When you install soapstone countertops in your home, you eliminate the need for harsh sealants and cleaners. Are you ready to move away from these cleaners in other aspects of your cleaning routine? Pull together a few simple ingredients to protect even your bathroom from bacteria and soap scum.

Vinegar & Baking Soda: Powerful Cleaners

Almost any recipe you find for non-toxic cleaning products contains one of these two ingredients. However, your kids may have used them in a volcano science project, so you’ll want to mix them very slowly to avoid explosion. Combining these two ingredients creates a powerful, non-toxic cleaner for your bathroom, and you can find a recipe for tile cleaner here.

Vinegar mixed with water can be used as a glass cleaner, and baking soda on its own removes soap scum around the bathroom. Soak a towel in vinegar and wrap it around your faucet to remove calcium or lime deposits, or add vinegar to your laundry cycle to brighten and whiten your clothing.

Castile or Vegetable-Oil-Based Soap

These mild soaps become the product of choice in minimalist and non-toxic homes because one soap can be used to clean your body, your hair, your house, and even your pets when diluted properly. To create an all-purpose cleaner, add 1 or 2 cups of castile soap to one quart of water in a spray bottle for easy use around your home.

Add Essential Oils to Your Cleaners

Essential oils add more than just a pleasant scent to your cleaning! Many of the oils fight viruses, bacteria, and mildew to keep your home clean, without using dangerous chemicals like bleach. If you’re only interested in the scent, add 5 drops of oil to 3 cups of your cleaning solution. To use the anti-bacterial, grease-cutting properties, add 10-20 drops to 3 cups of cleaning solution.

But remember – your soapstone countertops are already antibacterial. You only need to clean those with water and mild soap.

Lemon for Disinfectant Cleaners

Lemon is a popular scent in cleaning products, but the essential oil also acts as a disinfectant in your home. Citrus oils, such as lemon, orange, or grapefruit, remove sticky, greasy messes, and mix well with other scents.

Tea Tree

For cleaning your shower and bathroom, tea tree oil wins for its usefulness. Its antifungal properties fight mildew when used in the shower. The antibacterial/ antiviral aspects make it an all-purpose cleaner for your home during cold and flu season!

Peppermint

Peppermint also has antibacterial properties so you can add it to your spray bottle and wipe down your toilet and shower. In your kitchen, peppermint acts as a pest deterrent to keep away fruit flies or ants. You can even use the oil outside to protect your plants from animals and harmful insects. Best of all, this is an oil you can actually make at home (a fun use for peppermint you might grow in your garden!).

Kosher Salt

Salt creates a scouring powder for soap scum when baking soda alone isn’t enough to remove the scum. Obviously, salt is more coarse than the baking soda. Be careful how you apply it to keep from damaging the surfaces in your kitchen or bathroom.

If you’re ready to add a natural stone countertop or sink to your home, contact us to visit our showroom. You’ll learn all the ways soapstone can help you remove toxins from your home. If you already have soapstone, don’t forget about our all-natural wax or oil to keep your counters aging consistently for years to come.