Cleaning Toilet Bowl With Vinegar: The Ultimate DIY Gel Cleaner
What if your next toilet bowl scrub didn’t involve worrying about toxic fumes?
I stumbled on a pantry hack that turns plain old vinegar into a clingy, grease-busting gel—perfect for those hard-to-reach rim spots.
All it takes is an empty toilet-cleaner bottle, a splash of Dawn, a sprinkle of xanthan gum, and a few drops of tea tree oil for extra germ-fighting oomph.
Tools and Materials:
- White distilled vinegar (1 cup)
- Xanthan gum (¼ tsp)
- Dawn dish soap (1 tsp)
- Tea tree or thyme essential oil (5–8 drops)
- Warm water (¼ cup)
- Empty toilet-cleaner bottle (for under-rim access)
- Funnel
- Small whisk or jar with lid
- Soft toilet brush
- 70% isopropyl alcohol spray (optional follow-up)
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1. Whisk Your Gel Base
In a small jar, combine 1 cup vinegar, 1 tsp Dawn, and 5 drops tea tree oil.
All Natural Distilled White Vinegar
Sprinkle in ¼ tsp xanthan gum and whisk until lump-free. Let sit 5 minutes to thicken.
Whisk vigorously until the xanthan gum dissolves completely—no white specks or clumps. This ensures your gel sprays evenly and clings where you need it.
2. Prep & Pour into Bottle
Rinse an old cleaner bottle thoroughly. Use a funnel to transfer your gel, then add ¼ cup warm water. Seal and shake until it sprays like light syrup.
3. Clean the Toilet Bowl
Give the bottle a vigorous shake each time. Test-spray onto paper towel—aim for a syrupy consistency, not a watery drip.
Spray generously under the rim so the gel clings to hidden spots. Aim for full coverage.
Let your gel sit 30–60 minutes (or overnight for tough rings). The vinegar and tea tree oil dissolve scale and inhibit microbes.
Gently scrub with your toilet brush—rings should wipe away.
Flush twice, then optionally spritz 70% isopropyl alcohol and let air-dry for true disinfecting.
More Toilet Gel Recipes
FAQs
- Will it smell like vinegar? No—the short dwell time and added tea tree oil leave only a faint, fresh scent.
- How long does it keep? Store in a cool, dark spot for up to 3 weeks. Add 5 drops grapefruit seed extract for extra preservation.
- Safe for septic? Yes—vinegar is biodegradable and won’t harm good bacteria.
- What if I skip xanthan gum? It’ll still clean, but the gel won’t stick—it’ll rinse away faster.
Say Goodbye to Stains: Cleaning Toilet Bowl with Vinegar Gel
With pantry staples plus Dawn and a splash of essential oil, you’ve created a clingy, effective toilet bowl cleaner that tackles grime, cuts grease, and even inhibits microbes. Ready for a sparkling throne?
Try it today—and don’t forget to share your before-and-after snaps!
Comments
Join the conversation
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Vinegar is ok for Spetics Dawn is not
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Yes, Dawn dish soap is generally considered septic safeand suitable for use with a septic system when used in normal, reasonable amounts. Dawn uses biodegradable surfactants and does not contain harmful chemicals that are damaging to the bacteria necessary for your septic system to function, though it's best to avoid antibacterial products and excessive amounts of any cleaning agent.
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So much work involved to clean a toilet stop into your local dollar store and pick up a bottle of toilet bowl cleaner for a dollar or two dollars dish soap, dawn dish soap does it say anything about toilet soap? It’s a dish soap there are certain chemical chemicals in ingredients which we don’t like to use in toilet bowl cleaner, but it makes things sanitary using rubbing alcohol will not sanitize everything ask a nurse I just informed you.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
How do you get rid of grey scratch marks inside the bowl of your toilet?
Do people still own toilet brushes in 2025? Gross. Most have replaced them with things where the part that goes in the toilet is disposable, not reusable
I might try this; but it looks like the toilet has been flushed and no water has returned into the toilet bowl and the toilet bowl is EMPTY when applying and using this "recipe" for cleaning the toilet. Is there water in the toilet bowl when you spray this stuff in there or is the toilet bowl empty? I defintely will not use this until I have the answer to this question. Thank you.