Efficient Bathroom Cleaning
While we’d all love a sparkling clean bathroom like those put in the spotlight on commercials, few of us are able to make this claim. Even though we know this is the room where we ourselves escape to tidy up, the fact remains it’s a royal pain in the neck to keep clean.
If you’re like me, you hate having to get down and dirty to scour this room to a shine. Fortunately, there are ways you can keep bathroom surfaces spic and span. You may have to do some serious deep cleaning first, but if you follow some tips for efficiency from there on out, the bathroom will practically clean itself.
Get The Deep Cleaning Out Of The Way:
Go ahead and bite the bullet to get the big cleaning done first. If it’s been a time since you and your bathroom have gone face-to-face, the process might take a while. After this, you’re in maintenance mode.
Below are some recipes and advice that can speed up the job and make it less painful.
Homemade Cleaning Recipes:
Shower Doors, Countertops, Bathroom Floors, and Toilet:
This recipe can work wonders on the shower doors, bathroom countertops, and floors for weekly and maintenance mode cleaning.
- 1 Cup Vinegar
- 1 Gallon Water
Mix the vinegar with the water. Vinegar is natural disinfectant and deodorizer. And don’t worry about the smell, it will dissipate quickly. Using this on floors will leave them squeaky clean and your countertops sparkling. There is no rinsing involved as no filmy residue is left behind.
If there is any marble in your bathroom, do not get vinegar on the marble, it can damage it.
Bathroom Tiles and Tub:
Use equal parts of vinegar, baking soda, and salt to clean tiles and the tub.
Tiles:
Use the recipe above for cleaning the tiles in your bathroom. If they are really bad, try bleach and water in a spray bottle with a sponge to wipe things down. This can help you tackle the grout and the tile itself all at once.
Tub:
Get this good and clean by using the above mentioned vinegar, salt and baking soda mixture.
Shower Doors:
Standard white vinegar is an excellent solution for water spotted, stained shower doors. Using the recipe above for shower doors, spray the doors, leave for about 30 minutes then wipe down, rinse. Repeat if necessary before drying.
Toilets:
Some of the vinegar and water solution can work wonders here. If stains are particularly bad, use straight vinegar and let it sit for a time. Finish off cleaning the toilet by scrubbing thoroughly. If stains are not coming out, try bleach or a commercial cleaner.
Floors:
Using the vinegar and water recipe can deep clean most floors quickly and offer a sanitizing effect. Keep in mind that marble and vinegar do not mix well. If you have any marble in your bathroom, take care not to let the vinegar come in contact with the marble. If it does, rinse immediately.
Countertops:
Again, using vinegar and water works well here. If you have granite or marble counters, however, don’t use this solution. Straight water or water and a mild soap will get the job done.
Mirrors:
The vinegar and water solution will work well here. It’s best to use lint-free towels or newspaper to wipe down mirrors to avoid streaking.
Maintaining Your Bathroom:
Now that the deep cleaning is out of the way, pat yourself on the back and resolve to never, ever let your bathroom get that dirty again! You can make the job a whole lot easier by:
- Properly airing out the room – Bathrooms are subject to mold because of the water in the atmosphere. Use the fan when showering or open a window. Cutting down on the water can help keep the bathroom much cleaner all the time.
- Drying surfaces after use – Finished in the shower? Just grab an extra towel and quickly wipe down the floor, walls and shower door after each use. This can help maintain the tub, too.
- Multitasking – Give the toilet bowl a quick brushing while you’re waiting for the shower to heat up in the morning. Wipe down counters while you’re brushing your teeth. Wipe down the sink quickly after each use.
- Mopping regularly – Just run the mop through the bathroom about once a week to keep up with what a quick towel drying doesn’t handle.
Keeping a bathroom clean doesn’t have to be impossible or overly time consuming. Just get the deep cleaning out of the way and use efficient maneuvers the rest of the time to maintain a sparkling appearance.
