We don’t often like to think about the task of cleaning our bathrooms, but it’s at least as important as the rest of the house. The bathroom is where we keep ourselves clean and often where we get ourselves ready for the day.
Because of the regularly damp environment of the bathroom, it can quickly become grimy and unhygienic. The best way to prevent this is to regularly clean your bathroom, giving at a deep clean at least once a fortnight on top of regular maintenance.
To make sure that no part of the bathroom is missed out from the deep clean, it’s helpful to have a checklist on hand. You will find a printable checklist that you can refer back to at the end of this post.
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How to Clean Your Bathroom in Minutes
However, sometimes we don’t need to deep clean our bathrooms. Sometimes we just need to spruce it up a bit, to hide or get rid of the worst of our sins. Usually this is because a surprise visitor is about to drop by, and the bathroom at least needs to be presentable.
When you’ve only got about ten minutes or so, you need to focus on the most obvious issues. The toilet and the sink are your priorities, for obvious reasons. So, if you have only a few minutes, make sure to at least scrub the toilet and wipe down the toilet seat.
Then, focus on the sink. Wipe the faucet and all around the sink to make sure that it looks respectable. Once you’ve got those out of the way, check on the rest of the room. Anything that can be sorted out quickly, do it.
Changing the hand towels can have a huge effect, as well as just tidying away anything that’s obviously out of place. If you have a bath and a little bit of time, give it a quick rinse down. Finally, it’s a nice touch to leave the bathroom smelling fresh. Use an air freshener or light a scented candle.
Now, the bathroom will still need a proper clean when you have the time, but for an emergency, this should cover the most obvious issues.
Things to Watch Out For
There are parts of the bathroom that can attract mold or grime without us noticing. While we might keep on top of the obvious things, like regularly scrubbing the toilet and wiping down the sink and faucet, these things can slip by unnoticed.
While many people have glass doors to their showers, shower curtains are still a common sight in many bathrooms. These can easily get grimy and even start to mold, especially near the bottom where water might collect.
Even with a plastic shower curtain, this issue can be avoided. You can actually clean these in the washing machine if you are careful. You’ll need to use a warm wash and not a hot wash unless you want a melted shower curtain. Wash using either (not all) vinegar, baking soda or a gentle detergent.
You can also hand wash your shower curtain in a similar way. This will work for fabric curtains as well. Use baking soda and a damp microfiber cloth to scrub the entire shower curtain. After this, rinse and repeat until you have a clean shower curtain.
Another thing to make sure you don’t neglect is the air vent. This can easily get dusty and go ignored for far too long. Fortunately, this is much easier to solve. Simply dust the air vent regularly.
Tips for Cleaning Your Bathroom Like a Professional
If, like many of us, you find that you struggle to achieve the same level of cleanliness as a professional cleaner, or maid, there are a few things you can do to bridge that gap. You’d be surprised to learn that you don’t necessarily have to go for the most expensive cleaners.
Many professionals use simple household goods, such as baking soda or white vinegar. Both of these are great natural cleaning products which won’t damage you, the environment, or your bank.
Other cleaning products that are easy to obtain are: Hydrogen peroxide, which can be used to clean grout and bathroom surfaces. Kosher salt and lemon are another great way to clean soap scum from the shower glass and the faucets. Also, any all-purpose cleaner should handle most bathroom jobs if you clean regularly.
You can use some kind of toilet cleaner to keep things fresh but be careful when using bleach. Depending on the finish of your porcelain, bleach has been known to erode enamel over time. If you want to be on the safe side, use baking soda and vinegar before scrubbing your toilet.
However, if you are using chemical cleaners and especially bleach, be incredibly careful when it comes to mixing them. Bleach and ammonia-based cleaners can release some toxic fumes, so this can be dangerous.
Finally, if you do plan on using vinegar or other pungent cleaners, or chemical cleaners such as bleach, be sure to open a window at least while you’re cleaning.
Related: Brilliant Uses for Vinegar + A Homemade Cleaner Recipe
Download your free bathroom checklist here.
If you don’t want to keep printing your checklist, you could also laminate it and use dry erase markers. Here is the affordable laminator I use.
Ten Steps to a Clean Bathroom
Another thing that professional cleaners do to help them when cleaning bathrooms is having some kind of checklist or set plan of how they clean and what they’re going to do. This is another thing that all of us can copy.
By breaking a big job down into steps, it becomes much more manageable and efficient. Download the Checklist here.
1. Open windows and empty bathroom of clutter.
Get the bathroom ready for a deep clean. You do this by getting together your chosen cleaning supplies, then emptying the bathroom of any miscellaneous and loose items. This includes shower products, towels and rugs, trash cans and any counters. It’s much easier to do this in one step rather than as you go. It might be an idea to open the windows, if you can.
2. Dust the ceiling, light fixtures, and air vent
Get dusting. Use a long-handled duster to tackle cobwebs in corners and on light fixtures. Be sure to dust the vent as you do so. This is also a good opportunity to dust the tops of mirrors.
3. Apply cleaner to bath and shower area
This is where you can get ahead of the game and make cleaning that much easier on yourself. Apply your chosen cleaner to the shower and bathtub. Make sure to get those tricky area, like the shower track and inside the door, as well as the grouting.
Related: 10 Steps to a Sparkling Kitchen
4. Wipe down every surface
Wipe down every surface using a microfiber cloth and an all-purpose cleaner. This includes the counters, the towel racks, windowsills, and baseboards. Work in a logical order, from the ceiling down to the floor. This may seem daunting, but it shouldn’t take too long as these surfaces won’t need to be scrubbed. Just be thorough.
5. Clean the shower and bathtub, then rinse
Clean the shower and bathtub. The cleaner that you applied earlier should have done a lot of the work, so you’ll just have to lightly wipe or scrub any dirt or buildup loosened by the cleaner. Again, start on the walls and move down as you clean. Once everything has been scrubbed, rinse it all down.
6. Clean sink and vanity area
Clean the vanity area. Use your cleaner on the sink, faucets and countertops and wipe them with a clean cloth. Clean out any soap dishes and toothbrush holders. If you have a medicine cabinet, wipe down the shelves.
7. Clean the toilet
Clean the toilet. Hopefully, you scrub your toilet regularly, so this shouldn’t be too difficult. Use an all-purpose cleaner, or baking soda and vinegar if there’s any build up. Scrub with the toilet brush and flush. Now use a clean cloth and your all-purpose cleaner to wipe the outside of the toilet, including underneath the toilet seat.
8. Wipe glass, like the mirror and shower door
Wipe down the glass surfaces. Use a glass cleaner to wipe down your mirror and shower door for a streak free finish.
Related: 10 Simple Steps to a Clean Bedroom
9. Sweep and mop the floor
Clean the floors. Sweep the floor first, then mop it clean.
10. Replace necessary items, close windows, and relax.
Finishing touches. Put everything back into the bathroom, replace the bag in the trash can, and replace the hand towels with clean ones. You can close the windows again and give the room a nice spray of air freshener or light a candle to make it smell special.
So, you’ve now got a clean bathroom and it shouldn’t have taken much longer than an hour. Obviously, some bathrooms need more work than others, but the process is pretty much the same.
Download your free bathroom checklist here.
If you don’t want to keep printing your checklist, you could also laminate it and use dry erase markers. Here is the affordable laminator I use.