Turn to homemade cleaning tablets for a safer and eco‑friendly toilet cleaning

Supermarkets and drugstores stock a range of toilet cleaning liquids and gels. These products primarily contain potent cleaning chemicals which often include chlorine. Though effective, high concentrations of chlorine can be detrimental to health, potentially causing shortness of breath and even lung edema in extreme circumstances.

Besides, commercially-available toilet gels can irritate the skin, even leading to redness, itching, and burns in certain cases. These products should be kept out of reach from pets and young children. A small amount of detergent can significantly irritate the mouth and throat.

A safer yet efficient alternative is to use domestic cleaning tablets. These can be used for cleaning the toilet and the washing machine drum. How do you make them?

You'll need baking soda and dish soap to create eco-friendly cleaning tablets, along with a mould to shape the tablets - plastic or silicone would work. The process is straightforward - combine a cup of baking soda with half a cup of dish soap. The mixture will form a dense, somewhat crumbly mass. Place this mixture into your chosen mould and freeze for a minimum of an hour.

After an hour, the tablets will be ready to use. For a clean toilet without scrubbing, simply drop two cleaning tablets into the bowl and leave them overnight. In the morning, flush the water. After being treatment for a full night, the toilet will be free of stains and limescale. Baking soda even whitens, leaving the toilet bowl gleaming like new.

It's advisable to use the cleaning tablets in your washing machine drum once a month, running a short cycle afterwards. The tablet will soften the water, remove limescale from the drum and thoroughly clean the washer's rubber parts, which often gather mould and fungal growths. They function similarly to common washing machine cleaners.