A survey last year found that cleaning the bathroom is the least liked household chore! Meanwhile, other research has found that over 30% of people hate cleaning the bathroom. Cleaning bathrooms are often disliked due to associated challenges. Bathrooms may seem gross to some and can be more difficult to clean than other areas due to multiple types of surfaces and hard to access corners.
However, cleaning your bathroom is a very important task. It helps to decrease the number of germs and bacteria in your homes. It also can help extend the life of your fixtures, tub, and other areas. Finally, it simply helps maintain the value of your home. Let’s take a look at some tips and tricks to successful bathroom cleaning.
The Basics of Bathroom Cleaning
When you are ready to start cleaning your bathroom, there are a few basic things to focus on including supplies and timelines.
Necessary Cleaning Supplies
The types of cleaning supplies that you will need for your bathroom basically consists of two major categories: cleaning agents and tools. Here are some of the core things you will need.
Cleaning Agents
Typical cleaning agents used in a bathroom include the following:
- A surfactant to break through oils and soap scum. We recommend a mix of baking soda and dawn dish soap.
- A disinfectant such as bleach to kill bacteria, fungus and other organisms who thrive on wet surfaces
- A lime/scale remover to clean toilet bowls
- Glass cleaner such as vinegar
Tools
Typical tools you’ll need include the following:
- Broom & dustpan
- Mop
- Rags or microfiber cloth
- Toilet brush
- Squeegee
- Scrub brush
- Rubber gloves
Frequency of Bathroom Cleaning
When it comes to cleaning your bathroom, keeping a routine is incredibly important. It is typically recommended to clean your bathroom once a week. By making this part of your household routine, your bathroom won’t get too dirty, and cleaning will be a breeze. Thus, consider picking a day to typically engage in bathroom cleaning such as Saturday morning.
Step-By-Step Bathroom Cleaning Guide
If you are one of the many people that hate to clean your bathroom, a step-by-step guide may be helpful in assisting you to organize and take on the task. Here are some basic steps towards getting a pristine bathroom.
Step 1: Decluttering
The first thing you want to do is declutter your bathroom. For many people, seeing lots of clutter can make the cleaning process seem overwhelming. Decluttering this space is important for keeping it neat and organized as well as making it easier to clean.
If you have a bathroom that seems to be always cluttered, consider investing time in organization systems so that you can move things off of countertops yet still be able to easily find them.
Step 2: Dusting and Sweeping or Vacuuming
Dusting and sweeping are the next items on your list. Begin by dusting surfaces, starting with the highest and moving lower towards the ground. Using microfiber clothes is a great way to absorb as much dust as possible.
Once you have finished dusting, spend some time sweeping the floor. Depending on the type of floor, you may want to do a thorough sweep followed by a quick second pass to get any debris that didn’t make it into the dustpan the first time. Be sure to get areas that often get overlooked such as behind the toilet.
We recommend vacuuming floors to make sure all hair, debris and dust from tiles and grout is removed.
Step 3: Cleaning the Toilet
Speaking of the toilet, it is often most people’s least favorite task, so why not get it out of the way quickly? You’ll want to don your rubber gloves for this one. Begin by coating the interior of the toilet with toilet bowl cleaner (or bleach). Use your toilet brush to scrub, letting it hit every surface. After letting it sit for five minutes, flush.
To clean the outside of your toilet, spray your cleaner of choice (vinegar is very popular) on a rag. Wipe each area thoroughly, beginning at the top and working your way down. Once done, use a second rag or cloth to rinse the area with warm water.
Step 4: Cleaning the Shower or Bathtub
Next, you’ll want to clean your shower or bathtub. While this may seem like a big task, it can be done efficiently, particularly if you do so on a weekly routine. Begin by removing loose items and remove any hair from the drain.
You can use shower cleaner, mix a bleach solution, or use vinegar. Spray the walls and tub thoroughly and let it sit for at least ten minutes, giving the cleaner time to break apart soap scum. Next, use a scrub brush to clean each section of the wall and the floor. Rinse them off with the shower head and then use your squeegee to dry them.
Step 5: Cleaning the Sink & Countertop
After removing loose items from the countertop, use your preferred cleaning solution to wipe it down. Next, rinse with warm water. You can use this approach for the fixture on the sink too.
For the sink basin, spray a good coating of your cleaner and let it sit for ten minutes. Afterwards, scrub away any tough stains. Once clean, rinse and wipe with warm water.
