If you’ve been making your own homemade cleaning mixes, you’ll want to know how to make homemade soft scrub cleaner, too! Whether you just want the plain, quick-cleaning kind or you’d like yours to have a pleasant scent and degreasing power, just whip up one of the recipes below.
Ordinarily, scrubbing a small spot like a dried food splatter on your floor is as simple as sprinkling baking soda on a damp microfiber cloth and rubbing. For bigger jobs, or if you’d like to keep a jar of soft scrub cleaner ready to use, try one of these:
Homemade Soft Scrub Cleaner
For regular cleaning
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 2 tbsp. liquid dish detergent Dawn Original works great
- 2 tbsp. white vinegar
Combine the baking soda and dish detergent to make a paste, then stir in the vinegar. Add more vinegar if you prefer a thinner consistency. To use, apply with a microfiber cloth or sponge, scrub and rinse dry.
For greasy jobs
- 3/4 cup baking soda
- 1/4 cup castile soap (Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint is nice, and peppermint deters a variety of pests)
- 1 tbsp. white vinegar
- 6-8 drops essential oil (I like peppermint to match the soap’s scent)
In a bowl, combine the baking soda and soap. Slowly stir in the vinegar (it will make a little fizz). Add essential oil until you’re happy with the fragrance, then thin the mixture with enough water to get a consistency you like. Store in a squeeze bottle to keep handy. To use, apply with a microfiber cloth, scrub and rinse dry.
Uses
Homemade soft scrub cleaner is so versatile. You can use it in just about every room in your house. Of course, since it is slightly abrasive you shouldn’t use it on highly polished surfaces, but there are plenty of other places you’ll find it works great:
• Spotty glass shower doors
• Dirty bathtubs
• Sticky bathroom vanities and sinks
• Nasty grout
• Stained and smelly toilets
• Crusty tile floors
• Dingy or tarnished knickknacks
• Moldy flower vases
• Lightly rusted flatware
• Stained mugs and cups
• Cutlery marks on dishware
• Greasy baking sheets
• Grimy pots and pans
• Splattered ceramic cooktops
• Filthy litter boxes
• Sooty fireplace surrounds
• Muddy doorway thresholds
• Grungy door handles
• Greasy stains on cement
• And so much more!
Remember, like most homemade cleaning mixes, the ingredients cost more than a bottle from the store but you’ll be able to make almost two dozen batches of homemade soft scrub with them.
Dear Katie,
Those are great tips and they are rather cheap to make too.
Thanks for your comforting comment. There was another tragedy however… one more cancer death. You can read my post of today about double tragedy. I will be glad when we move past these emotional days. Life goes on but it is heavy at times.
Hugs to you and wishing you all the best.
Mariette
Oh Mariette, I am so sorry your family is going through such a difficult time. My thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.
This is awesome and another tip I’m very keen to try-perhaps on my kitchen sink this weekend 🙂 No nasty chemicals either. Love all of your tips Katie!
Thank you, Raquel! I’m fanatic about cleaning my kitchen sink. It’s old, and if I don’t stay on top of it the thing stinks up my kitchen. This recipe saves me a fortune as a result!
These are great recipes and so much less expensive than Soft Scrub.
Yes, it’s much less expensive and not toxic!
Good morning Ms Katie I have a question my friend has a cat and her basement is invested with fleas , her poor cat look horrible I took my dog to the vet and told her about it she give me flea meds but the basement is still invested her bugman sprays every other week , I even bought her seven dust and still the fleas are there … Do you hve any idea what else we can do ?
and want to thank you for all your wonderful post , and hope your husband is doing well also , yours truly Jackie
Getting rid of fleas is a horrible task, especially in damp, dark areas like basements, which fleas absolutely love. The first step: wash all of the pet bedding in hot water. Then vacuum thoroughly, including every crevice at the base of walls, under cushions, the cushions themselves, the back and sides of furniture, etc. To keep fleas from breeding in your vacuum, toss a flea collar into the bag and be sure to throw the bag in the garbage after you’re done. Next, take the pets to the groomers for flea baths. While they’re there, shampoo the carpets using hot water with some Borax added to it. (When diluted with water, it’s pet-safe but will kill insects.) Finally, be sure to vacuum thoroughly again at least every other day to get rid of newly hatched bugs, and spray the floors immediately afterward with water to which you’ve added a few drops of lemon oil. (Bugs don’t like citrus.) Also, be sure to treat the lawn so neither people nor pets track more fleas in!
I am going to have to try this homemade soft scrub cleanser. I recently bought a new Maytag smooth top range and you can really get some tough, cook-on gunk on the top. You can buy stove-top cleaner at the store but it is fairly expensive. I am going to try this instead of the name brand stuff.
Thanks
Jeff,
I used it on my smooth top range today, and it left a brilliant shine behind! I love how it cleaned it, BUT, I read on a car care website recently, that vinegar can pit windshield glass if used as a de-icer. I wonder if it can do the same thing to stove tops. Might be worth looking into more.
Stephanie, vinegar if used straight on a windshield can, indeed, cause pitting… but it’s never supposed to be used straight! Not even when cleaning the house. My glass cleaner recipe calls for it to be diluted with rubbing alcohol or water, which is important because it’s otherwise too acidic.
As far as cleaning a smooth top range, I’ve been using it on mine for years with no pitting problems. Just be sure to follow the recipe directions. 🙂
The soft scub cleaner is brilliant 🙂
I used an organic dishwashing soap with orange essentials oils in it and my kitchen smells amazing!
I bet it smells divine!
This is the BEST cleaner, EVER! I used it today to clean out my sink, and it leaves a beautiful shine afterwards, too. I cannot say THANK YOU enough – your website is permanently bookmarked for me. I use your any-type floor cleaner for all kinds of things, not just floors – I scent mine with peppermint, and it works fantastically – you ROCK!
I’m so glad you like the cleaners, Stephanie! Peppermint is one of my favorite scents to use because it makes the house smell so happy. Enjoy!