Cleaning the Bathroom

No one likes to clean the bathroom. However, when it is clean, most do not want to be the one who messes it up. You tend to notice how clean it is and will often make an effort to keep it that way. Here are a few cleaners I use and techniques to make it shine. These are extreme cleaning techniques, for when the bathroom may have been neglected for a while. How to clean a really dirty bathroom......

Bathtub and Shower

I love this cleaner. I don't mind having to clean my tub/shower any more, because this product is the best I've found. When your shower is completely dry, use one of my favorite cleaning products. It's called CLR Bath and Kitchen cleaner. It sprays a rather foamy type of spay. For best results use long quick horizontal sprays, starting at the top, working your way down. As gravity pulls the cleaner down the walls it will coat entire surface. I usually start with the doors if you have them and then the sides. If your spray is too heavy it will run quickly down the walls and you do not want it to do this. If the shower/tub unit is heavily grimed out with soap scum, hard water, lime and other heavy build up, you may need an entire bottle to get your best results, applying several light applications. Completely cover all surfaces. Allow to stand for about 15 minutes. I like to use nylon scrunchies, those body wash ones or kitchen scrubbers work best. Never user anything that can scratch the surface. After the 15 minutes, it will most likely have dried a bit, so with long sweeping swipes respray the surface, covering about 30% of the surface and hitting toughest areas first.  Spread the cleaner around while scrubbing with your scrunchy. Do not wet your scrunchy. Use an old toothbrush to get nooks and crannies and along the door track, if you have one. Allow to stand about five to ten more minutes and you'll be ready to rinse. If your scrunchy is very grungy you can clean it with dish soap. Dawn is my personal favorite. The key to success with this product is to not dilute it by using water until you are ready to rinse. While rinsing you will want to use your scrunchy to remove any left behind softened soap scum and or build up. Rinse scrubber often with hot water if needed. If you had heavy build up or crud you may want to repeat these steps on the problem areas, but only after the shower has completely dried. Water that is heavy with minerals will tend to make you have to clean more often. Use a squeegee after showering, it will cut your cleaning needs by nearly 70%. You may only need to clean it once every 3 months and be able to get it done much quicker. You will be amazed at how well this cleaner works on calcium,  lime, rust and soap scum.

 

Sink and Surrounding Area

Remove everything from the counter top before you begin. The first thing you want to do, is use the CLR Bath and Kitchen cleaner, on dry faucets and sink. Simply spray it on and leave it sit as you clean the toilet or if your doing the entire bathroom in one shot, as your finishing up your shower/tub. Most likely you will not need to respray and repeat, so using a clean wet scrunchy is fine to spread it around after leaving it set. It's always best to re-moisten dried on cleaner with the cleaner your using. After the sink and faucets are clean, you will want to clean shelves or cupboards. You may want to clean the medicine cabinet before doing the counters, so you can place the items from the cabinet on the counter top as you wipe the shelves. If you have light fixtures over the counter, it's a good time to wipe them down as well. Always work your way down, except for the mirrors, they are always next to last to clean in the bathroom.  Floors are last. All that scrubbing and rinsing will splatter them up.
Place some hot soapy water in your clean sink, to wash off items that may sit on shelves or counters, your light globes if you have them and to wipe the walls around your sink. use an old wash cloth or rag to wipe everything off and rinse well. Either dry by hand or leave to drip dry on a towel placed on the floor of your tub or shower to keep them out from under your feet.

I use The Works toilet bowl cleaner. It works well and it's not very expensive. When cleaning the toilet bowl it's always best to push the water in the bowl down to the lowest level you can. Use your toilet brush to force the water down by quickly pushing the brush into the passage way that the waste goes down when you flush. After you have pushed most of the water down, apply cleaner, being sure to get under the rim, to keep your water flowing freely . If your cleaner does not have an angled neck, and has a simple safety spout, you can open it half way to give it an angle. This allows you to easily squirt it under the rim. If your toilet tends to run a trickle of water into the bowl, shut off the valve if you are able. You want to coat the entire bowl from the rim down. Leave it set for a few minutes to an hour, depending on how stained your bowl is. Use a good toilet brush of your choice to scrub away any remaining stains. Be sure to wipe all around the outside of the toilet bowl with a disinfecting cleaner of your choice. I like dawn with a splash of bleach in a bucket of hot water. 

