My favorite DIY recipe is also my favorite nightly ritual – the Nightly Sink Scrub. It’s a recipe I came up with a few years ago and it pretty much started my DIY cleaners obsession which also turned into my first book, The Organically Clean Home. The great thing about this recipe is that it’s so simple to whip up and it does such a great job at giving the sink a little scrub, you’ll love it! Did you know that the sink is pretty much the dirtiest spot in your whole home? Another reason to give it a nightly scrub!
Gather your simple ingredients:
- 2 cups baking soda
- 10 drops lemon essential oil
- 10 drops clove essential oil
- castile soap (or dish soap) (this is not added to the baking soda until it’s used – keep reading!)
- container with a lid or a shaker top (I like a mason jar, this one specifically :)) – I’ve previously used a shaker top but have switched to a lid – either way works!
- sink safe scrub brush – I use this one and keep it under my sink in a vintage mason jar. I can toss the head in the dishwasher to sanitize it as needed.
See how easy it is to mix up and use…
- put baking soda in your container
- add essential oils to the top of the baking soda
- stir and combine with a kitchen knife
- wet your sink
- sprinkle liberally in your sink
- add a squirt or two of dish or castile soap
- scrub with a sink-safe scrubber
- rinse thoroughly
I keep this jar and scrubber under the kitchen sink just for cleaning the sink – it’s convenient and easy to grab every night.
There you have it – a simple and effective DIY cleaning recipe to add to your repertoire!
More posts in this series – just click on the image to go to the post:
Awesome! Luckily I have all the ingredients except for the scrub brush. Good reason to go to the store? Yep, also need to get some groceries.
Does this work well for a porcelain sink?
Can you substitute out the essential oils? I have lemon but not clove. I also have Melaleuca, Lavender, Eucalyptus, On Guard (which has clove), Peppermint and Cedarwood. What would you recommend?
I would use the OnGuard with a little lemon 🙂
Are the essential oils necessary, and if so do you use that combo for a specific reason?
No, they aren’t necessary – I just like the smell of that combo 🙂
Do you need the essential oils?
No 🙂
Love this cleaning tip! Will try it today after work 😀
where do we find labels for the jars with the recipe of the contents?
Here:
http://clean-mama-home.myshopify.com/collections/spray-bottles-1
I was just wondering, is the clove oil that you use the same as clove bud oil?
Yes it is!
I just love your blog:) Will you share with me the brand of your favorite essential oils?
I use doTERRA 🙂
Hi Becky!
What do you use to clean the drain holes in the toilet where the water comes out underneath … I use the disposal scrub thing like you do and I scrub under there and even though the scrubber pad is clean those holes look gross! I can’t stand to get too close to it bc it seems uber gross!
Please advise ,
Cynthia
A pumie!
Hi
Can I use this scrub on a blanco silgrante sink?
Yes!
I’m lookin
can I reuse? or do we need to make up a fresh batch every night?
The batch lasts me for several weeks 🙂
One stupid question: Where do you find essential oils?
You can get them at Target, Wal-Mart, health food stores, etc. I like doTERRA and Plant Therapy 🙂
Hi Becky! Thanks for sharing your nightly sink scrub. I’m excited to start this! I was wondering about your labels. Did you make them? If so, where can I do that? Or, can I buy them from you? Thanks kindly, Ingra
Hi Ingra! I sell them here:
https://clean-mama-home.myshopify.com/collections/spray-bottles-1
Can you use this on a white corian sink? Our sink stains like crazy from coffee, spaghetti sauce, etc. I would love to find a more natural, less chemical way to clean it.
do you think you could use a drop or two of dish soap instead of castile? i don’t stock castile but always have dish soap on hand, usually 7th generation or ecos. tia!
Absolutely!
thanks!
I have a porcelain sink. Would this be safe for it?
Absolutely!
Can I use actual lemon juice from fresh lemons in place of the essential oil for scent?
Yes! But you would just add the lemon juice as you use the scrub, don’t add it to the baking soda in the jar.
Hi There! So I used the Castile soap to make a foaming hand soap like in another one of your blog posts. And the mixtures are always cloudy (works and foams fine). Just wondering if this is supposed to happen or if I can prevent this (purely esthetic reasons, since my soap dispenser is clear, the mixture just looks murky/unclean). Thanks!!
I give ours a shake when I see this and keep using it 🙂
After seeing this, I immediately stood up from my couch and scrubed the sink.😂 And i enjoyed it a lot! With the lemon essentials oils its smells heavenly! my sink shines and smells very nice. Thank you!! Hi from Germany 😄
Yay! Happy cleaning 🙂
Can I use this on my copper sink?
Yes!
Is this safe to use on a granite composite sink?
Yes!
What DYI Cleaner can I use on stainless steal kitchen appliances? Thanks!😊
Here are a couple posts:
https://www.cleanmama.net/?s=stainless
My sink always looks great after I clean it, but during daily use I don’t dry it and am left with water marks on the sides. Any recommendations for preventing those? Thank you!
Try drying it in between uses and/or spraying it with cleaner and drying it.
Does this disinfect? Like if I had chicken juice in the sink, will this be enough?
I spray hydrogen peroxide with chicken or meat.