Zero Waste Toilet Bowl Cleaner Hack

Let’s be clear, I am the horrible housewife. I could care less about all this stuff and there are a million creative things I would rather be doing with my time. Don’t get me wrong, I love a clean house, I just don’t love being the one doing it- but hey, isn't that most of us?

However, I do get excited when I discover a new zero waste hack that actually works. Because it has to work, right?.

So a few months ago we had a rather mouthy guest (ok, it was my mother- love you, mom!) and this guest pointed out that we had some black mold growing on the inside rim of the toilet bowl in the guest bathroom. To be honest, I had seen it before but please see above as to why this issue hadn’t been resolved. I asked this guest how to fix it and she suggested bleach. I shot that down- it comes in a plastic jug and is toxic. But now that I had a witness, someone who pointed out my shortcomings when it comes to cleaning, I finally had to do something about it.

I did some research and discovered these adorable albeit expensive “zero waste toilet bowl bombs.” I thought maybe I could save a buck and make them myself but who are we kidding- my time is really limited at the moment taking care of Theo so I knew the likelihood of me making a toilet bomb was slim. However, I did notice the ingredients and they were really simple- the main ingredients being citric acid and baking soda. We always have tons on baking soda on hand so I needed to pick up some citric acid. My Zero Waste Store in Pasadena carries it in bulk so I filled up an old yogurt jar, found an old plastic scoop that was originally for some dog medicine and went to work. One scoop baking soda and one scoop citric acid sprinkled in the bowl. It all fizzed together and I let it sit to work its magic. After it sat there for five minutes or so I gave it a scrub with my plastic free toilet bowl brush (beautiful design but I do wish it was a little stronger) and behold, a cleaner toilet bowl.

A few months later, the mouthy guest returned and I inquired if the mold situation looked better and she said it looked resolved. Victory. I’ve also been using this combo after I scrub the kitchen sink with Castile soap mixed with baking soda and it helps with the staining here as well.

It works and it’s food grade! My favorite combination. Citric acid and baking soda in equal parts for all of your stained and sullied porcelain needs. For those of you who don't have a local bulk store that offers citric acid, the zero waste store I use ships it in bulk. If that doesn't work for you, I found that Mountain Rose herbs sells citric acid. They sometimes ship in plastic but the company itself is eco-conscious and works toward Zero Waste. Here is another plastic-free alternative as well offered by Eco Now.