Category: Bathroom Cleaning

When cleaning I always work from the top down, I don’t want to use the same cleaning cloth that I used to wipe the toilet seat when wiping the top of the toilet tank.  The toilet tank is rarely more than a little dusty so I clean that first then wipe down the rest of the toilet.  Spray surfaces with your washroom cleaner and allow the chemical to sit for a while, then wipe clean with a dry cloth.  I leave the bowl cleaner in the bowl for several minutes as well, allowing the chemical to do its job disinfecting and sanitized your bowl.  I also rinse the bowl brush well so it does not become a breeding ground for bacteria when not in use.  The more wet your cloth is, the more dirty bacteria etc. is on it and will reduce the quality of your cleaning job.

Build a latrine like the “survivors” in your back yard and “vote off ” anyone who doesn’t use it. Seriously if you have two or more bathrooms designate one as a main bathroom, which will leave one of them near perfect and easier to tidy quickly when the “In laws” arrive un-expectedly.

Convince the male members of the family to sit down when using the facilities. This is more readily accomplished by placing the latest issue of MAXIM magazine near the toilet for them to “read”, or by installing a television. This alone makes the bathroom much more sanitary and easy to keep clean. If he must stand, encourage your weekend warrior to install a urinal in the bath room, after all he should be using the right tool for the right job.

The best advice is to keep a mini cleaning kit under the sink. Buy a mini spray bottle and have a general-purpose window cleaner and a few good terry cleaning towels. Using one of your towels folded into quarters, polish the mirror after a quick spray of window cleaner. Give the chrome, sink and counter a quick spray, flip the towel to a clean dry side, and wipe it down, then flip the towel again, and polish to a brilliant shine. Flip your towel to another dry clean side and spray the toilet seat and rim. Wipe and polish dry the seat, under the seat and rim. Flip the towel to another clean dry surface and you can use the spray and towel to spot clean the floor.

The key is a good cleaning towel with lots of surface area to soak up and collect the general-purpose cleaner, hair, dust and dirt. Theroretically, when the towel is folded in quarters, you have 8 different cleaning surfaces. Do this often as an interim cleaning and a major cleaning and disinfecting of the bathroom is easy as pie.

Tools & Technique :
Use a cleaner specific to the surface of the fixture when a deep cleaning is required.

For example, use brass polish on brass fixtures. Use mild detergent for regular cleaning. Avoid bathroom cleaners and/or abrasives. Both can pit and scratch.

This question was submitted from Kathie W.

“How do you wash or clean – preferably wash – plastic shower curtains? This one is clear.”

Shower curtains usually are stained with water stains and soap scum.

Try these techniques :

The easiest if probably washing in your clothes washing machine. Use normal laundry soap and put a cup of white vinegar in the wash with it.

The white vinegar is acidic and is an effective rinsing agent for soap residue and water stains.

You can also wash by hand using the same chemicals. Be sure to use gloves etc.

Tools & Technique :
To prevent bathtub rings and soap-scum build-up, give your bathtub a quick wipe down with a soft cloth or sponge after every use.

Weekly cleaning with a mild detergent will keep your bathtub surfaces quite clean. If your bathtub has build-up of scale or soap-scum use a nylon brush or scrub pad with a multi purpose detergent. Never use abrasive cleaners or steel wool, especially on fiberglass or acrylic tubs.

Specialized Tools & Chemicals :
A good rust remover should be able to remove discoloration without scrubbing. Check the label to be sure it can be used on your particular bathtub surface.

General Information
These types of bathroom tubs and enclosures are usually treated the same as others made out of different materials.|
(See our section on bathtubs and showers).

If however, the problem is not soap scum, mold or water/mineral stains, then most likely the gel coat on the fibreglass has worn-out and needs to be repaired or replaced. Open, exposed fibreglass pores will stain very easily.

There are excellent fibreglass repair kits available that can do a good job restoring the gel coat.

Here is a question from Sally B. from Florida:

How do I remove Hairspray overspray from my walls and floor?

Hairspray is a common stain, however it is very tough to remove. It is almost like a shellac once dry, makes wonder how we get it out of our hair. I have had people recommend using shampoo and a brush to remove. I tried this with some success, but not too great. Next I have tried solvents like rubbing alcohol or acetone, this works better but it usually removes paint as well (if you are removing from a painted surface). It seems that painting is the only sure solution I have encountered so far for painted surfaces and solvents for non-painted surfaces. The hairspray should not bleed through at all on painted surfaces, however you may want to sand it down lightly to remove the texture as that may be visible through a fresh coat of paint.
Always test a small area first before using chemicals or techniques you have not used on the surface you are cleaning.

I started using a small plastic squeegee in my shower to keep the hard water stains and soap stains to a minimum, although it didn’t last long (too cold to be cleaning the shower down after the water stopped).

Store bought cleaners listed below will remove stains on your surfaces.  Remember that you should clean hard water stains away regularly.The longer they sit, the harder they are to remove. If stains remain for long periods of time, the stain may become permanent.

A good home cleaning remedy is plain white vinegar and lemon juice.  Lemon juice is an acid, and it helps to loosen and remove hard water deposits from glass shower enclosures.  Apply a generous amount of cleaner and agitate with a nylon scrub brush and rinse off using a plastic squeegee for best results.

A commercial acid based cleaner found in any janitorial supply stores are what professional cleaning companies use  to scour hard water deposits. Caution:  Use eye protection and gloves when using these commercial cleaners.

Lime-A-Way or CLR are products that remove stains or hard water deposits, rust stains and soap scum. There are tub and tile cleaning products that remove soup scum and also contain sequestering agents and heavy duty acids such as phosphoric acids. Caution:  Use eye protection and gloves

Glass shower doors become stained easily with hard water deposits. The lime scale attracts soap scum, dirt and mold and mildew. To remove these stains with this buildup, try cleaners made for hard water scale or lime removal such as Wink, Zud or Comet.