Cleaning Bathrooms
- Remove all the items that don’t belong in your bathroom: Take out everything that doesn’t belong, such as clothes, cups, and trash. Also move out any little side tables or movable storage cabinets so that you can clean under them.
- Pour some bleach or another disinfectant into the toilet bowl: Put the toilet brush inside the bowl, helping to sanitize the brush for cleaning. Make sure the door is open and the fan is on to ensure proper ventilation. For a green alternative, mix a tablespoon of baking powder into about a quart of 75/25 mix of white vinegar and water.
- Dust: In general, when cleaning any room, start from the top down. Clean cobwebs in the corners of the bathroom, and brush other dust and dirt directly onto the floor to sweep up later. A duster works great for this, but you can also use the broom.
- Apply any scrub powder to especially dirty areas: If you’ve got lime and build-up in the tub, sink, or around faucets, damp those areas slightly and sprinkle with scrubbing powder like Comet. Letting it sit for 10-15 minutes while you do other things will help to work loose the dirty patches and make your scrubbing go much more smoothly.
- Clean the walls, windows and/or ceiling: If you have mold on the ceiling start with spraying a water bleach/disinfectant solution on it and let it rest for a couple of minutes, do the same with the walls (if they are tiles) or use another cleaning product. With a sponge or a clean rag, scrub the tile surfaces you’ve sprayed. Rinse it carefully to avoid any stripes and dry it with a clean rag.
- Clean the shower: Spray cleaning product on the shower walls, and the shower head and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Spray cleansers made especially for getting rid of soap scum work very well on tubs that haven’t been cleaned in a while. For hard water areas that are prone to green and rust-colored stains, a cleanser made for eliminating calcium, lime and rust is probably what you need. Never use abrasive cleaners or green abrasive scrub pads or steel wool on porcelain fixtures, as they will quickly dull the finish. Soak the showerhead. If eventually the showerhead becomes quite clogged with hard water build up or soap scum, you can remove it and soak it overnight in a vinegar/water mixture, and then clean with a toothbrush. Go back over the shower and scrub the walls, faucet and shower head, rinse well with the hottest water and or dry with a towel. You can shine the faucet with a paper towel or a towel.
- Clean the sink and counter area. Scrub all the soap scum and toothpaste off with a small amount of cleaner, rinsing your sponge thoroughly as you go along. Don’t forget to clean your trashcan, tissue holder and other items which regularly remain in your bathroom. An old toothbrush or cotton swabs can be handy for getting the junk out from between the tap and handles.
- Clean the mirror. Use cleaner, rinse it and wipe the excessive water off with a towel or squeegee. To add a shine to your mirror add a bit of vinegar to the water.
- Clean the exterior of the toilet. Wipe the outside, starting with the flush handle so as not to re-contaminate it, with a cloth soaked in disinfectant cleaner. Thoroughly wash and rinse all exterior surfaces of the toilet bowl, including the underside and flared base, the top and underside of the seat and lid, and the hinges and their mounting area with a cloth and detergent or similar cleaner.
- Scrub the bowl with a toilet brush and flush. You probably won’t have to scrub hard: let the soapy water and patience dissolve the problem. Coat the inside of the bowl with a viscous acidic cleaner generally sold in an angle-necked bottle. Take special care to cover the entire inside edge of the rim; it’ll run down toward other areas.
- Sweep/Vacuum and mop the floor. Start with the farthest point from the door. Sweep/vacuum up all the dust and debris you’ve cleaned so far and let fall on the floor, then mop using hot soapy bleach water. Remember to rinse the floor with clean water to remove slippery soap residue. Be sure to get along the sides of your toilet bowl where it is anchored to the floor. This area is notoriously dirty. Don’t forget to clean the base boards or base molds these places usually accumulates a lot of dust.
- Wipe down the shower after you use it. To make sure mold and mildew doesn’t build up in the shower in between big cleaning sessions; take time to wipe it down every time you take a shower. Combined with running the fan, this should keep your bathroom mildew free.
