What on Earth am I going to do with all that refined salt in my kitchen?
In honor of Baby Step to Better Health # 1, I thought I would share my favorite all-purpose scrub so you could find a better use for all that toxic salt. Added bonus: You’ll quit singeing nose hairs and make your home that much safer by chucking a toxic cleaner out of your life.
I originally posted the recipe here, but I thought I would change it up a bit and share the “NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION”! I feel like an Irish Spring commercial. But seriously, give it a try. It’s really good stuff.
I actually use this scrub every week for cleaning water marks off of my Formica countertops. Those water stains drive me nuts.
Because you now have all of that refined salt just lying around polluting usable space, let’s give it something useful to do. I modified the original recipe to give you more cleaning oomph, since you don’t need to be stingy with the salt like I do. Once the refined salt is history, you can switch to my original recipe if you prefer. I don’t like to support the companies that make refined salt for food consumption, so my pennies no longer go to them even for cleaning supplies.
Homemade All-Purpose Scrub
Ingredients
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup salt
- optional: 2-3 drops essential oil of choice
Instructions
- Measure ingredients into lidded container and stir well or shake to combine. Use wherever you need some extra elbow grease.
It works great on sinks, tubs, counter tops, removes scuff marks on vinyl flooring, etc. Be sure to spot test an area before going all whole hog and scratching up your nice granite counters because some witch doctor told you to.
Here is an example of its awesomeness:
remainder of a black scuff mark that baking soda couldn’t remove (yes, it really was neon orange)
Gone. Outta there. See ya stain. Zip zam scram. Ahem, you get the point.
Have you made any homemade cleaners before? Comment and share your thoughts (and the recipe if you have a favorite one)!
I just started following your blog because of your baby steps series! My son has multiple food allergies and I’m pretty sure my husband and I have other issues so I’m super excited to be guides through some changes. And now this recipe!! I’ve been making my own cleaners for a while but nothing has seemed to work on our bathtub except super duper intense chemical cleaners. I didn’t even think about adding salt!! Perfect!!
Megan, I am so happy that you found us! The Baby Steps series will definitely get you started on the right journey with a lot less stress than jumping in feet first (ask me how I know, lol). We still take things in stages here, and I think it has worked out much better for our family than doing everything at once. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask me and I’ll try to help where I can!
If you find the scrub isn’t strong enough for your tub, you can also experiment with adding Borax. I’m not a fan of it, since you are not supposed to inhale it, but it is a much better alternative than the chemical cleaners. It’s also a good way to get your son to help clean the tub before his bath!
Great post, Jennifer!
@ Megan – Vinegar and baking soda work great on tubs
Heather@Mommypotamus recently posted..Sour Gummy Stars {5 Minute Prep}
Thanks Mommypotamus! I keep forgetting about the baking soda/vinegar combo, since it has become a science project around here lately. I can only pull it out when I’m prepared to let Katie make a mess!
Jennifer recently posted..Detox Baths: Recipes to Calm the Inner Beast and Whiny Children