Lately, the glass in our master bathroom shower has been giving me an aneurysm. It seems like there are always smudges, soap scum, and water marks on it, and it was getting on my last nerve. I must have clean, sparkly glass! I tried Kaboom, Lysol Shower Cleaner, Scrubbing Bubbles, the “dryer sheet trick” and even a light scrub of Barkeeper’s Friend. (You’re not supposed to use it on glass, I know! I was desperate. Luckily, it didn’t scratch the glass!) Then I remembered my Aunt Dee Dee telling me about a homemade cleaner she uses all the time on her shower: 1 part Dawn, 2 parts vinegar.
Luckily, I had an extra spray bottle on hand, so I anxiously mixed up the concoction and went to work. Simply put… this stuff is magic in a bottle! I keep the bottle underneath the sink in the bathroom. When I get out of the shower, I just spray down the glass with the magical concoction, let it set for a minute, then spray down the glass and it sparkles like new!
After doing some Pin-searching (Pinterest is the new Google, right?!), I found that a lot of other people have done this as well, though they microwave the vinegar before mixing in the Dawn and mix equal parts of the two. I’m not sure what microwaving does for it, but my Aunt said if you do two parts vinegar to one part Dawn, it’s easier to rinse – making it perfect for the shower. If you want a cleaner more on the sudsy side, try doing equal parts.
I recently discovered 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water makes a great refreshing spray for yoga mats!
http://wafflingdesign.blogspot.ca/2012/07/friday-tips-keeping-your-yoga-mat-fresh.html
After spraying it down, I let it dry and it smells fine now! I didnt even rinse it off and you cant smell the vinegar! (and I would know because with some poses my nose is flat on that mat!)
I love this and have been using forever in the bathroom. I heated it to mixit but don’t know why it needs to be heated. It is indeed great for tub, tub walls, shower everything. Where was this years and $$$$ ago. Simply the best.
Dawn dish soap is the miracle ingredient. Do you have the de-skunk formula for dogs that centers around Dawn? Didimention say that right? Use when your dog is skunked as tomato juice wash is a bust!!!
Let me know other uses for it if you find others and will do same.
My life is easier with this great recipe for sparkle clean bathroom!
Damn the self corrected on the iPad. Sorry for the errors and craziness in the above. Yes, I am college educated…but the iPad runs away from me and I don’t always proof read.
Yikes!
B.
We started doing this when we ran out of tilex – works wonders!
The only reason to heat the vinegar is that it will mix with the Dawn more easily and you won’t have to shake the bottle so much. This also works on plastic shower and tub surrounds-it’s like magic!
What a great tip! We use a squeegee after every shower and we rarely have to scrub the shower door! You might try that too
Great concoction!
♥ Naomi {Starry Eyes + Coffee Cups}
I’ve never bought bathroom cleaner or glass cleaner (in the six months I’ve been living out of home). Vinegar for EVERYTHING I say (well mostly!). Just have to be careful to not use straight vinegar on glass, as it can be too strong and turn it murky, I hear… So far no issues!
Heya, I’m in Australia and am just wondering if Dawn is regular dish soap or if I should be looking for something in particular?
Yep, regular ‘ole dish soap : )
But, but, but… It has to be DAWN detergent…something about it. It is indeed the magic in the bottle!!!!
Good to have a real life opinion of it…I’ll have to give this a try! Also, I have an Aunt Dede too, how funny!
Hey! Welcome to my world!! I have been cleaning all my windows and glass like that for years. I also substitute fabric softener with vinegar (depending if I want fragrant laundry) or odorless (the vinegar gives the odorless laundry, and cleans out the washing machine really well. Every time my dish washer starts giving me murky dishes I run it with vinegar and it goes back to doing a good job.
Vinegar and backing soda are my hero’s!
Yes!! Down with harsh chemicals! Vinegar is like a wonder cleaning agent!
Pinterest IS the new Google!
I saw a tip somewhere that put this in one of those sponge things that you can put soap in. Ya know, the ones that release soap as you use it. But I don’t imagine you would need the scrubber part if you used it regularly.
Also I use the bleach alternative Dawn to get almost all stains out of My daughter’s clothes… If it has set in I use with borax(THE miracle cleaner).
Is this site EVER going to get back into home decor/DIY stuff? I feel like there’s been nothing worthwhile and VERY FEW posts since the kitchen reveal and even during that the updates were few and far between. Any update?!
Yep! I’ve been out of town for a while, but we’re now getting back into the swing of things. We’re posting a few announcements later on today and a living room update is coming on Wednesday : )
Awesome!! Thanks for responding!!
Hi, i’m from Austria and there is no DAWN. Do you think regular dish soap will work too?
Yeah, I think so. The thing about Dawn is its “grease fighting” power. So as long as it’s a similar kind of dish soap, I think it will work. Hope that helps! : )
@Becci: yes, it’s called Fairy here
Sorry to belabor the point…I am a BIG vinegar user…but I stumbled on this a couple of weeks ago….every post has a picture of the blue Dawn…but I’ve always bought the one with Olay…..does it matter? Or is the blue one the magic ticket?
Thanks!
I would think the one with Olay might leave a film on shiny surfaces. So, you might want to stick to the blue Dawn/dish soap. Hope that helps! : )
does have to be Dawn or any brand of dishwashing soap ?
thanks
Yeah, I think so. The thing about Dawn is its “grease fighting” power. So as long as it’s a similar kind of dish soap, I think it will work. Hope that helps! : )
I had good luck with this recipe before, but you need be careful about getting it on tile as sometimes the blue in the dish soap can tint your tile grout!
I will try this but wanted to let you know I have had good luck using the Magic Eraser on my glass shower doors
How much dish soap and how much vinegar
Two parts vinegar to one part Dawn : )
I’ve just begun using this as well. I just found something on Pinterest about shining up a stainless sink with baking soda and vinegar. My sink is OLD but it did help it some. Woot! (I didn’t do the last step of wiping down with olive oil but I’m sure that would help the shine as well.)
I definitely need to buy baking soda and vinegar in larger quantities!