Zero Waste, Low Impact Bathroom Cleaning.

Whether your on top of your bathroom cleaning, doing a little everyday or you like to wait until you think “yeah gotta get on that” you will no doubt have a cupboard full of cleaning products to help you get rid of the grim in your bathroom.

You are no doubt here because you interested in finding a more ethical way to clean your bathroom. Maybe you using more “eco-friendly” products already but want to reduce the plastic you use, or you can stand the chemicals no longer and are looking for more natural products. You’ve come to the right place.

I’ll point out now that I am no scientist, but I have been using the method of trial and error for 3 years now and I think our bathroom is pretty darn clean (when I clean it of course).

When I started using more natural products it was because I wanted to reduce the amount of plastic we used in our home, however as time went on, and we were slowly using up chemical products we had left over I noticed the more natural products we used the more the chemical ones gave me a headache the second I used them. This made me really think about what was in them, especially when I became pregnant.

When I spoke to older generations in my family and at work about this they all said the same thing, “well we used to all use natural products years ago, they worked pretty damn well, if not better.”

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To start cleaning your bathroom the zero waste, low impact way you will need.

Washing up liquid.

Bicarbonate of soda.

A homemade spray mix. (All you need for this is an old spray bottle, fill with 2 parts white vinegar, 1 part water and add whatever citrus peel you have in to make it smell nice. Or follow Emma Reed’s step by step graphics.)

Citric Acid.

A decent scrubbing brush. I have one like this made from recycled plastic.

Some cloths or I like to use old muslins (they buff everything up nicely.)

Clean your Bathroom the minimalist way.

My day job is in the catering business (just to putting it out there we have a 5* rating when it comes to hygiene.) In the kitchen we are not allowed to use harsh bleaches and chemicals in case of cross contamination with food. So what do we use to get the surfaces 5* clean? Hot soapy water that’s what. I believe its one of the best things for getting these sparkling, paired with a little elbow grease this is what I use in my bathroom.

We refill our washing up liquid at our local zero waste store to reduce our plastic waste. Considering we use it for most of our clean I see it as good value. We choice Bio D which is free from harsh chemicals. You can also buy this in bulk 5L bottles which is also a good way of reducing the plastic. The bottle is also made from recycled plastic. Just keep an old bottle of washing up liquid to refill.

For our bathroom and sink I simply fill with hot water, squirt some washing up liquid around the bath and give it a good scrub with my brush. I do think on the taps and tiles too. If I find there are any tough spots (like in the grout) a little bicarbonate of soda mixed with a little water into a pasta does the trick. Simple scrub it into any dirt and shower it all off.

I then turn to my homemade vinegar spray which I use on taps, shower head and tiles, wiping over with a cloth or old muslin. This gives them a nice shine, is anti bacterial and if like us you live in a hard water area keeps any limescale at bay.

Note, if your shower head is particularly full of lime scale soaking it in vinegar is the best solution.

How do we eco clean the toilet?

Exactly the same. I squirt a little washing up liquid into the toilet, using the toilet brush to give it a good scrub. I then use the cloth/muslin first used on the sink and taps with my vinegar spray to clean around the toilet (throwing this straight in the wash afterwards, not be be used on anything else after the toilet).

Again if I need a little extra clean I will put a spoon of citric acid or bicarb into the bowl, scrub using the toilet brush, leave to sit for a little while then flush. If your feel like going the extra mile and like something nice smelling these toilet bombs are easy to make and work brilliantly.

What about the mirrors and glass?

Your all purpose homemade vinegar spray will also make your mirrors shiny. I use a damn cloth to get rid of any marks like toothpaste, then spray, using a clean dry cloth/old muslin to shine.