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The Original Homemade DIY Tub Tile Shower Cleaner (30 Years and Counting!)

/Updated /48 Comments/in , /by Mary Hunt

Quite possibly one of the best tips to ever land in my mailbox came from a guy who is a professional property manager. He handles rental apartments near a big university and lots of them. As an apartment is vacated, his job is to see that it is thoroughly cleaned and made ready for the next occupants.

clean bathroom

He told me that the biggest challenge is always the bathroom, specifically the tub and shower. He kindly left specific details to my imagination but let me know that “gross” is not strong enough to describe what he often finds.

That’s when he gave me his super magical potion—the only product he uses to return showers, tubs, tile, enclosures, faucets, and shower doors to their sparkling clean, and sanitized condition.

I gave his unbelievably simple recipe a try. Since that day nearly 30 years ago, I’ve used nothing else to clean tubs, showers, sinks, toilets, patio furniture—just about anything that will stand still long enough to get sprayed and can be rinsed easily. This product must be rinsed away.

To make your own bottle of pure magic I mean Homemade Tub, Tile, n’ Shower Cleaner, you will need three things:

Supplies

  1.  An empty spray bottle
  2.  Dawn dishwashing liquid (any variation as long as it is Dawn and it is blue)
  3.  White vinegar from the supermarket, labeled as 5% acidity.

To Make

Pour 1 cup blue Dawn into a 32-ounce spray bottle (1/2 cup Dawn if you are using a 16-ounce bottle). Fill the bottle the rest of the way with white vinegar. Apply sprayer top; shake gently to mix.

To Use

Spray liberally on the area to be cleaned. Allow to sit from 30 minutes up to overnight, depending on the severity of the problem. All of the offensive gunk and grime will break down and become soft and gooey. Simply rinse it away. For especially challenging situations—or if this is the initial treatment—once it’s been allowed to sit, use a sponge or brush to gently scrub the surfaces before rinsing.

Caution

Do not use this homemade on granite, marble, or other natural stone countertops however as vinegar and natural stone products that are coated with a protective sealant (and must be re-sealed annually—do you know this?). Vinegar will eventually strip the sealant which could result in permanent damage to the natural stone.

To Maintain

Here’s the best thing about this soap and scum cleaner—if you use it weekly you will never have to scrub again. Here’s what I do:

Once each week I spray down the walls, doors, tracks, faucets, shampoo caddy—everything within reach—with this magical cleaner while I am in the shower. Before I step out, I use the handheld sprayer to rinse it all away. No scrubbing required. It dries sparkling clean without using a squeegee or wiping down with a towel. And not a watermark to be seen. Simply brilliant!

I use this stuff in the kitchen, too—on my appliances, stainless steel sink, and faucets (never on granite, marble, or other natural stone countertops however as vinegar and granite do not play well together), but only where it can be rinsed away quickly and easily. That means I don’t spray it on the floor or into the air. That would create a slippery, soapy mess.

I can’t wait to get your feedback once you give this super simple cleaning and maintenance method a try. As always, before and after pictures would be great!

First published: 1-10-93; Revised & Updated 6-22-22

 

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48 replies
  1. jd wolfe says:

    i use this preparation on my car! it works great. my grandchildren (8, 6, 4) love to scrub the car but quickly lose interest. i spray 1/4 of the car at a time, including each wheel. we scrub and hose it off. it gets off miles of crud. and leaves the car shining.

    Reply
  2. Ann says:

    I’m allergic and sensitive to fragrance so I can’t use dawn at all. I only have fragrance-free dish soap. Any tips?

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      Hi Ann, I personally haven’t used it, but a quick search led me to Palmolive’s Ultra, Pure and Clear. They claim to not add any additional scents or unnecessary ingredients and it gets great reviews. It’s inexpensive so you might give that a try and see if it fits your needs. Let us know how it works out!

      Reply
  3. Mandy says:

    I’m a bit concerned about what is in Dawn since it is a secret and cleans so well. It sounds toxic because it cleans so well and requires little scrubbing. Also the blue dye in it is definitely toxic and causes diseases.

