
The DIY Toilet Bowl Cleaner You Need To Try
Cleaning agents like baking soda, borax, and castile soap are common among my most reliable DIY cleaning solutions, including my favorite homemade toilet bowl cleaner. That’s one of the nice things about homemade cleaners — a lot of them use the same ingredients, and once you have them, it’s both more affordable and convenient to make other useful DIY cleaners!
Another benefit of homemade cleaning solutions — including the natural toilet cleaner featured in this post — is that you can avoid the harsh chemicals that are often found in store-bought toilet cleaners. These chemicals and their fumes can irritate your eyes, nose, and mouth, and in extreme cases, even damage your skin or lungs, particularly if you have allergies or asthma.
But there are no harsh chemicals to worry about in this DIY toilet bowl cleaner, and it still works like a charm! In fact, I think it’s the best homemade toilet cleaner around, so give it a try and watch your toilet bowl sparkle and gleam like never before!
Related: How To Unclog A Toilet, With Or Without A Plunger

How To Make A DIY Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Ingredients:
- 2 cups distilled water
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/3 cup borax
- 1/3 cup castile soap
- 25 drops essential oils*
*Note: I usually use either lemon oil or Simple Clean blend here. The oils in Simple Clean are great for cleaning and purifying, and they have a citrus-y, woodsy scent that just screams “clean!”
Related: This One Versatile Cleaning Ingredient Can Make 7 Useful DIYs
Directions:

Heat the water using your stove or microwave until it’s warm. (Starting with warm water just makes for easier mixing.)
Add the baking soda and borax to the warm water, then stir until the powder is dissolved.

Let the solution sit for a few minutes to cool, then pour it into a squeeze bottle. Slowly add the castile soap and essential oils to the bottle, replace the cap, and shake gently to mix.

How To Use It
Use the squeeze bottle to apply the toilet cleaner to the sides of your toilet bowl. Let it sit there for 5 minutes or so (especially if there are stubborn stains present), then scrub with a toilet brush and flush!

You can probably get 2-3 uses out of this recipe. Just make sure to give the bottle another shake before using it again, as the ingredients may separate over time.
Bonus Tip: To keep your toilet fresh between cleanings, try my homemade fizzy toilet freshening bombs. With baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and vinegar, they’re simple to make and even easier to use. The essential oils in these fizzy toilet bombs will make your bathroom smell fresh and clean with practically no effort on your part!

Need More Toilet Tips?
Cleaning the toilet isn’t anyone’s favorite chore, but someone’s got to do it! Check out the links below for helpful tips and tricks that will help you tackle any toilet-related task:
Do you use any homemade cleaning products to keep your bathroom clean?

Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner Recipe
Equipment
- Large measuring cup
- Squeeze bottle
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat the water on the stove or in the microwave (warm water makes the other ingredients dissolve more easily).
- Add the baking soda and borax to the warm water and stir until the powders are dissolved.
- Let the solution cool for a few minutes, then pour it into a squeeze bottle.
- Slowly add the castile soap and essential oils to the bottle, replace the cap, and shake gently to mix.
- Applied generously, this recipe will make enough for about 3 uses (and be sure to shake it before each use!)
Is this cleaner SAFE for SEPTIC systems?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Good morning Jillee;
I made the toilet bowl cleaner, according to the recipe, but could not get the dry ingredients to dissolve. I brought the distilled water to a boil and they still would not dissolve.
It says two cups of distilled water warmed up with one cup of baking soda and 1/3 cup of borax.
I have used a lot of your recipes with great success. Not sure why this is not working.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.As long as you boiled the water, it is okay if the dry ingredients do not completely dissolve. Just give it a good shake and clean the toilet… You will find that it still works. :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The Lysol Cleaner for toilet bowl works extremely well and it is not that expensive and it is safe for septic systems.
Just remember if you do have a septic tank do not put any thing such as lettuce, spinach or anything “green” into your garbage disposal, this was told to us by our grandson as he and his wife have a septic system,
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Either that our use hydrogen peroxide bleach as it will not harm a septic system.
I was able to get the dry ingredients to dissolve, mostly. But after sitting for a few days, became solid and no matter what I tried I couldn’t get it to go back into solution. Even warming it in the microwave and trying to water it down left me with large crystals that wouldn’t go through the squeeze bottle opening.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Any ideas?
Debra, thanks for sharing this. It is not the first time we have heard that the ingredients harden. We are looking into changing the recipe a bit. In the meantime, give it a good shake and remove the top and pour the cleaner into the toilet bowl. Keep a lookout for a new and improved recipe.
I would love to make your formula after the last drop of my toilet bowl cleaner. It’s always great to know that we can use other things that we thought we won’t be needing in that particular area.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Once again, we dont have Castile soap in SA. What could I use as a replacement soap. Many thanks
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Castile soap is an olive oil based soap. Anything similar (a vegetable-based soap) would work!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I get mine online at faithful to nature
Please log in or create a free account to comment.A contractor told me that if you have a septic system,any type of grease,oil, fat is very bad for your septic system.I used to throw old food away sometimes.I do not do that anymore.Thought I would pass this along .
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jillee, love all of your hints and tips – I appreciate the positivity your posts (and you) generate. I would love to shop in your store but you do not offer international shipping which I understand but perhaps you might consider that for individual customers like myself in the future.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Anisa! I will actually be offering international shipping very soon! For a small business, it can be very expensive to ship internationally. So I’m still looking into my options, but I’ll have something for you soon :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jillee, Can you modify your recipe to make it gel like so that it clings to the side of the bowl ? Also, bowl brushes are a thing of the past. Try using a drill brush, works much better and makes cleaning much easier.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It doesn’t need to cling to the sides of the bowl if you use a “johnny mop” — basically you push the water out of the bowl first, then squirt your cleaner onto the “mop” and swab the toilet bowl with it — works sooo much butter than a brush, mostly because you’re not diluting your cleaner, and you can get at and below the water line.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve had one of these for years, and would never go back.
https://www.amazon.com/Don-Asletts-Johnny-Mop-Set-3/dp/B01E9M2L6K/ref=asc_df_B01E9M2L6K/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309763807560&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13200113593836657786&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1014570&hvtargid=pla-569018450771&psc=1
Sprinkle baking soda in the bowl. Spray with vinegar and for 2 minutes. Scrub all around.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Plus its les$$$, I buy both products in bulk from an Amish market. the oils aren’t needed.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The baking soda just neutralizes the vinegar that method doesn’t really clean, it just looks like it does. The toilet brush is doing the work with this method. You’d be better off using the baking soda to scrub first, then flush, then use the vinegar to remove any mineral deposits.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I sprinkle baking soda around the bowl and then spray vinegar on it. Wait a minute or two and scrub!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Doesn’t the plastic bottle leak due to he essential oils?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Gwen! You really only need to be concerned about essential oils in plastic for long term storage, and when the essential oils are in a higher concentration. This recipe can be stored in plastic without any issues :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Cool. This might be what our toilet needs. Some of the hard water stains are stubborn.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Glad to see a homemade recipe that doesn’t use bleach! The most “homemade” thing I’ve done for my toilet is dump in some washing soda and H2O2 for homemade OxyClean. But I also keep Borax around the house and have some “liquid” Castile hand soap I made from grating up a bar – which is already scented! Now I have to decide if want my toilet smelling like peppermint :).
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I don’t like having all the bottles of stuff around. Could I just sprinkle soda, borax and soap, wisk with brush and let set for a while?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.That is what I do.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Give it a try! The borax might not dissolve, so that would be the only problem I’d look out for :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Does it have to be distilled water for this formula to work?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.-thank you for your assistance-
No! Distilled water is great when you’re storing a cleaning solution. But it will still work well with tap water :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Is this safe for those of us with septic tanks?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What size bottle did you use? 32 ounces or 24?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It’s a 24-ounce!
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