How To Make Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner Tablets
Clean your toilet in a natural way with these homemade DIY toilet bowl cleaner tablets. They really work just like store-bought cleaners to leave your toilet sparkling!
Making homemade household products just makes me feel like such a boss! Seriously, making really useful things by myself or with my kids just makes homemaking more fulfilling for me.
I decided to make my own homemade toilet cleaner one time when I ran out of the store-bought one I had been using (you know, the one loaded with bleach), and I’ve been making it ever since! They’re super affordable, and work like a charm!
My kids love being able to drop a tablet in and watch it fizz up. They actually fight over who gets to clean the toilets! Ha! I mean, whatever makes cleaning more fun!
check out my homemade thieves cleaner and homemade laundry stain remover spray
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Why you’ll like making your own Toilet Bowl Cleaner:
they’re all natural
Most commercial toilet bowl cleaners, if not all, contain bleach and other highly poisonous ingredients. I have 6 kids, and I don’t want that worry in the back of my mind that there are chemical filled products within their reach.
Knowing that the cleaners in my cabinet are non toxic and safe for my toddlers to touch and even ingest gives me so much peace of mind when I can’t watch them every minute!
cheaper to make than buy
Its way more affordable to make toilet cleaner from scratch than it is to buy them! The 3 ingredients you need to make these tablets are really inexpensive.
only 3 ingredients
I really like not having to add extra cleaners to my shopping list. Most of the homemade cleaners I make call for the same few ingredients so all we have to do is have those things on hand to refill my cleaning supplies when they run out.
How To Make Homemade toilet Bowl cleaner Tablets
Ingredients:
- Citric Acid – citric acid is an all natural ingredient that is completely ingestible so totally safe for your kids to be handling. It has a similar effect as vinegar when used as a cleaning agent and works well against mild and mildew.
- Baking Soda – baking soda is a great natural cleaner. Its deodorizing and mildly abrasive traits help it cut through grime and tackle odors.
- White Distilled Vinegar – white vinegar is probably my all time favorite cleaning ingredient. It clears up soap scum and other stains without leaving a residue. White vinegar is also very effective on hard water stains.
- Essential Oils – I used Thieves and Orange Essential Oils because of their cleaning power and they just smell AMAZING together!
Supplies:
- Large Bowl and Whisk – for mixing the ingredients together.
- Eye Dropper – the vinegar needs to be added very slowly to the other ingredients. Adding it too quickly will make the tablets will make them less fizzy.
- Large Ice Cube Molds or regular ice cube molds – regular ice cube trays will work just fine, but the toilet cleaner tablets will be smaller and you’ll have to use a couple to clean the toilet. With the large ice cube trays, you just use one.
FAQ about homemade toilet bowl cleaner tablets:
Do Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner Tablets Work?
Using homemade DIY toilet cleaner bombs is a natural way to freshen your toilet bowl. Just drop one of these large bombs into the toilet, let it dissolve and scrub away any stains with a toilet brush, then flush the grime away!
These bombs not only clean well, they smell incredible! A great way to freshen up the air in your bathroom naturally.
how do you clean hard water stains in the toilet?
If your toilet has a lot of hard water build up or hasn’t been cleaned in ages, you might need to start by using a scouring stick to deep clean the toilet bowl. The homemade toilet tablets will work great for regular cleaning after you get the build up taken care of the first time.
Using gloves, reach into the toilet bowl (I know, its not fun) and scrub at the hard water stains with your scouring stick till its all gone. Then go ahead and use a DIY toilet tablet and a toilet brush to finish the job!
Can you use ice cube trays to make toilet bowl cleaner tablets?
You can use a regular ice cube tray if that’s what you have on hand, but you will need to use two toilet bowl cleaner tablets at a time instead of one larger one.
what essential oils can i use for toilet cleaner?
Try different combinations of essential oils! It would be fun to make seasonal scents like pine for Winter or floral for Spring. These toilet tablets really do smell strong so they act as an air freshener as well as cleaning!
How to Make Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner Tablets
Prep – Mix your baking soda and citric acid together into a large bowl. Add the vinegar into the baking soda mixture a couple of drops at a time, whisking between each addition.
This is time consuming, but you really do need to go slowly. Add just enough vinegar to where you can form the mixture into a clump with your hands.
Add – Add in the essential oils, mixing well to combine.
Scoop – Scoop the mixture into each section of the ice cube trays and pack it firmly.
Let Harden – Let the tablets set in the trays for at least an hour. When they are completely hard, carefully pop each one out.
Tips for success
Add in the Vinegar VERY Slowly – You want to add the vinegar literally 2 drops at a time. If you add it too quickly, your toilet cleaner tablets will not be as fizzy.
