I’ve been seeing ideas around Pinterest for a diy soft scrub and it reminded me of using the real soft scrub a long time ago. The one thing I remember about it was that it worked really well. So I thought to myself, “my oven is really gross, I should probably clean it.” But that’s for another post, because this one is about making the cleaner. Soft scrub is a very easy homemade cleaner to make; it takes only two ingredients.
Homemade Soft Scrub
Baking Soda
Dish Soap
Mix the dish soap and the baking soda together in a bowl until desired consistency. Super exact and scientific I know. In the ramekin there’s about half a cup of baking soda and a few tablespoons of dish soap. I’m a dump and mix as you go kind of woman. The consistency ended up about the same as paint, so you can “paint” your homemade soft scrub onto whatever needs cleaning.
To use, apply a thick layer to item in need of desperate cleaning or degreasing. You need the thick layer so it can sit and work its magic for an hour or so without drying out. If the solution dries out, spray with a little bit of vinegar and add more soft scrub. I loved this little homemade cleaning solution for my oven; it got the toughest burnt on grease off with just a little bit of scrubbing. Within a few minutes of applying the soft scrub, I could see it eating up the grease and changing colors. As a little warning, coming from the woman who rarely wears rubber gloves, prolonged exposure to this soft scrub will result in your hands peeling for a few days. I got a two for one, clean oven and clean “exfoliated” hands with this little homemade cleaner.
Happy Cleaning!
Angela
You might also like:
Angela Says 
Awesome tip! I’m definitely going to try this!
Thanks! Let me know how it works for you.
DO YOU WASH IT OUT
To remove the soft scrub, wipe it off with a dry cloth otherwise you’ll end up with a very soapy mess. Once most of the soft scrub is removed, you can wipe it down with a water and vinegar mixture.
My oven is currently filthy. I want to try this!
Would this work on cleaning a bathtub/shower unit?
I don’t see why not; the soap should break up any oils and the baking soda is mildly abrasive.
I just recently saw a short video with a guy using a paste mixture of baking soda and vinegar to clean his shower sliding glass door. Thought you might want to try it.
Awesome tip!!!! I’m going to use it TODAY!
Thanks! Let me know how it works for you.
Do you think that this would help to scrub and shine a stainless steel sink that is older?
Yes, it should get some serious grime off of the sink. For hard water stains I would use vinegar and to really make it shine, wipe it down and buff with oil.
Awesome – cleaning my oven is on my to-do list for this week so I may give this a try. Last time I let ammonia sit overnight in my oven and used straight baking soda and only had a partial success.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’m a new follower.
As soon as I saw this post I thought it was a soft scrub for your face! Ha! Simple ideas though work so fabulously. Love this!
Oh goodness, that’s too funny. When I used it on my oven it did kind of work as a scrub on my hands because they peeled for a few days afterwards.
Great tip for making soft scrub. I love baking soda ~ it has so many uses.
Lori @ A Bright and Beautiful Life
Thanks!! I really want to try out your recipe for homemade baking powder, it looks great.
Wow! I will have to try this out! I am a new follower from southern charm! I would love for you to stop by my blog and hopefully follow me back! Have a great weekend, Nicole!
Thanks so much Nicole! I’m heading over now. :)
We’ll be trying this for sure. My asthmatic allergies do not like most commercial cleaners but Dawn and baking soda are on my good list. We make laundry detergent, “Windex” (emptied bottle we use) so why not? Thanks.
You’re welcome. Let me know how it works for you.
I’ve used baking soda and water, but never dish soap. What a great idea.
Thanks! I’ve also tried baking soda and water and I found that this cuts through the grease better.
Definitely on my list of things to try! Cheers.
Thanks for stopping by!
Wow, this is great! I can’t wait to give it a try! Thanks so much for linking up to Crafty Tuesday again this week!
Thanks! I’m so glad you stopped by.
I love DIY cleaners. It’s great to know that you can clean without using harsh chemicals!
Jamie
Pingback: Remove Cooked on Grease: The Oven | Angela Says
Wow!! I’m definitely going to try this! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Weekend Wonders! Hope you’re enjoying your week so far!
You’re welcome!
We have never seen this before, how creative!
Thanks!!
We got burned with a damage complaint before with trying to remove grease from wood. We ended up going with a diluted solution of simple green and that worked pretty good. However your solution seems even safer as simple green can actually cause damage to wood if the concentrate is too strong. You just became one of our top resources for safe cleaning advice/techniques!
Pingback: How to Clean an Apartment and Get Your Deposit Back | Angela Says
Do you think this would work for cleaning a gas outdoor grill? Or do you have another for a grill cleaner? I can’t stand the fumes of the cleaners…and the grill is in serious need of a good scrubbing! =)
I think so, you would just have to make sure to remove all of the soft scrub when you’re done. I will warn you that if you use a lot and it gets very wet, you have lots of suds and it takes a while to remove it all. Overall, I have loved using this to clean my oven and it’s totally worth the little bit of scrubbing and wiping.
félicitations pour l’ensemble de ton blog… je te suis depuis peu et je trouve tes posts de qualité! J’édite moi aussi un blog depuis peu, n’hésite pas à venir me lire, je tiens un blog de mode moi ! ++ SAM
Cool!
Extremely hard to rinse! Too much soap. My tile bathroom floor is generating tons of foam! Next time I’ll dilute it with water.
Yes, it is. I discovered this when using it on my oven. The easiest way to rinse/remove it is with a dry cloth. Once you think you have it all removed, then use a wet cloth. Thanks so much for your feedback.
I use equal parts baking soda and borax mixed with a little water. It works great. I am going to add a tiny bit of the detergent now and try tis.
Adding a bit of soap should definitely help cut through grease and oils.
This would work as a great cleaner but I would not compare it to “soft scrub”.Baking soda is very abrasive and can scratch some surfaces like a bathtub.My new tub calls for me to use “soft scrub” only as a cleaner or I will void my warranty.If I used this it would scratch my tub up for sure.Just an FYI !!
This looks great! I love finding ways to make my own cleaning products and hadn’t seen something for Soft Scrub yet. Thanks for sharing!