Here’s my honest, unsponsored Blueland toilet cleaner review. Wondering whether these fancy toilet tablets are worth the hype? And the price? Keep reading for the details. Plus, I’m sharing my DIY recipe to make a dupe toilet bowl cleaner tablet for a fraction of the cost. Here’s the scoop!
What is Blueland?
Blueland hit my social media feed hard a few years ago, advertising plastic-free, environmentally-friendly cleaning ingredients. What’s not to love? They sell a range of cleaning products with reusable containers and subscription refills, the typical model for new enviro-friendly products. Less plastic = good news.
Well, my friend tried the multi-surface cleaner and was underwhelmed. For the price, I pushed Blueland out of my mind, since I already use a few simple, cheap cleaners for almost everything. Why spend more?
Read More: DIY Natural Cleaners That Really Work
But what if it smells amazing…? Great scents are my Achilles heel. Fast forward to now.
Blueland Toilet Cleaner Review
Have you seen these Blueland toilet bowl cleaner tablets? I’m a huge fan of easy cleaning (see also – Cleaning Hacks for Lazy People), and I’ve been curious to try these fizzy tablets since they entered the market. However, the price point is a bit ridiculous. The Blueland website sells a 14-count bag for $18, which is $1.29 per tablet.
I mean, come on. Cleaning a toilet is just not that fun. It’s not like these things could work miracles. Or could they?
Enter Costco. I spotted this bag of Blueland toilet bowl cleaning tablets on a recent Costco run, priced at $18 for a bag of 30 tablets. Deal! (Sort of?) I shelled out $18 to find out if these are worth the hype.
Don’t worry, I cleaned the toilet BEFORE taking these photos…
TLDR: yes, for a typical weekly clean at $0.60/tablet, they are good. I don’t know if they will clean a truly neglected toilet because I try not to go down that road.
They foam up nicely and they smell fantastic! For regular cleaning, they seem to work pretty well. The directions state to toss the tablet in the bowl and let it dissolve, then clean.
These are not intended to clean the toilet tank. Jump here for directions to do that.
Verdict: Would I Buy These Again?
If I ever spot these Blueland toilet cleaning tablets on super-sale, then yes, I would repurchase them. I really love the lemongrass scent.
For the Costco price, they might be worth trying in your house. Spoiler: for an even cheaper DIY dupe of this cleaner, jump here.
Read More: DIY Natural Cleaners That Really Work
The tricky thing about toilets is that the efficacy of certain cleaners really depends on the nature of your water source. Hard water stains can be tough to clean if you have a limescale buildup. We do not. The pH of our city water is roughly between 6.8-8.8 (the harder end of the scale) and the Blueland toilet tablets worked effectively.
Blueland Toilet Cleaner DIY DUPE
On to the fun part of this article! Here’s my recipe for an easy DIY toilet-cleaning tablet. Dare I say, a Blueland toilet bowl cleaner dupe.
My recipe is a simplified version of the Blueland tablets. The first two ingredients are baking soda and citric acid, which are already stars in my DIY cleaning arsenal. With the delicious scent of lemongrass essential oil, which Blueland calls “lemon cedar,” these will give you a very similar cleaning experience.
These are also similar to my DIY shower steamers! Check out this fun project here:
DIY Shower Steamer Recipe for a Home Spa Experience
Please note, the full ingredients in the Blueland tablets are more sophisticated, and I assume, developed by chemists. They include a surfactant, preservative, binders and essential oils, which I did not attempt to add to my simple DIY version, aside from lemongrass EO. Read the list of ingredients here.
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Finding the Right Ingredient Balance
I conducted a few experiments to find a comparable ratio of baking soda to citric acid, plus essential oil for scent. As explained in my DIY shower steamer project, it’s helpful to line a baking tray with wax paper to contain the mess and record your recipe.
After a few rounds of 4:1, 2:1, and 1:1 baking soda to citric acid, I decided that the 1:1 ratio produces the best foaming action. Plus the highest concentration of essential oil smells most similar to Blueland, which is 50 drops per 1 cup of powder mixture.
For quantity, I estimated that the Blueland tablets are about half the size of the discs from my mold (see below). That’s why my molds are only filled halfway.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of Blueland tablets versus my DIY tablets after they dissolved into fizzy foam. A chemical reaction occurs when water is added to baking soda and citric acid, which creates some mild foam.
The Blueland tablets also contain sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, which is a foaming surfactant. That explains why my DIY tablets do not foam as much as the Blueland tablets, which you can see in my earlier photo with the scrub brush, but they do seem to clean the bowl comparably well.
DIY Toilet Tablet Recipe
Gather these items:
- baking soda
- citric acid
- lemongrass essential oil (lavender or orange would also smell great)
- unscented witch hazel (or this witch hazel spray bottle)
- empty spray bottle
- silicone mold
- disposable gloves
- measuring cups
- old mixing bowl
- old baking tray
- wax paper
- sharpie
Recipe:
Makes 6 tablets; scale up if desired.
- 1/2 C baking soda
- 1/2 C citric acid
- 50 drops lemongrass essential oil
Directions:
1. Measure about 1/2 cup each of baking soda and citric acid into your mixing bowl. They will not react together as dry ingredients.
2. Add about 50 drops of essential oil to the mixture.
3. Prep a spray bottle with a little witch hazel. You won’t need much, maybe about 20 sprays.
4. Wear gloves and prepare to mix with one hand while spraying witch hazel with the other. As you spray, squeeze the mixture with your hand to evenly blend the ingredients. Spray just until the ingredients start to stick together, like damp sand. You should be able to squeeze a clump and see it hold its shape.
5. Carefully pack the mixture into the mold. I filled my molds about halfway to create a similar size to the original Blueland tablet. Tamp down and smooth out the tops.
6. Allow to dry uncovered overnight.
7. When the tablets have hardened, gently pop them out of the mold and store in an airtight container.
TIP: Write your recipe on the wax paper as you work and on the storage container. If you’re like me, you’ll forget what you made by the following week.
NOTE: These are for toilet bowls – NOT for toilet tanks.
You must wear gloves. Citric acid can be hard on sensitive skin and can damage nail polish. Plus, you should protect your skin from essential oils while mixing the ingredients together.
FYI, to clean hard water stains in your toilet tank, pour in a cup or two of vinegar and let it sit overnight. Flush in the morning.
Cost Analysis of DIY vs. Blueland
OK, here’s an estimate, because it all depends on what you’ve already got in your DIY stash.
My guess is DIY = $0.87 per tablet (max), versus Blueland original = $1.29.
Even if you had to buy most of the materials, minus the equipment, the total cost for the first six items I linked comes to $42 (baking soda, citric acid, lemongrass essential oil, unscented witch hazel, empty spray bottle, and silicone mold).
Let’s say those items can make 48 tablets, based on rough calculations. That makes the cost approximately $0.87 per tablet. Not bad and certainly better than the original Blueland price.
The price goes down from there, if you continue to make these tablets and only restock the baking soda, citric acid, and essential oil. In that case, it’s about $0.54 per tablet! Plus you can use all of these items to make shower steamers, too.
There goes my chance at a sponsorship.
Although, hey. I like the product enough to try to make it! Will you?
What’s Your Blueland Toilet Cleaner Review?
Have you tried these tablet cleaners? What do you think?
I’m also curious to know if anyone tries my DIY recipe and has success – or not. Please fill me in. I think this could all be relative to your local water’s pH and mineral composition. Drop a comment below!
