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Chemistry Cachet’s DIY all-purpose cleaning paste is fantastic for basic scrubbing and cleaning of almost any surface!

I love cleaning pastes for scrubbing sinks, tubs, ovens, or anything else that needs a little extra TLC.

There are many store-bought options I have loved over the years, but making this one at home is handy and only a few ingredients are needed.

This is a recipe I have made for many years, but I recently switched up the ratio of baking soda, and I like the results better. I thought this was a great time to share it with you!

Chemistry Cachet’s DIY All-Purpose Cleaning Paste

How Do You Make Homemade Cleaning Paste?

Making a homemade cleaning paste is very simple! While there are dozens of speciality recipes used for specific purposes, like our DIY mold paste, this one is an all-purpose recipe. This means it is perfect for general cleaning.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 1 tbsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp dish soap ( I love Lemon Verbena for this recipe)
• 3 1/2 tsp water (this will vary, start slow and add up to this amount)
• 10 drops of lemon essential oil (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix the baking soda and cream of tartar until combined.
2. Add in the dish soap, then the water. Stir the mixture until it is combined. If the mix seems a little too dry, you can add in a few more drops of water. My mixture usually requires about 3 1/2 tsp of water to make it look like a paste. However, I have made this before and it only needed 2 1/2 tsp of water. This is why I recommend adding in the water slowly to see.
3. Lastly, add in the essential oil if you would like a fresh scent, then give it one last mix.

How To Use This Homemade Cleaning Paste:

Using a sponge or scrub brush, apply the paste to areas you want to clean. Scrub in a gentle, circular motion. Rinse the mixture off or wipe off with a damp microfiber cloth to remove any residue!

Storing This Mixture:

Since this is a homemade recipe, it doesn’t have added ingredients to prevent clumping or drying out. It is best to use it up in one setting. If you have extra, you can try storing it in an air-tight container. It will dry out after a week or two, so keep that in mind. DIY solutions due best when made in small batches.

How Does This DIY All-Purpose Cleaning Paste With Baking Soda Work?

This homemade cleaning paste combines two scrubbing substances, baking soda and cream of tartar with dish soap and some water to make a paste. This combination of ingredients work together to clean dirty surfaces like soap scum or dirt.

Let’s look at each ingredient individually.

Baking Soda

The main ingredient in this paste is baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate. I love baking soda for scrubbing and cleaning because it is a gentle abrasive, so it doesn’t scratch surfaces. It dissolves in water making it easy to rinse off too.

It has anti-microbial benefits, so it works well on things like mildew. If you would like to read more science and more fantastic ways to use baking soda, check out this guide we put together.

Cream of Tartar

Cream of tartar is another great scrubbing substances which also has a little acidity to it due to the chemical structure. It combines with baking soda to make a very fluffy texture. The pH of cream of tartar is around 5, so it is considered a very mild acid. As you know, baking soda is a base (higher pH around 9). These do not “cancel” each other out like you might think because they vary in pH as well as the amount in this recipe. Instead, they mix together to form a fluffy substance perfect for scrubbing (picture below). Check out this guide we have on cream of tartar for all the cool ways you can use it around your home. 

Dish Soap

You see dish soap added to many of our homemade cleaners because it is one of the most versatile household items for cleaning. For this recipe, you can really use any type of soap you like because it only needs this to form some suds. I like to use Lemon Verbena for this because it smells so fresh.  If you want the strongest results with the best shine, Dawn has been tested in our cleaners to perform the best.  You can also use Castile Soap if you would like. 

Why Is There No Vinegar or Alcohol in This?

There are many homemade cleaning paste recipes that feature vinegar. Vinegar is NOT all-purpose, so I don’t like it for things like this. In fact, vinegar is very specific for cleaning your home. Read this post for all the in-depth uses for vinegar.

Rubbing alcohol is definitely a fantastic all-purpose cleaner for homemade solutions. It is one of my favorites, and you will find it in our DIY all-purpose cleaning spray in the eBook. If you are looking for a recipe that uses rubbing alcohol like this, you can check out our homemade soft scrub recipe which contains baking soda and rubbing alcohol. It is also a little bit different in use and for more heavy duty cleaning.

This particular recipe I tested in several different ratios and ingredients, but the baking soda and cream of tartar with dish soap produced the fluffiest and best all-purpose paste I enjoy using for light, general cleaning!

This paste works well on toothpaste, soap scum, dust, dirt, sinks, drains, doors, and it can even be used on cutting boards or to scrub something inside a refrigerator.

Feel free to test other areas to see what you like it best for!

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