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      You can put your fears to rest. The ingredients (contents) of Blue Dawn are public. Read that HERE. Need more: Search “Blue Dawn MSDS” What is not known is the exact formula or recipe. No manufacturer makes that information available to the pulic.

      Reply
    • Amy nash says:

      I feel safe using Dawn because they use it to bathe wildlife. So it’s gotta be more safe than most cleaners. I’ve been using it for 30 years and no issues.

      Reply
  4. Francie Simrak says:

    Been using this cleaning recipe for years, now, & recommending to friends & family. The first use was on a walk-in shower stall with scum build up. I had to do some scrubbing, but was impressed at how well it dissolved the built up scum when nothing else worked. One of my most favorite tips from Mary. Am also making & using my the diy hardwood floor cleanerNext I will try using fabric softener to dust with. Love EC!

    Reply
  5. Chelle says:

    I had read about this formula before we remodeled our bathroom. Our tub is acrylic and the instructions said to use ivory dishwashing liquid. After a time, the tub had a gray film that didn’t come off. I used the dawn and vinegar and it’s never happened again. It works!

    Reply
  6. Kddomingue says:

    I’ve used nothing but the blue Dawn and vinegar mixture for the majority of my household cleaning for a couple of decades now. I love that I know exactly what’s in my cleaning product! Vinegar is not my favorite aroma but it dissipates quickly.

    Reply
  8. Cally Ross says:

    That job would require a hazmat suit on my part, college kids can be pretty gross!
    this is the only cleaner I use in my bathroom. the first mix I thought it was half-and-half vinegar and soap, when i reread the directions it worked even better.

    Reply
  9. L Parker says:

    Mary, wondering how you use this on toilets when you have to rinse this off. Seems like it would get very messy and slippery.

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      I spray a bit on a cleaning rag and then scrub the toilet (exterior), rinsing and wiping it away with a clean microfiber cloth. It’s not the only way to clean a toilet but sure works well when I’m in a hurry!

      Reply
    • Dawn says:

      I also added some water, because the vinegar smell was so strong. Still worked great. I need to add that I sprinkled baking soda over the sprayed on solution and let it sit for about 20 minutes then scrubbed with a nylon scrubber. My shower shined!

      Reply
  12. Kathe Todd says:

    The previous owner of this place was a bachelor who apparently never, ever cleaned his shower. Soap scum and hard water stains cover the two glass panels of the shower stall and the aluminum hardware. I’ve tried everything including the above mixture and a commercial product that was $16 a pint, with the same results – no matter how long you let it soak, no matter how hard you scrub, the stuff does NOT come off.

    Reply
    • Neda Coffee says:

      go to this websitehttps://www.everydaycheapskate.com/home-and-family/surprising-trick-removes-stubborn-hard-water-stains-glass-shower-doors/

      while it does start with the homemade cleaner, it does offer an alternative for when it is just too bad. I’m going to p0ick up some of the special sandpaper she recommends and give it a whirl.

      Reply
    • Sara Winters says:

      I wanted to share a couple of tips for hard water deposits and grimy grout. For extremely difficult hard water deposits, I use a razor blade. You have to be extra careful to hold the blade at the right angle, so as not to scratch the service you’re working on. For the grout, I use; Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner. Because of the gel consistency, it works wonders. The squeeze bottle makes it so easy to apply. After about 10 minutes, I gently scrub the grout and let it sit for another 5-10 minutes. Wipe up the excess with an old towel, then mop with plain water. This works best on un-sealed grout. I suggest sealing the grout once you’ve reached desired results.

      Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      There reaches a point that glass and aluminum becomes “etched” by soap, scum, hard water so that it is permanent. Sorry to hear you may have this problem, Kathe!

      Reply
  13. Jan says:

    Please be careful when using this if you rinse and scrub while in the shower. The Dawn creates a very slippery surface. I also suggest a well ventilated area. I was overcome by the vinegar and had to leave the room a couple of times to catch my breath.

