DIY Daily Shower Cleaner | No Rinse Recipe

Learn how to make a DIY Daily Shower Cleaner to reduce mold, mildew and soap scum between cleanings.

 

Two things I can’t stand about cleaning showers are mold and soap scum. My hope in making a DIY Daily Shower Cleaner is that both can be reduced to make regular shower cleanings a little less rigorous.

The following is an experiment of 3 different products to see if they were effective against soap scum/mold. Feel free to skip on down to the recipe if this doesn’t feel interesting or important 🙂

Jump to Recipe

I started by trying 3 different ingredients against two target problems: soap scum and mold. I drenched one cotton ball in rubbing alcohol, another in hydrogen peroxide and the last one in vinegar, then set them on two different spots in the shower: 1.) an area with soap scum and 2.) an area with mold/mildew growth. After allowing them to sit for one hour, I checked to see if any was more effective than the others at cleaning these trouble spots.

IMPORTANT: Never mix vinegar with hydrogen peroxide as “[t]his can create peracetic acid, which may be toxic and can irritate your throat and lungs, eyes and skin.” (Source: Houston Methodist)

For the soap scum, there was a clear winner: vinegar. You can clearly see where the cotton ball had been (not so with the rubbing alcohol nor the hydrogen peroxide).

 

When I removed the cotton balls from the mold/mildew area, the vinegar looked like it may have helped a bit, but none of the products were noticeably better than the others.

To be fair, I think a lot of the mold was under the clear caulk, which would make it hard to eliminate.

What You Need to Make Daily Shower Cleaner

 

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Ingredients for Homemade Shower Spray

• Vinegar– As mentioned above, vinegar was the best for cutting soap scum and reducing mold
• Rubbing Alcohol– While rubbing alcohol wasn’t as effective on soap scum and mold, it does help create a no-rinse formula as well as disperse the essential oils throughout the spray
• Distilled Water– I always recommend using distilled water for DIY cleaners as it does not contain the impurities found in tap water.
• Dish Soap– While some daily shower sprays use Castile soap, I cannot recommend it. When Castile soap is combined with vinegar, it separates. I love Castile soap, but not for this recipe 🙂
• Essential Oil (Optional)- Essential oils do two things for this daily shower cleaner: 1.) it enhances the cleaning power and 2.) it adds scent. I went with Tea Tree essential oil as it has shown to reduce mold in air better than industrial disinfectants (Source: National Library of Medicine). I also add clove essential oil as it has also been shown to inhibit mold growth in the air (Source: National Library of Medicine). I then added lemon for its cleaning power and fresh scent.

Supplies Needed for Daily Shower Cleaner

• Glass Liquid Measuring Cup
• 16 oz Spray Bottle– I typically go with a dark glass spray bottle when working with essential oils as some can break down plastic over time… especially tea tree and lemon, which are used in this recipe.
• Funnel (Optional)-The funnel helps pour the cleaner into the spray bottle with less likelihood of spilling

How to Make A No Rinse Shower Spray

The following Daily Shower Cleaner recipe is for a 16 oz. bottle. Feel free to adjust the recipe to fit the bottle size of your choosing.

IMPORTANT: This recipe uses vinegar which can etch natural stone. This daily shower cleaner is not recommended for use on natural stone.

Start by adding 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol to a liquid measuring cup. Then add 10 drops each of Tea Tree Essential Oil, Clove Essential Oil and Lemon Essential Oil. Stir to combine.

If you prefer not to use essential oils, you can simply omit them from the recipe. If you want to use different essential oils than those listed, you can certainly do that as well.

 

Next, add 1/2 cup vinegar and 3/4 cup distilled water to the mixture. Stir to combine.

 

The last thing to add is a teaspoon of dish soap. I prefer Dawn for this recipe.

 

Give the mixture a gentle stir and pour it into a 16 oz. glass spray bottle, using a funnel (if desired) to avoid spills.

 

How to Use DIY Daily Shower Cleaner

Prior to using any cleaning product, it is highly recommended that you test the solution on a small area to make sure there is no undesired change to your finish. For more, please see our disclaimer statement.

Each morning (or evening), after the last shower has been taken, spray down the walls, doors and floor of the shower with the daily shower spray. Allow the cleaner to dry on its own. No need to rinse.

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Common Questions About Daily Shower Spray

Will This Shower Spray Clean the Shower?

Daily shower cleaner is not meant to deep clean the shower, unfortunately. You will still need to perform regular cleanings. However, using this shower spray regularly should reduce the amount of soap scum and mildew you’ll need to deal with.

As a side-note, make sure to check out our recipe for DIY Shower & Tub Cleaner for those regular cleanings.

Will This Daily Shower Cleaner Reduce Hard Water Stains?

It might. Vinegar is amazing at eliminating hard water stains on faucets and shower heads (Seriously, check out the before and afters of those two posts… it’s truly jaw-dropping). While this daily shower spray contains vinegar, it may be too diluted to see a huge reduction, but it’s certainly possible.

Will This Shower Spray Reduce Iron Stains in the Shower?

If you live in a home with a high iron content in the water, you may notice your shower turning orange. These iron stains are not easily cleaned with regular shower cleaners, and unfortunately aren’t going to go away by using a daily shower spray either. However, I have found one product that works wonders to remove rust stains in the shower.

Does Daily Shower Spray Expire?

The ingredients used in this DIY Daily Shower Cleaner have a pretty long shelf life, so if you are truly using it every day, you shouldn’t run into any issues with it expiring. However, I always say, if you notice a change in odor or color, it’s best to toss it and make a new batch.

 

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