This TikTok Shower Cleaning Hack Works Even Better Than Advertised
I love watching people clean on TikTok. Well, I mostly like it. I get too stressed when people combine a bunch of chemicals, or use things off label with seemingly no thought involved. (FYI: Don’t combine chemicals, and don’t use toilet bowl cleaner on anything that’s not a toilet!!) But a video with a little cleaning hack? A guide for how to best accomplish a mundane task? MUAH! Obsessed. I’ve seen this shower cleaning hack easily 15 times from various accounts:
The hack is to fill a squirty dish brush with Dawn and some white vinegar, then use it to clean your shower. They always recommend you do it while you’re taking a shower (ie, “scrub the walls while your conditioner is soaking in!”) but I can’t get behind that. Not to be a boomer dad, but anytime someone recommends some extra thing to do while in the shower I want to say, “You running the water that whole time?” (If you really want to clean the walls/brush your teeth/read a book/write a manifesto at least get a shower shut off valve.)
Because this was always framed as something to do while actively showering, and because I loathe the smell of vinegar, I thought this was NOT for me. Plus, I already had a shower cleaning routine: I would spray Dawn Power Wash on the shower floor and walls, then scrub it with either this long handled electric brush, or this bottle brush (it’s great for corners!). Then, one day, the idea of spraying then scrubbing then rinsing all seemed like such a chore, and I decided to try the TikTok method.
I got this OXO brush, and filled it with dish soap (I use Kirkland) and some white vinegar. I didn’t measure, but tried to get a 50/50 mix. I shook the brush a bit afterward to try and get things mixed up as best I could. Then I went to the shower.
I squirted out a little soap, scrubbed it with the brush, and before I knew it, I was done. I did the floor and the walls of the shower, rinsed it, and BAM. Clean shower. It dind’t smell like vinegar, it didn’t seem any less clean than my more involved method, and the entire process took maybe two minutes? Certainly less than five. I was so impressed, I took my little brush over to the bathroom sink and cleaned that. Again, never have I scrubbed something so quick and still had it feel satisfyingly clean. I’ve since used this brush/dish soap/vinegar combo on my glass shower doors as well as the shower and sink. Works great! And did I mention how quickly this chore was done using this little brush hack??
This is a minor thing, but the way the soap shoots out of this brush is extremely satisfying.
Plus, the brush head comes off, so it can be replaced easily, AND you can put it in the dishwasher if you’ve cleaned something particularly yucky. I run mine through the dishwasher once a week, or more if I like, cleaned the shower after bathing the dog. I don’t keep the brush in the shower, and I don’t use it while I’m taking a shower, but it’s so quick and easy and effective I have debated keeping the brush in the bathroom or hall closet, in case I feel the need to do a quick clean up. It’s so fast, I think I would be okay with someone using this while actively showering. That’s a step too far for me, personally, but I’m not going to shame you or have J. Walter Weatherman teach you a lesson.