To Use – Drop one large tablet into the toilet bowl, let it dissolve completely. Then scrub it around with a toilet brush. At this point you can flush it away if you think its done its work. Or if your toilet is needing it extra bad, let it sit for 30 minutes, then flush.
Having guests over, toss one of these toilet cleaners in and your bathroom will smell nice and fresh!
To Store – Store your toilet cleaner tablets in an airtight container so that they keep their strong scent
More Cleaning Ideas for You:
If you liked this tutorial, I think you’ll really enjoy these other cleaning ideas on the blog!
- How to Clean a White Enamel Sink
- How to Clean a Black Glass Stovetop
- Homemade Laundry Stain Remover Spray
- Cleaning Checklist For Your Entire Home
- Homemade Thieves Cleaner From Scratch
I hope you love this recipe for homemade toilet bowl cleaner tablets! If you make them, I’d love for you to come back and leave a comment and rating so that I know how you like them!
Pin these steps to try later. Tag @athomeontheprairie on Instagram to share what you’ve made with us!
Homemade Toilet Cleaner Tablets
Clean your toilet in a natural way with these homemade DIY toilet bowl cleaner tablets. They really work just like store-bought cleaners to leave your toilet sparkling!
Materials
- 2 cups of baking soda
- 1/2 cup of citric acid
- 1-2 tablespoons of white distilled vinegar
- 35 drops of essential oils (example: 15 drops citrus and 20 drops of thieves oil)
Tools
- bowl
- whisk
- eye dropper
- large ice cube trays
Instructions
- Prep - Mix your baking soda and citric acid together into a large bowl. Add the vinegar into the baking soda mixture a couple of drops at a time, whisking between each addition. This is time consuming, but you really do need to go slowly. Add just enough vinegar to where you can form the mixture into a clump with your hands.
- Add - Add in the essential oils, mixing well to combine.
- Scoop - Scoop the mixture into each section of the ice cube trays and pack it firmly.
- Let Harden - Let the bombs set in the trays for at least an hour. When they are completely hard, carefully pop each one out.
Notes
- Add in the Vinegar VERY Slowly - You want to add the vinegar 2 drops at a time. If you add it too quickly, your toilet tablets will not be as fizzy.
- To Use - Drop one large tablet into the toilet bowl, let it dissolve completely. Then scrub it around with a toilet brush. At this point you can flush it away if you think its done its work. Or if your toilet is needing it extra bad, let it sit for 30 minutes, then flush.
- To Store - Store your toilet cleaner tablets in an airtight container so that they keep their strong scent.
Is it possible to just use regular vinegar? I’m not even sure we have distilled vinegar here in Australia.
Yes! I think that would be just fine!
Hi … Are these cute toilet bombs Septic tank friendly ? Thanks
Yes they are!
I need special toilet cleaning power due to hard water. I’m going to try this!
I will have to try these, I struggle with hard water stains and prefer to use natural products!
This is awesome! I’m always on the lookout for natural swaps. I found a more natural toilet bowl cleaner at the store, but this would be way cheaper. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Definitely need something like this, we have hard well water. Just what I was looking for and I have all the ingredients already! Thank you:)
I also gain peace of mind knowing that we use natural, non-toxic cleaners in our home. It’s convenient that I only need simple household items and it’s definitely an added bonus that our kids will enjoy this as a science experiment. Thanks for sharing!
That will be so fun to make it with your kids! My girls get a kick out of watching them fizz in the toilet.
I just made these and they bubbled up out of my molds! Any idea what I did wrong?
Hi Tiara! That happens if you add the vinegar to the baking soda mixture too quickly or if you add too much vinegar. You want to add just enough to make the mixture clump up whej you squeeze it in your hand.
I hope that helps!
We made these today and had so much fun watching them fizz! It’s a 2 person job whisking in the vinegar. I am hoping this encourages us to clean the bathrooms more frequently.
Straight vinegar or 50/50 also works wonders on hard water in the bathroom or kitchen. Best cleaner ever.
I’m so glad you enjoyed making them Kirsten!
When I return home I will give these toilet bombs a try.
Let me know how you like using/making them!
Do you think you could just squeeze this into balls and not use any mold at all? About the size of a lemon. Kind of like the bath bombs you see in specialty bath shops
You could but they do crumble somewhat and they’ll hold together if they’re packed into a mold.
Can you use baking soda that was used in the freezer? I have several boxes and hate to waste it.
I would test it first to make sure it’s still active. Drop a little in some hot water or vinegar and if it fizzes up, it’s still fresh enough to use!
How long can you store them for?
They’ll last indefinitely stored in an airtight container away from any moisture.
I made these twice and they work great! But, I pumped them up by using 12% vinegar. And, to speed up the process, I used a very big bowl and then used the dropper to add several drops at a time, but I covered them up right away with the powder. I think the key is to not let it foam up. If you do that, it will keep the fizzy for when you use them. At least that worked for me!