DIY toilet detergent: 1 remedy to try and 1 to avoid at all costs

Detergents for the kitchen, for the bathroom, for different surfaces: cleaning the house thoroughly can cause us to spend a lot of money on special detergents. But there are DIY alternatives that are cheaper and are as effective as commercial detergents. Whether it's to save money or to deal with an emergency, home remedies using common ingredients is possible. But you need to be careful not to create toxic/dangerous mixtures, as sometimes happens when making a detergent suitable for cleaning the toilet.

Read on to find out more:

Creativo

One remedy to try is made with baking soda and toothpaste. There are two main ways to make and use this:

• In an emergency, by quickly mixing the two ingredients together to create a paste which can be worked into the stain, leaving it to act for a while and then rinse out;
• Prepared in advance, by making it into pill/tablet form.

In the first case (emergency), all you need is a small bowl (glass, metal, ceramic or plastic... any will do) and a spoon. Put a heaped tablespoon of baking soda into a small bowl, add a little toothpaste (a slightly larger dose than you would use to brush your teeth with) and then a tablespoon or two of water. Mix until you get a creamy paste. You can add water if the stains are not too deep or stubborn.

In the second case (pre-prepared), you will need higher quantities of each ingredient and a mold for popsicles or chocolates. Create a paste that is not too liquid and which you can be shaped by the mold. Leave these molded "tablets" to dry in a cool, dry place and when they are solid, store them in a jar with a lid. You can use them by simply placing one in the toilet bowl overnight, but you can also dissolve them a little with warm water for other cleaning purposes.

One cleaning method that must be avoided is the one that uses Coca Cola. This famous carbonated can clean even quite stubborn stains, and you can leave it to act overnight in the toilet before scrubbing and rinsing. But it should be used by itself only and never combined with baking soda. Together, in fact, the two substances have a "violent" reaction.

So be careful how you combine your favorite household ingredients, and happy cleaning!