Step 6: Cleaning the Floors
Since you have already swept the floors, the prep work is done. The best tool for bathroom floors tends to be a mop. Prepare a solution of bathroom floor cleaner or a mixture of bleach and water (or vinegar and water) in a bucket.
After dipping your mop into the bucket and wringing it out, begin to mop the floor from one side to another. Periodically refresh the water in the mop. Once done, step away and give the floor time to dry.
To clean corners and behind toilets is best to do it by hand using a rag.
Step 7: Cleaning the Mirrors and Glass Surfaces
Glass surfaces like mirrors and some shower doors are relatively easy to clean. Simply spray a glass cleaner on them. After letting it sit for a few minutes, use your squeegee to remove the cleaner, going from top to bottom in smooth, slow strokes. Once this is done, repeat the process with water to rinse it off.
Step 8: Addressing the Trash Can
We strongly recommend that you use a small trash bag in your bathroom trash can as this will help keep the trash can relatively clean. Simply remove the old bag and replace it with a new one. Be sure to wipe the external sides of the trash can with an appropriate cleaner as well.
Natural Solutions for Bathroom Cleaning
Many people seek to avoid harsh chemicals when it comes to cleaning. There are a number of natural solutions that you can use for cleaning your bathroom.
Ingredients You Can Find at Home
In fact, some natural substances that can serve as useful bathroom cleaners may already be in your home. Here is a list of items that work well:
- Vinegar mixed with warm water
- Baking soda mixed with dish soap (stain-removing paste)
- Baking soda mixed with lemon essential oil and vinegar
The Benefits of Natural Cleaning Solutions
In addition to these, there are also a wide number of natural cleaning solutions on the market. There are a variety of benefits to employing natural cleaning solutions for your bathroom. You may see the following benefits:
- Better for people with allergies and sensitivities
- Safer to use
- Less harmful if swallowed
- Improve indoor air quality
- Fewer toxins entering the environment
Common Mistakes to Avoid for Bathroom Cleaning
While cleaning your bathroom is a relatively simple process when done in a routine, organized manner, there are some common mistakes that people make. Avoid these errors when you engage in bathroom cleaning.
Using the Wrong Cleaning Agents
Using the incorrect cleaning agents can wreak havoc on your bathroom routine. Some cleaning agents won’t get the job done while others can actually damage your bathroom. This is especially true when using harsh chemicals as many are only approved for certain types of surfaces. Be sure to read the labels carefully.
Neglecting Certain Areas
It is normal to want to avoid certain cleaning tasks. However, neglecting areas of your bathroom will make it much more time intensive to clean them later on. This is specifically true for the toilet, bathtub, and sink basin. You want to be sure to thoroughly clean these areas each time.
Not Allowing Enough Time for Cleaning Agents to Work
Another very common mistake involves not letting the cleaning agents effectively do their jobs. While many agents are strong, they do need to sit on surfaces for time to function effectively. This is particularly true when it comes to stubborn soap scum and other things.
Failing to Rinse Adequately
Similarly, failing to rinse off cleaning solutions can also create problems. If you don’t adequately rinse, you could be left with an awkward film. Despite your bathroom being clean and disinfected, it won’t seem that way.
Avoiding Regular Bathroom Cleaning
Perhaps the most common mistake is to avoid regular bathroom cleaning. Cleaning your bathroom weekly (or at least every other week) will save you so many headaches along the way. This is a great way to save you time too as your weekly cleanings will go very quickly.
Tips & Hacks for Easier Bathroom Cleaning
For those of you still looking for some extra motivation to improve your bathroom cleaning, here are a few tips and hacks that can help you improve your efficiency and success.
Implement a Cleaning Schedule
As you’ve probably realized by now, we firmly believe that a cleaning schedule is critical to keeping your bathroom clean. Frequent cleaning saves you time in the long run while keeping grit and grime from building up.
Quick, Daily Cleaning Routines
Adding in some daily, quick cleaning routines is another way to tackle a schedule if you are particularly busy. For example, empty the bathroom trash every Friday while cleaning the countertops every Tuesday. Breaking up tasks into smaller time commitments can work well for some people.
Utilize the Right Tools
Be sure that you are using the best tools to clean. Cleaning agents such as vinegar mixtures are natural and very effective for most surfaces. Meanwhile, quality microfiber cloths and cleaning brushes can make sure that you remove dirt quickly and completely.
Engage Family Members in Bathroom Cleaning Routines
Another tip for making bathroom cleaning a bit easier is to involve other family members. Each member of the family could have age appropriate weekly chores related to bathroom cleaning. Dividing the load will be great to save some time.
