Cleaning Tips For The Bathroom

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How To Clean The Bathroom

Let's face it - when it comes to cleaning bathrooms, most people would rather have a root canal!

Learning and using simple techniques can make this unpleasant task a breeze - well, almost.

The trick here is to minimize motion and time by being well-prepared. The result will be a shining clean and sanitized bathroom that smells as clean as it looks.

Collect your cleaners - bleach, mildew remover, disinfectant liquid and spray, glass cleaner, soap scum remover (Soft Scrub ®, Lysol ® Tub & Tile Cleaner, etc.) and liquid furniture polish. Add a two gallon bucket, rubber gloves, a sturdy scrub brush, an old toothbrush, household sponge, paper towels and a couple of soft clean rags.

Wear your gloves to avoid getting harsh chemicals or irritants on your skin then spray the bathtub and shower stall with mildew remover or bleach. Allow it to "work" while you spray the toilet bowl inside and exterior with disinfectant.

Pour a little disinfectant inside the bowl and let that sit for a moment while you use a rag or sponge to wipe the rim and the outside of the bowl, down to the floor. Don't overlook the seat and the lid, and the area behind the seat. Using your regular toilet bowl brush or your scrub brush, reach inside that bowl, apply elbow grease and give that bowl a good scrubbing - then flush!

Go back to your bathtub and shower that was sprayed with mildew remover - you may need to re-wet some surfaces but most of the work should be done for you. Removing soap scum can be an especially tedious job if there is a lot of build-up.

Grab your scrub brush, and - working from top to bottom - begin gently scrubbing the tub or shower walls, then the bottom. Rinse to find areas that still need attention, apply a little Soft Scrub ® (or similar product) and continue until the scum is gone.

Tub/shower doors may accumulate an especially stubborn build-up of soap scum. Again, using soap scum remover and a scrub brush along with elbow grease and a steady, over-lapping motion, scrub the glass from top to bottom. Use the toothbrush to scrub around seams, and the faucet and drain areas. Rinse all of the surfaces well, flooding with fresh water and allowing it to run off then wipe down with a dry clean rag. Glass enclosures benefit from an additional application of a glass cleaner, especially on the outside.

Moving on to the sink/s and counter, gather all objects and move them off the surface. Spray the counter top with disinfectant, and the sink/s with household cleaner and/or soap scum remover. A household sponge laminated with Teflon ® surfaces abrasive material works well for the bathroom sinks and counters. Take the toothbrush and scrub around the faucet and drain to loosen any gunk or mildew. Rinse the sink/s well with fresh water then, using paper towels, wipe down the entire counter, faucet, and sink.

When all bathroom fixtures are shining to your expectations, grab the furniture polish and a soft rag. Give your wooden counter faces a nice coat of polish to remove dust and protect from water stains.

Bathroom Windows and Mirrors

A quick, easy and streak less homemade cleaner for windows and mirrors can be made using vinegar and alcohol. Pour 1 cup off full strength white vinegar with 1 cup of isoprophyl (rubbing) alcohol in a spray bottle.

Bathroom Tubs and Shower Stalls

Minerals (such as iron) and alkaline in the water cause those annoying and troublesome spots on your glass doors and shower walls. Keep a Squeegee in your shower stall (or other handy place) to wipe down your shower after each use. This helps to prevent spotting. If you are tired of fighting the soap scum buildup, try use liquid body soap, it's different chemically than regular bar soap so soap scum will not build up in the bath or shower.

Clean the showers once a week (I use Soft Scrub ® with bleach). If you have a lot of soap scum, you will need to scrub, no matter what miracle product you have. Spray it will with Kaboom ® or other acid-base cleaner, let it "work" for a few moments, then simply scrub it off. Use a scrubby to get stubborn areas. Test a spot to make sure it doesn’t scratch the surface..

Toilets

Nasty rings in the toilet bowl are cause by hard water mineral deposits.

To remove those toilet bowl rings, you can use either full strength white vinegar, a commercial mineral deposit remover, or if the deposits are heavy a pumice stone, will do the job quickly.

• First, turn off the water supply to the toilet.
• Flush the toilet to remove most of the water.
• Soak some paper towels with full strength white vinegar and position these on the toilet bowl rings
• Let the towels sit for several hours. The mild acid in the vinegar will work to dissolve the mineral deposits.
• Scrub the ring with a green scrubbie or a nylon brush

If the vinegar does not do the trick, repeat the process with a commercial lime scale remover (you can purchase this at the grocery store)

If the vinegar or hard water lime scale remover it just not getting rid of the toilet bowl ring, you can use a pumice stone. Pumice is all natural volcanic rock that is a very good abrasive that gently dissolves as you use it.

We use pumice stones ourselves (at Mrs. Clean) but it takes a delicate process, and it must be done carefully to avoid scratching the porcelain surface of the toilet bowl.  Lots of water, and gentle consistent pressure is the key here.

• You can purchase a pumice stone from the grocery store
• Moisten the pumice stone (oh come on, just dip it in the toilet water- You have gloves on right?)
• Rub the pumice stone on the toilet bowl ring, using gentle consistent pressure until it disappears.
• Keep the pumice stone wet, remoistening frequently
• Use a green scrubbie to finish up.