How to Keep a Toilet Bowl Clean Naturally

Co-authored by Daniel Olin and Nihal Shetty

Last Updated: July 8, 2022 References

If you’ve decided to opt for more natural cleaning products in your home, you may be wondering how to best eliminate odors, grime, and germs from your toilet. Toilets can become dirty quickly, but fortunately, you can clean and disinfect them in a few simple steps—all without using harsh chemicals. You can keep your family and the environment healthy all without sacrificing cleanliness, and we’ll show you how. We’ll walk you through some great choices and recipes for natural products that can clean your toilet, and explain how to use them to make your toilet smell and look cleaner than ever.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Toilet Bowl Cleaner Recipes

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Mix vinegar and baking soda for regular cleaning. These two common household items are not only useful in the kitchen but also make excellent natural cleaners. By thoroughly sprinkling baking soda into your toilet bowl, then pouring a small amount of vinegar over it, you can make a cleaning paste that eliminates grime.^{[1]
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- Since vinegar is acidic and baking soda is basic, when used together, they react to form carbon dioxide bubbles that can lift away grime. This is a simple reaction that won’t leave behind any harmful chemicals.^{[2]
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- Avoid vinegar types that are not clear in color since they can cause stains.^{[3]
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- Baking soda is especially useful for eliminating odors in the bathroom since it absorbs smells from both water and the air. You can also use it in other places in your home when you need a natural deodorizer.^{[4]
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Use vinegar and borax for even deeper cleaning. Although baking soda is good enough to offer a thorough cleaning on its own, borax shares baking soda’s basic pH level, but can break down grime even more easily. You can use it in the same way as baking soda—just sprinkle the borax throughout your toilet bowl, then drizzle vinegar over it.^{[5]
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- When exposed to water, borax turns into hydrogen peroxide, which will naturally whiten surfaces. Even though it isn’t a harsh chemical, borax can be dangerous when ingested, so be careful to keep it out of the reach of children and pets.^{[6]
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Disinfect with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water. You can prepare a solution of rubbing alcohol and water by mixing 2 parts of rubbing alcohol per 1 part of water. For added convenience, you can then transfer this mixture into a spray bottle before using it on all your toilet and bathroom surfaces. ^{[7]
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- While you should clean your toilet regularly, disinfecting it can be done less often. Cleaning removes dirt, grime, and other substances, while disinfection is used to eliminate all germs.^{[8]
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- Instead of rubbing alcohol, you can also use more concentrated isopropyl alcohol. If you do so, wear gloves for safety. Prolonged contact with skin can cause irritation. If you end up spilling isopropyl alcohol on your bare skin, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water.^{[9]
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- Baking soda, borax, and vinegar do have disinfectant properties, but you’ll have to turn to rubbing or isopropyl alcohol in order to eliminate as many germs as possible while still using natural and safe products.^{[10]
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Add essential oils to your mixture for a fresh scent. Although they won’t be enough to clean or disinfect toilets on their own, you can use a dropper bottle of essential oils to add a small amount to vinegar or whichever other cleaning solution you're using. Tea tree oil or grapefruit essence can be great options, and will make your bathroom smell even more fresh and clean!^{[11]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Cleaning Your Toilet

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Sprinkle baking soda or borax into your toilet bowl. Lift the toilet seat, so that you can get the baking soda on all of the bowl’s surfaces. Let the baking soda or borax rest for 10 minutes.^{[12]
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- Don’t be afraid of applying too much baking soda. Unlike bleach and some other harsher chemicals, baking soda is completely safe for septic systems.^{[13]
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Drizzle vinegar into the bowl. A cup of white vinegar should be about the right amount to clean the bowl. Be sure to pour it on the sides of the bowl, and not straight into the water!^{[14]
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- If you want to add a fresh scent to your bathroom, you can add concentrated fruit essences or other aromatics to the vinegar at this point. ^{[15]
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Scrub your toilet bowl. Use a clean toilet brush, and scrub thoroughly. This will speed up the chemical reaction between the baking soda or borax and the vinegar, releasing carbon dioxide that will break up bits of grime and dirt.^{[16]
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Flush your toilet. All of the compounds that vinegar, borax, and baking soda produce are harmless to your septic tank, so it's perfectly safe to flush them down the drain.^{[17]
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Clean the exterior surfaces of your toilet. You can use the vinegar to do this by pouring it into a rag or microfiber cloth, and then running it over all the toilet seat’s surfaces, including the seat, lid, base, and outside of the tank. Vinegar is an acid that acts as a natural disinfectant and deodorizer, which can eliminate build-up and grime on the seat.^{[18]
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Disinfect your toilet with rubbing alcohol. Mix 2 parts rubbing or isopropyl alcohol to 1 part water in a spray bottle, then spray all the surfaces of your toilet. If you don’t have a spray bottle on hand, you can also dip a rag or microfiber cloth in the rubbing alcohol mixture, and wipe down your toilet bowl's surfaces. Make sure you clean the flush handle, which can attract a lot of germs.^{[19]
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Clean your toilet tank. If you’re seeing rust or mold in your toilet’s water supply, it might be time for you to clean out the tank. You can clean out the tank by carefully removing the tank's lid and pouring vinegar into it, stopping once the water and vinegar level is about an inch below the top of the tank. You might need to use a lot of vinegar! Let the mixture sit for about 12 hours while it dissolves mildew, rust, and mineral deposits. Then, flush the toilet a couple of times to drain the vinegar and water.^{[20]
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- If you want to do an even deeper cleaning of your toilet tank, you can drain and scrub the tank after flushing the vinegar. To drain the tank, you’ll first have to turn off the water supply valve, located on the wall behind your toilet. Flush in order to empty the tank, then use a toilet bowl scrubber or steel wool to scrub the tank. Any grime should come off easily after having been loosened by the vinegar.^{[21]
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Let the toilet dry. Your toilet should air dry quite quickly with these products, but you can speed the process along by wiping it with a paper towel, toilet paper, or a cloth.^{[22]
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- Besides this, plenty of products are available that automatically dispense bleach and detergents into your toilet bowl or the water through the upper deck.^{[23]
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- If the water quality in your area is not good and can stain the toilet bowl, you can get an auto-dispensing product and keep it in the upper deck of the toilet.^{[24]
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- You should also make it a habit to scrub the inside of the toilet with a brush regularly.^{[25]
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