The idea for making this concoction all started when I ran out of Comet powdered cleanser recently (which I use for cleaning my shower floor), and when I went to buy another canister, I found out my grocery store no longer stocked it. 
Out of curiosity, I wondered how hard it would be to make my own scouring powder and started looking online for DYI Comet powder recipes, while in the meantime, my nephew who is currently living with us offered me his tub of scrubby cleansing paste made by a well-known MLM company to tide me over. I was quite surprised at how well it worked to get my shower floor clean and pristine, and I especially liked how it didn't kick up cleanser dust into the air like regular powder cleansers do...... and then as things so often happen in my DYI mind, I thought to myself, 'Gee wiz, this little tub of scrubby paste is so awesome yet soooo expensive, but lookee here- there are only 3 simple ingredients in it, and the main one, which is the scrubby-but-non-scratchy ingredient, is the exact same ingredient that others are using in their DYI Comet powder recipes (marble flour, aka calcium carbonate, aka chalk, aka feldspar, etc..) and it is super cheap to buy....how hard could it be to make my own for pennies on the dollar?". For what it's worth, the other ingredients in my nephew's paste were natural soap and a trace amount of coconut oil.
Somewhat excited and impatient to make up a sample amount right away, I went to my health food store and bought some NOW-brand calcium carbonate powder, as well as a small bottle of Dr. Bronner's peppermint scented 'Castile' (mostly coconut oil) soap, and got to concocting.
While I wasn't able to get my concoction to the exact same consistency as the paste that my nephew loaned to me (theirs is a little drier than mine but somehow still holds solidly together), it's close enough for me and it works quite well in the same way, although for kicks I might tweak it in the future just to see if I can get it closer in consistency.
I had to wing it with the ratios, but in the end I used about 1/4 cup of the calcium carbonate, which weighed 56g on my scale, and 6g (about 1 and 1/2 tsps.). of the liquid soap. I didn't add any coconut oil. I figured it might very well be possible that there were traces of a coconut oil superfat in the Dr. B soap, so I didn't bother.
In percentages, this is what it looks like:
90.32% calcium carbonate
9.68% liquid soap
At first, I was trying to mix the two ingredients together in a small bowl, but that was proving to be rather difficult, so I transferred them to a Ziploc baggie and smooshed them into a well-blended, cohesive mass before dumping it out into 2-oz low-profile tub container and pressing it firmly down into the container. It filled the container about 2/3 of the way up.
To use, you're supposed to dampen a microfiber cloth or sponge or whatever other cleansing implement of choice, swipe it on the surface of the paste to pick some of the paste up and then rub it on whatever mess that you are trying to clean.
To test my concoction out, I chose my hubby's badly tea-stained, plastic coffee travel mug to use as my guinea pig. On several previous occasions, I'd tried getting those stains out with one of those Scotch-brand scouring pads and soap, but was never able make much if any headway at all. Barring soaking it in bleach, I had resigned myself to the fact that it was probably stained permanently, but what do you know- the paste worked like a charm and got the stains out! Yay!
It also works well at cleaning hardened food off my porcelain dishes and my stovetop.
I really like this paste form of scouring powder. It's nice to not have to deal with getting cleanser dust airborne everywhere.
IrishLass
Out of curiosity, I wondered how hard it would be to make my own scouring powder and started looking online for DYI Comet powder recipes, while in the meantime, my nephew who is currently living with us offered me his tub of scrubby cleansing paste made by a well-known MLM company to tide me over. I was quite surprised at how well it worked to get my shower floor clean and pristine, and I especially liked how it didn't kick up cleanser dust into the air like regular powder cleansers do...... and then as things so often happen in my DYI mind, I thought to myself, 'Gee wiz, this little tub of scrubby paste is so awesome yet soooo expensive, but lookee here- there are only 3 simple ingredients in it, and the main one, which is the scrubby-but-non-scratchy ingredient, is the exact same ingredient that others are using in their DYI Comet powder recipes (marble flour, aka calcium carbonate, aka chalk, aka feldspar, etc..) and it is super cheap to buy....how hard could it be to make my own for pennies on the dollar?". For what it's worth, the other ingredients in my nephew's paste were natural soap and a trace amount of coconut oil.
Somewhat excited and impatient to make up a sample amount right away, I went to my health food store and bought some NOW-brand calcium carbonate powder, as well as a small bottle of Dr. Bronner's peppermint scented 'Castile' (mostly coconut oil) soap, and got to concocting.
While I wasn't able to get my concoction to the exact same consistency as the paste that my nephew loaned to me (theirs is a little drier than mine but somehow still holds solidly together), it's close enough for me and it works quite well in the same way, although for kicks I might tweak it in the future just to see if I can get it closer in consistency.
I had to wing it with the ratios, but in the end I used about 1/4 cup of the calcium carbonate, which weighed 56g on my scale, and 6g (about 1 and 1/2 tsps.). of the liquid soap. I didn't add any coconut oil. I figured it might very well be possible that there were traces of a coconut oil superfat in the Dr. B soap, so I didn't bother.
In percentages, this is what it looks like:
90.32% calcium carbonate
9.68% liquid soap
At first, I was trying to mix the two ingredients together in a small bowl, but that was proving to be rather difficult, so I transferred them to a Ziploc baggie and smooshed them into a well-blended, cohesive mass before dumping it out into 2-oz low-profile tub container and pressing it firmly down into the container. It filled the container about 2/3 of the way up.
To use, you're supposed to dampen a microfiber cloth or sponge or whatever other cleansing implement of choice, swipe it on the surface of the paste to pick some of the paste up and then rub it on whatever mess that you are trying to clean.
To test my concoction out, I chose my hubby's badly tea-stained, plastic coffee travel mug to use as my guinea pig. On several previous occasions, I'd tried getting those stains out with one of those Scotch-brand scouring pads and soap, but was never able make much if any headway at all. Barring soaking it in bleach, I had resigned myself to the fact that it was probably stained permanently, but what do you know- the paste worked like a charm and got the stains out! Yay!
It also works well at cleaning hardened food off my porcelain dishes and my stovetop.I really like this paste form of scouring powder. It's nice to not have to deal with getting cleanser dust airborne everywhere.
IrishLass