 

 

 

 

Bathroom Grunge

If your a woman that uses hairspray, I know you can feel my pain when it comes to cleaning bathroom surfaces. Removing hairspray build up can be a chore. I have found that the best way to remove this sticky substance. It is with......hairspray. Yes, hairspray works the best. It can be a cheap hairspray, such as Rave or Suave. Again, you will want to use one of those scrunchies (dry) to scrub the softened buildup off the surface. Then to use a rag to wipe the surface quickly once you have loosened the buildup away from the surface. You do not want to let it get dry. Hot water, as hot as you can stand, and a little dawn dish soap works very well for this. Do small areas at a time. When doing the floor, you can use a nylon or plastic bristle scrub brush. Do not try to do large areas at one time., you could end up with a sticky mess. The hairspray method can be used on counter tops as well as the floor and should only be used when the build up has caused there to be discoloration. Like when you remove the rug and can see where it use to be. Counters are a bit easier than floors when it comes to hairspray. Most likely, because we tend to wipe the counters, more often than the floors. For really heavy gunky build up you can use a plastic scraper to remove most of the gunk once it has been softened by the newly applied hairspray. I often just use my fingernails, but I have strong nails and often use them as tools to scrape off stuck on debris. 
If you do not have build up you may be able to simply wipe away that dull finish the hairspray has left behind. I have used Awesome, Simple Green and even plain ole Baking Soda to clean light hairspray coverage on counters. Baking soda is a great mild abrasive that does not have the harshness of Comet or Ajax and works just as well. Be sure to test a small area of any surface before using a cleaner you have not used before. Baking soda can be sprinkled on a damp surface and use a damp cloth to scour the surface. Be sure to rinse well or you may end up with a haze of soda.
Be sure not to forget about your walls, especially around the toilet. This often gets forgotten and needs to be done often. Every time you flush the toilet small droplets goes into the air and has to land somewhere, even if you shut the lid each time. It will come from between the seat and toilet bowl. Think about where you keep your toothbrush.

Finish It Up

When it comes to the mirror, use newspaper (not the shiny pages) or paper towel and some Windex or other glass cleaner you like to use. Spray it on, wipe it off and repeat if needed. Toothpaste splatter can be tough to remove and a little baking soda on a damp cloth works well for this. After removing the splatters, rinse your cloth well and wring it out as dry as you can and wipe down the mirror's surface. You may also use hot water and a little more patients and elbow grease to remove these heavy splatters. Do this step while your cleaning the counter top items or the medicine cabinet. This will allow it to dry before using your glass cleaner of choice. Do not use Baking Soda if your mirror is not glass.

Now that your bathroom is nearly completely clean, you can do the floors. I prefer hot water with some Mr. Clean or dawn with a splash of bleach for good measure. This works very well to put that finishing touch on your now sparkling clean bathroom. I always rinse my mop well as I mop and go over the entire area with a completely rinsed mop or sponge as I finish each section of a large floor. Bathrooms are usually quite small and you may be able to do the entire floor, be sure to rinse it well and use a floor polish product if you choose after the floor has dried completely. Follow the instructions for the product you choose to use.

Now, tomorrow morning you can grab your favorite reading material and sit back and relax on the throne in your very clean bathroom......grin.

A Few More Tips

I suggest getting one of these  Bemis 570SLOW 000 Slow Close Lift Off Flip Cap Round Closed Front Toilet Seat, White
 or one like it that allows you to remove the entire seat easily. Check them out, I just love them, myself. They come in both elongated as well as standard size. These seats are the best and well worth the investment. They come off easily and are very easy to clean as long as you do not use anything that will scratch the surface. Hot soapy water and cloth is all you need to keep it nice and clean. You can even just take it off and let it soak in a tub before you clean it if you like. Add a little bleach if you must or use a disinfecting spray of your choice.
Please use caution when it comes to toilet bowl cleaners. They can be very hazardous to skin, clothing and eyes and the fumes they can produce can cause breathing problems. It's always best to have a window open or bathroom fan on when cleaning your bathroom. Keep this product away from children and pets.
Use a good toilet brush of your choice to scrub away any remaining stains. Be sure your brush is meant for toilets. If it is not meant for toilets, the bristles may begin to fall off the brush and will leave you holding nothing but a handle and a bunch of bristles in your bowl.

If your shower head or faucets are not running freely you can remove them and soak them in the CLR Bath and Kitchen cleaner for several minutes to an hour. Most faucets have removable spouts that you can unscrew. Be sure to have something covering the drain in case there are small pieces inside the spout. Spray some cleaner inside the shower head as well as setting it upright in a bowl submerging the face of the shower head completely in cleaner. Use an old toothbrush if needed to break away the build up left by the minerals in your water after it has soaked. You can also use a disposable plastic container that you can put holes in the rim.  The holes will allow you to tie it to the shower head with some string or yarn, so it can soak in your cleaner.

A good bead of silicone calk is highly suggested around any area that water may seep into places you do not want getting wet. Silicone will not harden and break over time and is usually quite easy to remove once it has cured completely. When doing the toilet, do not do behind the toilet. It is advised not to completely seal your toilet to the floor. You want to know if your wax ring ever leaks, so you can quickly replace it. Be sure to have a clean dry surface before calking.  Run a moistened finger along the bead to give it a nice tapered seal and it pushes it evenly into your cracks, if you not one who can run an even bead of calk. ( Like me ) 🙂 Do not wipe too much of your bead away, so it will be easier to remove if need be.