In short
- White vinegar: the limescale remover. Shower screens, ceramic tiles, scaled toilet bowls. Never on marble or limestone.
- Baking soda: the mild abrasive and deodorizer. Bath, basin, bad smells, delicate surfaces.
- Soda crystals: the heavy-duty degreaser. Heavy dirt, greasy pipes. With gloves, and never on aluminum.
- Sodium percarbonate: the active-oxygen whitener. Blackened grout, sanitizing the toilet bowl. In hot water, with gloves.
- Never mix bleach with an acid such as vinegar: the mixture releases chlorine.
Four white powders and a liquid, four labels promising to clean everything, and in the end you tip the lot into the same bucket and hope for the best. Good news: each of these products has a real strength, and all you need to know is which one to take out of the cupboard for which problem. Here is the user guide, area by area of the bathroom.
Which product for which problem?
- Limescale marks on the shower screen: white vinegar. On taps, follow the manufacturer’s instructions instead.
- Limescale at the bottom of the toilet bowl: hot white vinegar and coarse salt.
- Dull bath or basin, soap marks: baking soda.
- Bad smell from a drain: baking soda, after checking the trap.
- Pipe draining badly because of grease and soap: soda crystals.
- Blackened tile grout: sodium percarbonate.
- Very dirty floor or tiles: diluted soda crystals.
What is white vinegar good for?
White vinegar is an acid (diluted acetic acid). That is what makes it formidable against limescale: it dissolves it rather than just scraping it. So it’s your product for everything that turns white with hard water.
Where to use it in the bathroom
- Glass shower screen: sprayed on, left to work, then rinsed. Slightly warmed (without boiling), it works faster.
- Scaled toilet bowl: poured hot onto a handful of coarse salt and left for a few hours, or even overnight. If the crust resists, here is how to deal with stubborn limescale.
- Ceramic tiles: a soaked cloth, some contact time, a rinse with clean water. For taps, be careful: several manufacturers advise against vinegar on chrome, so here is how to descale a showerhead and mixer tap without damaging them.
Where not to use it
Vinegar attacks limestone: marble, travertine and other natural stones. It dulls the polish and can leave marks. If your shower tray, vanity top or walls are in natural stone, switch to baking soda or a product made for stone.
And if the limescale keeps coming back despite everything, your water is probably very hard. It may then be smarter to treat the problem at the source, for example with a magnetic limescale reducer.
What is baking soda good for?
Baking soda is only mildly alkaline (a pH of about 8 in solution). It is very gentle, and that is precisely its strength: it scours without scratching and absorbs smells. It is the product for delicate surfaces and bad smells.
Where to use it in the bathroom
- Bath, basin, shower tray: as a paste with a little water, on a damp sponge, to lift soap marks without damaging the enamel or the resin. Rinse afterwards.
- Smells: sprinkled into a drain or at the bottom of a bathroom bin, it neutralizes odors.
- Natural stone: it is the alternative to vinegar for cleaning a shower tray or walls in natural stone.
Be careful: if a drain smells of sewage, the problem almost always comes from the trap, dry or clogged, and no powder will fix it on its own. Here is how to find where a bad smell in the bathroom or toilet comes from.
What are soda crystals good for?
Soda crystals (sodium carbonate) are the tough big brother of baking soda: much more alkaline (a pH of about 11), they dissolve grease and soap deposits deeply. It is the product for the big clean, not for everyday upkeep.
Where to use it in the bathroom
- Intensive cleaning (floor, tiles, very dirty shower tray): about 100 g per liter of lukewarm or hot water, applied with a sponge, then rinsed. That is the dosage given by Starwax for its soda crystals.
- Greasy pipes and smells: the same maker indicates about 250 g dissolved in a liter of hot water, poured slowly down the pipe.
Precautions to take
- Gloves are a must, and watch your eyes: sodium carbonate causes severe eye irritation. Goggles aren’t a luxury if you are pouring a lot.
- Never on aluminum, nor on waxed floors or bare wood.
- Do a patch test on a hidden area if in doubt.
- Rinse well: too much product or a rushed rinse leaves white marks.
What is sodium percarbonate good for?
Percarbonate is sodium carbonate combined with hydrogen peroxide. In contact with hot water, it releases active oxygen that bleaches stains and whitens. It is the alternative to bleach for blackened grout and sanitizing.
Where to use it in the bathroom
- Blackened tile grout: a paste of percarbonate and hot water, applied to the grout, left for 20 to 30 minutes, then scrubbed and rinsed.
- Toilet bowl: two tablespoons in the bowl, hot water on top (not boiling), a 30-minute wait, then a brush and a flush.
- Fabric shower curtain: an hour’s soak in a bowl of hot water with two tablespoons, then a machine wash.
The key point is the temperature: percarbonate only really works in hot water, around 40 °C (104 °F). In cold water, it does much less.
Precautions to take
- Gloves, and care for your eyes: percarbonate can cause serious eye damage.
- Don’t mix it with an acid (vinegar) or with a chlorine product (bleach).
- Not on aluminum, wool or silk.
- Store it dry, in a tightly closed box, away from heat.
Can you mix these products?
This is the big question, and the answer is mostly no.
- Vinegar and baking soda: the mixture foams a lot, which gives the impression that it is working. In reality, the vinegar’s acid and the baking soda neutralize each other: what is left is mostly water, salt (sodium acetate) and carbon dioxide. The foam can help dislodge a deposit in a drain, but for descaling, vinegar alone does better, and for deodorizing or scouring, baking soda alone does better. Use them one after the other, with a rinse in between.
- Bleach and vinegar (or any other acid): forbidden. The mixture releases chlorine gas, and ANSES, the French health and safety agency, regularly points out that it sends people to the emergency room.
- Percarbonate and vinegar or bleach: also to be avoided.
How much does it cost?
These are all inexpensive products, especially in large sizes (Castorama, France, October 2026):
- Household white vinegar 14°: about €4.50 a liter, €16.50 for 5 liters.
- Baking soda: about €5.40 for 500 g, €8.30 a kilo.
- Soda crystals: about €7.30 for 1.4 kg, from €8 to €8.60 a kilo depending on the brand.
- Sodium percarbonate: about €7.90 for 400 g, €12.90 a kilo.
Prices vary with the store and the period: check them before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Which product for shower grout that is completely black?
Sodium percarbonate, as a paste with hot water, left for 20 to 30 minutes before brushing. If the grout stays black after several passes, it is probably time to redo it. Here is how to tell whether to redo it, and how to redo a silicone joint step by step.
Why do soda crystals leave white marks?
The product is too concentrated or poorly rinsed. Stick to the dosage (about 100 g per liter for a big clean) and rinse with clean water afterwards.
Should I replace bleach with these products?
For routine bathroom upkeep, vinegar, baking soda and percarbonate cover most needs, with less aggression for the grout and the pipes. If you keep bleach, never combine it with another product, and above all not with an acid.
And what about coarse salt in all this?
It has its place, for one single job: limescale at the bottom of the toilet bowl, where it acts as an abrasive that stays in contact overnight. Combined with hot vinegar, it’s an effective duo.
This article is part of our guide to cleaning your bathroom and toilet naturally, with the full daily, weekly and monthly routine.
So, which product never leaves your bathroom cupboard? Tell us in the comments how you use it: the best tips often come from readers.