by Jessi Wohlwend
Ready for the simplest shower cleaning tip ever? I’ve been doing this for about four months now, and I love it! Keep a dish brush filled with dish soap and vinegar in your shower, and wipe down the walls real quick every time you shower!
I cleaned the tile grout in our shower last year with some homemade grout cleaner, and it was totally white and clean, but after a while it just got dirty again…lame! So imagine how excited I was to try this dish brush idea!
All you need is white vinegar, dish soap, and a soap-dispensing dish brush. Soap will obviously help keep things clean, and dish soap does a great job cutting through oils and grease, but the vinegar really makes this awesome because it helps control weird smells and eliminates calcification from hard water. Just fill the brush with half vinegar and half dish soap, and shake it up a bit to get the soap mixed.
Leave the brush in your shower or tub and do a quick wipe down of the tile and tub every time you take a shower. It makes it super easy to keep your grout (and the rest of your shower) clean because it only takes about 1 minute and you can do it while you’re already in the shower!
And if you don’t want to just set it on the ledge and leave it, slip a rubber band around the handle and hang it from a hook to keep it up out of the way! A rubber band works perfectly for this because it won’t slip off over the head of the brush, and this way the brush stays upright so the soap doesn’t drip out.
What do you use to clean your shower?
If you’re looking for other awesome bathroom projects, check out these posts:
- DIY Homemade Grout Cleaner
- 18 Small Bathroom Storage Ideas
- DIY Home Improvement: How To Install A Faucet
- Organize Your Bathroom: DIY Wall-Mounted Storage Jars
- Upcycle A Pallet Into A Bath Shelf
- Upcycle An Oatmeal Canister Into A Toilet Paper Holder
Lori says
Is this something that you rinse off after the brushing on or do you just keave ot and it gets rinsed off during the next shower?
Jessi Wohlwend says
I always just rinse it off after a minute or two so it doesn’t leave a weird soap scum on the tiles.
SueEllen says
I love your ideas. I was wondering if you had an idea for a different ingredient other than vinegar. My kids are constantly complaining about the smell of vinegar when I clean. I’m considering your idea of keeping the dish brush in the shower with the dish cleaner and vinegar in it, but hoping to exchange the vinegar for something else. Please let me know if you have a suggestion. Thank you!
Jessi Wohlwend says
Hmm, I’m sure there’s something else that would work but I always just use vinegar because I don’t mind the smell that much. You could try putting a few drops of essential oils in with the vinegar to help mask the smell. Or you could try lemon juice; that’s great for cleaning as well!
Narita says
This is great! Brought the brush last night and tried it today. Do have one question. Mine leaks out of the sponge a lot when I have it turned down filling it. Is this normal? I haven’t ever had one of these! I bought a good one, Scotch brand. Thanks for the idea and any advice!
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
Weird, the only reason I can think of is the button you press to allow soap to come out of the sponge part is somehow pressed while you’re filling it… Mine doesn’t leak when I fill it, but we have another similar one we keep in our kitchen for dishes, and that one does leak out of the sponge part if you store it sponge side down. So for that one, and the one in the shower, we just make sure to store it sponge side up and it’s ok, but we’ve never had issues with them leaking while we fill them. 🙁
Kim @ Soliloquy Of Food & Such says
I wish more people ditched the chemicals when scrubbing their tubs! I make something similar, a past from baking soda, liquid dish soap, vinegar, and clove bud essential oil….works like a charm. I am not however as diligent as you are – so props to you for scrubbing daily!
Jocie@OPC The Better Half says
pinned and featuring you tonight!
Michael Lombardi says
This is kinda awesome. And a bonus is our shower has no windows so with the minimal light, this will be sufficient for cleaning. 😛
Beth says
Aaaaaand, two posts in, I have realized I can no longer live without your blog. These are such great tips!
Claire says
I use this tool in my shower too and so.love.it! I put in Basic H in the degreaser solution and love it. No chemicals and super cheap and easy.
Kim says
I used to do this as well – but the vinegar causes the Dawn to breakdown (so I had white sediment in the bottom). The two react in such a way that both lose some of their effectiveness, so I tried just using diluted Dawn & guess what? It works just as well on it’s own! LOL!
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
Oh weird, I haven’t noticed any issues with the soap breaking down in my brush! How long did it take before that started to happen? I’ve had the same mix of soap and vinegar in my brush for over four months now and haven’t had any problems. Good to know just diluted Dawn works for you too!
Kim says
I mixed mine in a spray bottle first, and by the next day, there was 2-3″ of white gunk in the bottom of the bottle. I did a blog post on it with pictures. There was an article on the Dr. Bronner product website that talked about what happens between vinegar & soap – it’s not dangerous, but the vinegar breaks down the soap.
Wayne says
She may only need dawn if she doesnt have hard water
Carrie @ My Favorite Finds says
Yessssss!!!!!!! SO glad someone else has found this awesome tip helpful! I use that combination to clean our shower all.the.time. (Okay, only every so often…but I hate cleaning the shower). Anyway, thanks for sharing at Piworthy Projects.
Tiffany | offbeat + inspired says
I love this tip! It truly is something I can spend 5 seconds doing after every shower. Thank you for sharing it!! 😀
Abby @ Just a Girl and Her Blog says
You are so smart! Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom! 😉 My hubby is actually starting our bathroom reno this weekend, so I’ll be able to keep our new shower nice and clean!
~Abby =)
Vanessa says
We have stone in our shower or else I’d be all up on this! Love cleaning with vinegar too!
Abby says
What perfect timing! I was just asking around the other day, trying to find out if anyone had tried this and had success. Now that I’ve read your post, I’m definitely going to try it. Thanks for sharing!
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
Oh good, definitely give it a try! It works so well for me, and it’s so easy to do!
Laura Beth says
You are a genius my friend!
Crystal says
Great tip! I clean my shower with vinegar and dish soap when I do big cleaning, but this is a great idea to keep it clean daily. I’m still trying to find something that gets my glass doors to my shower clean. I think I’ve used almost all the products out there and a ton of home remedies, but so far nothing has worked. If you have any suggestions, I am open to hear them 🙂
Sherry says
Crystal
Don’t know if you have tried this (I haven’t yet) but yesterday on a local news program they said to use The Magic Eraser on shower doors to get the soap scum off them.
Susan Brown says
Hi Crystal,
In the past when I had a glass shower enclosure, I wiped it down weekly with Lemon Oil (from the aromatherapy/health food shops). This is wonderful for removing scum and keeping things clean – water just slips off it! However, I was always scared to get any on the shower floor in case of slipping. Now I have a shower with 2 tiled walls and 2 shower curtains. The shower curtains are the best thing as they just go in the washing machine weekly. However, keeping the walls and floor clean has always been a problem so am keen to try this dish brush filled with dish soap and vinegar. Why oh why has somebody not invented anything yet that keeps grout and tile looking like new without having to spend ages scrubbing the darn things?
Jocie@OPC The Better Half says
great tip – i’m going to have to buy one of those brushes next time i’m at the store so i can do this. I am ashamed to say that our shower gets pretty nasty! 🙂