If there’s one area of the zero waste lifestyle that I’ve struggled to embrace, it’s the DIY culture. Zero waste blogs and social media accounts are filled with an impressive selection of DIYS, ranging from homemade lotion to cake mascara to laundry powder and more. And for good reason. Until recently, there have been few options for finding many of these products plastic-free.
As eager as I am to rid my life from all plastics, I've accepted that most DIYs aren't my thing. Especially when the ingredients are obscure or hard to find, or come in plastic packaging. Kind of defeats the whole purpose.
Add motherhood to the mix, and I have less time and patience to make my own. If I am going to do a DIY, it better be easy, have no more than three (my preference is two) ingredients, and those ingredient better be ones I already have. After all, don't we need a whole lot of people doing zero waste imperfectly, rather than a handful of people being perfect?
Enter tub scrub—my two ingredient, mix without thinking, "DIY" that keeps my tub sparkly clean, and is sourced from ingredients you already have at home.
Our new acrylic tub has been getting a lot of use ever since we had a baby. After a couple of weeks of nightly baths, I noticed an oily dark ring around the bottom. I admit that my first thought was that I would need to buy a commercial chemical cleaner, though I didn't like the thought of bathing my son in tub with chemical residue. I tried spraying the tub with my all-purpose vinegar cleaner and rubbing with a cloth rag, but it just smeared. I was doubtful that some household ingredients could get it clean.
After a little research, I found that just baking soda and a squeeze of dish soap makes an excellent tub scrub. You don’t even have to measure it out, just eyeball it.
It take under a minute to make the paste, and it easily and effectively cleans the tub with minimal effort.
DIY Tub Scrub
WHAT YOU NEED
- Baking soda
- Castile soap, or other liquid dish soap
- Cloth rag for acrylic tub (scrub brush for cast iron)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add a few tablespoons of baking soap to a small bowl or cup
- Add a few squirts of castile soap
- Whisk together with a fork until a paste forms
- Dip a dry cloth into paste and rub your tub until it's clean
- Rinse tub with water