One of the chores I detest most is cleaning my children’s bathroom. I always assign one of them to clean it daily when making chore charts. Despite this, it always ends up grimy. I go in once or twice a month and give it the thorough scrub-down that it desperately needs.

One of the most disliked chores in that bathroom is scrubbing down the shower. We have hard water so we get this sticky film that takes seemingly forever to scrub off. With five people sharing a shower, grime can build up way too quickly. Years ago, I solved this by using a daily shower spray. The person responsible for bathroom cleaning simply sprayed the shower once a day, keeping the hard water residue from forming in the first place. You can imagine my excitement when I found an easy and more eco-friendly solution.

Homemade shower spray recipe

Get ready to find a new way to work out your arms! This is the simplest recipe ever and will save the neat freaks among us so much time and scrubbing.

– 1 cup white vinegar
– 1 cup water
– 5 drops essential oils

Instructions: Mix all ingredients and pour in a spray bottle. Spray daily to keep your shower from developing hard water stains and mildew.

DIY sponge from eco-friendly materials

Shower spray does not require a sponge or wiping, but I find this helps to spread it evenly. Because I no longer use sponges due to zero waste lifestyle changes, I decided to make my own.

I crocheted a rectangle just larger than my hand out of bamboo yarn. I prefer bamboo yarn due to its eco-friendliness, but its strength and softness also make it a good choice for this project. I then cut fabric strips from an unwanted shirt and folded them. Last, I folded the crocheted piece in half, connecting the ends with a single crochet stitch.

Does it work?

This zero waste change is a success in several ways. First, it does the same job as my formerly beloved shower spray without creating excessive plastic garbage. Second, the sponge is very soft but has just enough texture to really clean. I plan to make more of these sponges to use in the kitchen and in the master bathroom.

The shower spray is very effective. I have noticed a difference in how quickly I need to step in and scrub that shower of soap scum, hard water stains, and mildew blossoms. It seems to work very similarly to the store-bought shower spray I used years ago. The vinegar smell is initially strong and takes an hour or so to dissipate, although you only smell the essential oils after that initial hour. To give the air a little time to clear, I recommend using this spray after everyone has finished getting ready for the day.