Most of my cleaning can easily be taken care of with an all-purpose cleaner (homemade), but sometimes I need a bit of extra oomph to my cleaner. Life happens, the husband happens, the dog happens……things get messy. Or sometimes I don’t clean as regularly as I should.
No. Can’t be that…….
Any way it happens, having a good go-to scrubbing cleaner that won’t melt your gloves off or singe your nose hairs is important. Especially when so many of those chemicals are known to cause reproductive and developmental problems. And you never really know what ingredients your cleaner contains.
Those are trade secrets.
Stove/Shower/Scrubbing Cleaner
My stove top can get pretty gnarly, pretty fast. I tend to use it for every meal of the day and I don’t always get a chance to clean the mess up right away.The shower is another place that often needs a bit of extra work, what with our hard water and all.
My go-to cleaner is usually just baking soda and vinegar. If I have my mind about me, I add in some orange essential oil to help cut through the grease.
Sprinkle the baking soda (save an old parmesean cheese container and use the top!), spray with vinegar and let sit while you clean the counters. Spray again and let sit a few minutes while you pick up the room or clean the floors.
By now, you should be able to wipe/scrub it clean. And if you can’t, wipe off what you can and repeat.
Sometimes I add salt for extra scrubbing power.
Another option is to take a liquid Dr. Bronners soap and mix with baking soda until you make a paste. Scrub the area and rinse.
Toilet Cleaner
I normally just spray vinegar around the bowl and pour in 1-2 cups of white vinegar into the bowl. I’ll let it sit while I clean something else in the bathroom and then scrub it clean with a toilet brush. Works every time with minimal elbow grease.
What do you use for as an extra strength cleaner in your home?

I’ve read that using baking soda and vinegar together actually neutralizes their effects, because they cancel each other out. But I’ve also read where people use them together. To me, it seems to make sense that they would cancel each other out, but I could be wrong. My absolute FAVORITE to use on the bathtub is the one you mentioned using castile soap and baking soda mixed together to form a paste. It looks so sparkly afterward, and smells so good! (I use the almond scented castile soap, which is my favorite.) I actually usually just use hydrogen peroxide in the toilet – I actually soak my toilet brush in it between uses, because toilet brushed gross me out. Sometimes I do use a vinegar and water combo, though.