Shower steamers: the chemistry behind ?

[CecileBC]

Hi !

I would be interested in understanding the chemistry behind shower steamers:
is it the bonding between citric acid and baking soda, packed together firmly with a binding agent such as rubbing alcohol or witch hazel, that creates a new chemical structure that is rock hard ?
Does it mean that the 2:1 ratio between baking soda and citric acid has to be respected if one wants to make the structure rock hard ?

I have tried numerous recipes, and I seem to find that the 2:1 ratio gives the best results in terms of hardness.
However, I would like to decrease the fizz effect, so I have tried less citric acid and have added either cream of tartar or a clay to my steamers.
It turned out that none was ever as hard as the ones made with a 2:1 baking soda/citric acid ratio - and some of them totally crumbly!

Thus my question to try and understand the "chemistry" that happens in the process.

Thanks !

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I have the same exact questions and will be following along. I think there are some answers in the videos by Creative Bath Lab but I need to watch them again.

My best steamers to date included some rose clay. It also seems that once a batch has failed/won’t hold together, there’s no saving it. The stuff will still fizz, so I’m perplexed.

 

[AliOop]

I use kaolin clay in mine, and they do get quite hard and work pretty well. I imagine that cream of tartar or cornstarch would work well, too. My recipe is from The Untidy Artist aka Emily Leffler (sp?) on YT.

Like bath bombs, I use the leftover loose stuff as a toilet cleaner powder.