcohol, tea tree essential oil, and vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray directly on the surface, let rest for a few minutes, then wipe with a sponge or towel. Repeat as needed.

Air Freshener

Proactively defend your bathroom from unwanted odors with natural air fresheners using essential oils. Learn more about using essential oils for cleaning.

• Fragrance Spray: Add a few drops of essential oil to high-proof vodka and water. Spray in the air (or in the toilet) as needed.
• Toilet Paper Air Freshener: Add a few drops of an essential to the inside of a fresh toilet paper roll. The scent will subtly fill the bathroom.
• Diffuser: Keep an essential oil diffuser in the bathroom. Add a few drops of essential oil. Be careful when using essential oils around animals. See safety precautions for cats and dogs.