Cleaning the loo certainly isn’t one of my favourite jobs but having a clean fresh loo does make me happy, especially if I can do it with natural products.
If you make cleaning your Loo part of your regular cleaning routine it doesn’t have to be time consuming.
What’s the biggest problem with keeping your loo clean?
The biggest problem with keeping your Loo looking clean and sparkly is usually due to mineral deposits, because once they start to build up they will stain your loo making it look icky. The extent of the problem you face will depend on how hard your water is.
But, there’s a really easy solution to tackle the mineral / limescale deposits just follow my easy cleaning loo routine.
My simple natural loo cleaning routine
Tackling Mineral / Limescale Deposits
Once a week; if you don’t have hard water this can be less often, just as and when required; give your loo a clean with Citric Acid to remove the mineral / limescale deposits.
This is super easy and you will be amazed at the results.
- Pour a jug of warm water (don’t use boiling water as it could crack the bowl) into the toilet bowl and tip in one to two cups of Citric Acid, sprinkling a lit bit around the bowl as well
- To tackle stains under the rim you can make up a citric acid spray with 50g citric acid dissolved in 250ml of warm water. Just spray under the rim after you’ve put the Citric Acid in the toilet and bowl.
- Leave for at least an hour, overnight if possible.
- When you’re ready just give the toilet bowl a good scrub with a brush and flush.
Note: if you’re tacking a build up of limescale for the first time you may need to repeat this process. For really tough build up you can also use a pumice stone to help remove the limescale.
Weekly Loo cleaning Routine
- Spray around the toilet bowl with a natural general cleaner, including under the rim and under the toilet seat. One of my favourite recipes for Loo Cleaner is this Castile Soap General Cleaner.
- Put the toilet seat down and spray the toilet all over with the natural general cleaner, remember to spray the top, sides, seat and handle.
- Wipe down the loo with a damp natural fibre cleaning cloth from top to bottom, making sure you clean around the bottom where it meets the floor.
- Put the loo seat up wipe and wipe clean.
- Give the toilet bowl a scrub with a brush or sponge and flush to rinse.
You will now have a clean fresh loo.
Cleaning is fine for most Loos but if you want to disinfect as well you can give it a quick spray with Hydrogen Peroxide once you’ve finished cleaning. Just spray it on, leave for a couple of minutes and wipe off.
Warning – Never mix hydrogen peroxide and vinegar together. Combining the two will form peracetic acid, which could irritate your skin, eyes and respiratory system. In serious cases, Peracetic Acid can even cause lung damage. And, never mix any cleaning products with Bleach.
Keeping your loo fresh between cleans
A great way to keep your loo smelling fresh between weekly cleans is to make up a batch of toilet fizzers. Keep them handy and pop one in at night before you go to bed. You can find the recipe and how to make Toilet Fizzers in my 5 Natural Homemade Cleaning Recipes for the Bathroom
Caring for your toilet brush and cleaning cloths
And, lastly here are a few tips for caring for your toilet brush and cleaning cloths.
- Always keep your toilet cleaning cloths separate from your other cleaning cloths.S Soak in a solution of Hydrogen Peroxide before washing, half a cup of Hydrogen Peroxide in a bowl of water.
- Soak for 15 to 30 mins before washing.
- To clean your toilet brush, if you use one. Once you’ve finished brushing your Loo during it’s weekly clean rinse the toilet brush under the flush water and rinse in the clean toilet water, spray with undiluted Hydrogen Peroxide (do this in the Loo) and leave under Loo seat to dry.
All Purpose Castile Cleaning Spray
This recipe doesn’t contain vinegar so is great for using on stone, granite, ceramic or marble surfaces
YOU’LL NEED:
- Glass spray bottle
- ½ Tbsp washing soda
- 1 Tbsp castile soap
- 2 cups of hot water
- Approx 20 drops of essential oils (not citrus if using on granite)
HOW TO:
- Add washing soda & castile soap to the bottle.
- Pour two cups of hot water in and shake well to mix (use slightly cooled boiled or distilled water)
- Add the essential oils to the bottle when cool and shake again.
- The spray is now ready to use
- Rinse surfaces with warm water after use
Note: Washing Soda can irritate skin so use household gloves when cleaning
If you don’t want to make up your own natural cleaning products there are some great safe natural alternative cleaning products available now. Take a look at the mix clean.green products
I hope this quick Loo Cleaning Routine helps.
This is just what I’ve been looking for in my drive to be more eco friendly! Thanks!
This is so interesting. I’m actively looking for more sustainable cleaning products and there look great. I’m going to try some of them, especially like the look of the fizzers!
I don’t like using chemicals when cleaning but admit find cleaning the loo effectively challenging without them. Will have to try some of these thanks for the tips!
Thanks for these great tips. I am trying to be more eco-friendly and all this knowledge of what to use in the bathroom is so usueful.
Worst job ever! Great advice and good to know different ways to effectively clean your toilet.
It sounds like you’ve got a great routine. Can you suggest what to use on husbands who forget to use the loo brush?
I’d never have thought of using these products. I am really trying to change this year so will make sure I look into these and get rid of the chemical products that I use.
Fab tips here! Cleaning the bathroom is not my favourite job, intact I try and get my husband to do it most of the time!
We have really hard water where we live and the limescale builds up so fast. Great tips
Thanks for the tips! Always looking for new ways to do things.
With a hygiene concious other half, cleaning the loo was an area I worried we wouldn’t be able to reduce our chemical usage.
Thankfully you’ve shown it can be done relatively easily.
I’m all for the natural products when it comes to a deep clean and removing timescale. You cannot beat the old fashioned tips and tricks.
Thanks for the tips! Where would I get hold of hydrogen peroxide? Is it an absolute must or is there something else I could use?
Hi, you can buy Hydrogen Peroxide in most chemists. Or, you could also use full strength vinegar which is another good germ killer.