Whether your toilet is a little stinky or stale, a homemade toilet bomb is a really quick way to freshen it up. Dropping one toilet bomb into your commode will not only deodorize, but also clean at the same time. This is a simple project, and a good one to get kids involved with.

Natural Toilet Cleaning & Deodorizing Bombs

Ingredients & Supplies

• ½ cup baking soda
• ½ cup citric acid (find it with canning supplies in your local store, or buy it here)
• ½ cup borax or cornstarch
• water in a spray bottle
• gallon size zip-top bag
• 25 drops essential oils (see good options for deodorizing/disinfecting below)
• mold of your choice (plastic Easter eggs that come apart, a plastic measuring spoon, or silicone molds all work)

Directions

1. Place all dry ingredients into the gallon bag. Seal the bag, and knead to combine ingredients.
2. Open the bag, spray 2-3 times with water, and close the bag. Mix and knead the bag until all the moisture is absorbed. Repeat this step a few times. (Don’t overdo it with the water – if too much moisture is added you’ll end up with a very weak, crumbly final product.)
3. You’ll know it’s ready as soon as you squeeze the bag and the mixture stays clumped together inside the bag when you let go. It should be roughly the consistency of pie dough.
   • If the bag expands and looks like it’s going to burst, let some air out. This is normal as carbon dioxide develops from the mixed acid and alkali.
4. Add 25 drops essential oil and mix again.
5. When it’s the right consistency, pack into desired molds.
   • If using a measuring spoon (like the pictured toilet bombs), pack mixture into spoon and turn the toilet bombs out onto a sheet of parchment paper to dry.
   • If using plastic eggs, push the mix into both halves of an egg. Lightly spray the exposed parts with water and stick the halves together.
6. Leave the bombs to dry for a day or two and then unmold. The bomb will be fragile at first, but will harden considerably over the next few days. Dry on top of a refrigerator or some other out of the way place.
7. Store in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid until ready to use.

To Use

Drop one bomb into the toilet and wait for the fizzing to stop. The hard working ingredients will be released into the bowl, both deodorizing and cleaning. Flush and you’re done! (You shouldn’t need to use the toilet brush, but some nasty stains may require a little scrubbing.)

Additional Notes

• You can add color for fun. Simply add a few drops of food coloring one of the times you spray with water.
• Essential oils are volatile and evaporate quickly. If your bombs lose their scent, you can refresh the essential oils any time. Just add a few drops of essential oil to the bombs. The oil should stay with the bombs since they are sealed in a container.
• You can also use several types of molds with good results – silicone and flexible plastic being the easiest to work with. Greased mini muffin tins also work.

Essential Oils for Eliminating Odors & Disinfecting

The purpose of the essential oils is to eliminate odors and to disinfect surfaces. While many essential oils are great for both, there are a few that stand out:

• lemon essential oil
• lavender essential oil
• peppermint essential oil
• tea tree essential oil (use carefully around cats as it can be dangerous to them)
• rosemary essential oil
• eucalyptus essential oil
• bay rum essential oil (men love this one)

I sometimes use a single oil, such as lavender, but sometimes a blend like lemon/lavender/peppermint is nice. If you’re just using these toilet bombs to make your toilet and bathroom smell nice, use whatever oils you like!