How did I end up being an expert in creating a gleaming clean bathroom? Well, I left home quite young, so I’ve worked since I was old enough to get a job. I worked and studied for seven years. Jobs for the untrained are limited to manual labour and sales. During this time I worked as a bar attendant, sales assistant and house cleaner. I learned a lot during those jobs, one of which I will share below – how to clean a bathroom so it glistens.
Steps to a Clean Bathroom
There is a secret to a sparkling clean bathroom. Start at the top, doing all the “dry” cleaning†, and work your way down. then start the “wet” jobs and start at the top and work down. The reason is that if you start low all the dust and hairs will fall down when you are doing the ‘high” cleaning.
Step 1 – “High and dry” cleaning
Use a duster or fluffy cloth to dust the bathroom, top of the doors, taps, toilet cistern, bath, sink/s, benches, handles, towel rails.
- top of the doors
- taps
- toilet including cistern and behind the seat
- bath sides
- sink/s
- benches
- handles
- towel rails
- any other horizontal surfaces
b. Sweep or vacuum the floor
Step 2 – “Wet” stage for a clean bathroom:
- Use a bleach-based cleaner (e.g. Exit Mould or your own home-made version: see “recipe” below) to remove mould and mildew from the grout between your bathroom tiles. Spray, let it sit for 15 minutes, then scrub/rub with a stiff brush/scouring pad and rinse off really well. You can also do this just to make your grout look whiter.
Wear your oldest trackie dacks/sweat pants as you will get splashed with bleach when you rinse it off, so don’t ruin your nicer clothes. - Spray all of the other surfaces with a vinegar based cleaner (see recipe below).
- Sprinkle baking soda over the vinegar spray and leave for 15 minutes.
- Scrub or scour the porcelain surfaces.
- Wipe other surfaces a few times to remove the cleaner
- Wipe over all surfaces with a dry cloth.
- Spray vinegar cleanser over the glass/mirror and metallic surfaces and polish with a dry cloth (old tea towels are perfect for this) until they gleam.
- Because toilets are sometimes in their own room, I have created a toilet cleaning post here…
Recipe for All Purpose Cleanser
Ingredients for a sparkling Clean Bathroom
You can buy white vinegar in bulk at the supermarket in the sauces section. White vinegar fights oil, soap scum, mineral deposits, can lift many stains, and kills bad smells. It’s a bit smelly when wet, like a salad, but once dry it goes away.
- 2 part vinegar
- 1 part water
- several drops of tea tree oil
- several drops of your favourite essential oil
Mix in a spray bottle from a discount store and add a label to it. Can be used safely on most surfaces. For extra cleaning power, sprinkle baking soda onto it after you spray.
Recipe For Bleach Cleaner
I always used to buy Exit Mould, but worked out that it was just bleach and water, so this is my tip for creating your own bleach-based mould cleaner.
- 1 part bleach
- 1 part water
- several drops of tea tree oil
- several drops of your favourite essential oil (I loveNeroli)
Pour these into a spray bottle, preferably in a bright colour so it is obvious and mark it clearly with “Bleach & Water”.
Note on Cleaning Cloths
For my clean bathroom, I use old tea towels to dust, polish glass and stainless steel as well as to wipe surfaces dry at the end. I buy washable cloths. I don’t use disposable, non-woven cloths as these are not planet friendly and I go through quite a few when I clean the bathroom.
Finishing Touches
Towels can make the look of a bathroom, and a soft towel enhances the experience.
I buy my towels in groups of four, with matching face washes. I also buy towels and bathroom accessories that are in the home’s colour palette:
- Grey
- White
- Peachy/Pink
Bathroom Accessories
I prefer having pump for handwash, as the packaging of most inexpensive handwashes is too commercial.
When you are finished with a soy wax candle, these make great containers for toothbrushes and toothpaste, cotton tips and makeup remover wipes.
†if you start low all the dust and hairs will fall down when you are doing the ‘high” cleaning.
*Safety warning – bleach, when mixed with ammonia, vinegar, or any other acid type cleaning material, can cause dangerous, toxic fumes to be emitted into the air. These toxins can cause serious, sometimes deadly, side effects when inhaled. Check out this page for bleach safety tips.
