How to Make My Cleaning SOLUTIONS

Remember how just a little less than a year ago there was no bleach, no antibacterial wipes, no rubbing alcohol, no toilet cleaner, no paper towels, no NOTHING in the way of cleaning supplies on store shelves.  The stores looked as if a tsunami had raged through and swept away all the cleaning and paper products, along with all the rice, beans, flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.  So many empty shelves!

Now that most things have finally reappeared, there still is NO daily shower cleaner - you know, the stuff you spray on the shower walls and door or curtain before you get out to get dried off.  I used to buy six spray bottles at a time because we have three bathrooms and I didn't want to have that on my shopping list every time I went to the store. But alas, I haven't been able to buy any for months and months.

When the final spray bottle ran dry, I got tired of not having my shower cleaner for lazy people.  I say "for lazy people" because if you truly use it DAILY, you shouldn't have to get in the shower and scrub the walls, EVER.  I know I don't.

Sooooo...

I  made my own!

It wasn't all that hard.  I still had the last bottle of my preferred daily shower cleaner, so I read the label.  Then, just to make absolutely sure, I went to the manufacturer's website, found the complete ingredients list, and got to it - put that chemistry degree back to work!

The main ingredients were water (big shock there - NOT), detergents (another non-surprise), surfactants (so things won't suds up too much), chelating agents (to tie up metals and prevent soap scum), alcohol (to dissolve oils and soap, make the solution sheet off the walls instead of forming water beads, and to make it evaporate more quickly), and some anti-mold and anti-bacterial agents.  So that was where to start.

Good ol' cheapo 
rubbing alcohol.

After comparing labels and manufacturers' websites again, it was clear that making daily shower cleaner wouldn't be all that complicated.  By that time during the pandemic, rubbing alcohol wasn't as difficult to find in the stores as it had been, so instead of ethanol (it would probably have to have been vodka - too expensive), good old isopropyl alcohol would be a good substitute.  For the anti-bacterial and anti-mold agents, I went straight to the top - Lysol!  And for the low-sudsing detergent and chelating agents, Tide HE was already in the house.  Lysol (the kind you mix for mopping floors) was still a little scarce in the stores, but CVS and Lowe's had it in stock.

But what about proportions?

Here's the Lysol I used.

Well, the Lysol has mixing directions on the back label, so I looked there for the ratios for making a hard surface spray and for adding to mop water.  For the Tide, I made an educated estimate, based on laundry usage.  For the alcohol, I flat-out guessed, figuring that the alcohol would help keep everything dissolved in the solution.

After testing it in my showers for a month, I decided I wouldn't be buying daily shower cleaner ever again, even if it DOES reappear in the stores!

Here's what I came up with:

Homemade Daily Shower Cleaner (to make 1 quart - 32 fluid ounces)

1-quart spray bottle (#2 HDPE plastic only)

1 T high efficiency (HE) laundry detergent

2 T Lysol (NOT in a spray bottle)

4 T (1/4 c) rubbing alcohol (anything 70% or higher)

Water

Make sure the spray bottle is made of number 2 (HDPE) plastic (see the recycling symbol on the bottom).  It's strong and non-reactive to most chemicals.  I bought an empty spray bottle early on to make bleach water, and the sprayer quit working after only a few batches, so I started reusing bathroom cleaner spray bottles.  You have to be sure to rinse them out COMPLETELY - that means you have to run a lot of clean water through the sprayer assembly, too.  Your sprayer trigger finger will get tired.

Fill the bottle about halfway with water.  Add the cleaners, one at a time.  Swirl the bottle around to mix.  Don't shake it; just leave the top off and swirl it.  It will be fine.  Add more water to make a quart of solution.

Here's what it looks
like when I'm done.

TO USE:  After your shower (and while you're still IN the shower), turn off the water and spray the wet walls and door/shower curtain with the solution, with the nozzle a foot or two away from the surface.  You just want to mist the surfaces, but completely.  If you have a hand-held showerhead, turn the water on about half pressure and rinse the surfaces QUICKLY.  Don't worry about getting all the cleaning solution off.  Step out of the shower.  You're done.  You don't have to do this after every single shower in a day - once is enough - but consistency is important.  Pretty soon it will just be a habit and you won't even have to think about it.

I also make my own bleach water for the kitchen counters - just like in restaurants and food laboratories!

Homemade Bleach Water (to make 1 quart - 32 fluid ounces)

1-quart spray bottle (#2 HDPE plastic only)

4 t bleach

These are basically the proportions on the back of a bleach bottle, but scaled to a 1-quart container, and in larger print!

Again, make sure the spray bottle is made of number 2 (HDPE) plastic, and rinse it out COMPLETELY - even MORE completely than for the shower cleaner.  You can't have ANY ammonia (glass cleaner) OR soap/detergent in there - they will react with the bleach and release chlorine gas - a very BAD thing.  

Fill the bottle about halfway with water.  Add the bleach.  (Notice that the measurement is in measuring TEASPOONS.)  Swirl the bottle around to mix.  Add more water to make a quart of solution.

TO USE:  Spray the solution directly on your counters and sinks.  If you want a little more control around items that may lose color from the bleach, spray the solution onto a sponge and wipe.  After hitting all the countertops, let dry.  Don't lean against them while wet or your clothes will be bleached!  I usually just rinse the sponge out well and wipe the counters one more time, then dry with a dishcloth so I don't have to wait.

As they used to say in the old DuPont ads, "Better living through chemistry!"

And just for fun, here's a parting chemistry funny:  "Old chemists never die; they just fail to react!"

[P.S. -  The day this post went live, I found my preferred daily shower cleaner IN THE STORE.  Of course, they still have limits on how many you can buy at one time (1).  Wouldn't you know it?]