    Reply
  14. Carol Rowe says:

    Bleach feeds mold, my husband and son in law both worked for a restoration company. They were trained to kill mold with vinegar. Bleach contains a lot of water, water feeds mold. My son in law went through classes to learn how to clean and kill mold. Vinegar does the job.

    Reply
  15. Julie says:

    I don’t mind a vinegar smell since I naturally clean my whole house with it. But this created toxic fumes. It was as bad if not worse than spraying all the other bathroom chemicals that are meant to clean tile scum. My throat is now burning, even after putting on a mask. I’m dreading going back in to scrub the grout after it has sat for awhile. I thought it was supposed to be a mild cleanser compared to the store bought formulations. Never again after I finish scrubbing the soap scum.

    Reply
  16. Jennifer Saxton says:

    Interesting article! A must read for all people who spend endless hours scrubbing tubs and tiles. Certainly the above products do work their magic. But when i tried Imperia Deep Clean and Valore, it worked marvelously in eliminating the stains.

    Reply
  17. Tatiana54 says:

    Our tub and tile are circa 1940’s materials. Are there other ideas for cleaning? I tried the Dawn recipe today — things look better but I was disappointed. I will try again. Thank you for any help you can give. Love this site.

    Reply
  18. jane says:

    I did this today, my tub actually shines! It works better than any of the strong chemicals I used before! I have to be careful since I have liver issues, chemicals can further damage it. Thanks so much! Will use for almost everything 🙂

    Reply
      • Trellowyn says:

        And if you have a sinus infection or cold, the mixture cuts straight through. By the time you’re done scrubbing for that first time, everything is cleaned out. LOL Incidentally, I’ll need to do it twice, but it took about 80% off the floor and everything off the walls on the first shot.

    • Abby says:

      I do NOT recommend using it on tumbled marble. I used it on my tumbled marble shower and it stripped the sealer off the tile and made the tile cloudy and dull – basically ruining the shower. We re-sealed the tile in the shower and it helped some, but the tile never looked as good as it did before the cleaning.

      Reply
      • Sunshine says:

        Thank you Abby. I didn’t think I should add the vinegar. I have been advised to use a diluted Dawn mixture so I think I will stick with that.

    • Mary Hunt says:

      Never use vinegar on any natural product like granite, stone or marble. Vinegar being an acid will dull the finish after time. Instead you should clean these products with rubbing alcohol and distilled water. The recipe is here at EverydayCheapskate.com. Use the search box … type in a keyword such as, well … marble! Or our homemade granite cleaner. That will work …

      Reply
  21. Sue Lilley says:

    I mixed this up a few days ago and sprayed it on about half of our very gunky shower stall and left it overnight. The next day I used a nylon scrub pad and a brush and was pretty happy with the results. We have very hard water here and there are still some of those deposits, but I think they will come off when treated again. There are still some stains in the grout and I will try the bleach there. Since I am in my 70s now and have decreased mobility, I did just half the shower at a time. I will get the rest done this week.I am happy to have this mixture that I know what’s in it. The vinegar smell went through the house when left overnight, but it was worth it.

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      Yes Sue … you may have to repeat a couple of times if it’s your first treatment. But after that? Once a week should do it and with no effort at all. Just spray and rinse.

      Reply
  22. rachel papiro says:

    does this dawn & vinegar mixture also work on “hard water” stains on tile & or glass, especially shower doors?
    thank you Rachel P.

    Reply
    • Douglas Anne says:

      I’ve used the green apple scented Dawn (green! not blue!) because it smells way better. The smell of blue Dawn combined with vinegar makes me ill. The green Dawn worked just as well for me. Your mileage may vary, I guess.

      Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      The formula is proprietary with Procter and Gamble that means it’s a trade secret. We don’t know … but it is definitely different than any other dishwashing liquid including Dawn in other colors and fragrances.

      Reply
      • Pam Sherman says:

        The reason I trust the BLUE so much, is they use it to kill oil spills and clean wildlife of oil residue. We keep it on the boat in case us or someone else has a slight oil leak into the lake. First you don’t want it on your boar exterior, nor does anyone else!!!

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