Does deep cleaning your bathroom seem a little daunting? Do you always feel like you are forgetting something?
Well then here is a perfect checklist to use as you begin to gather your supplies to mount your attack!
***The first thing I do as I walk into the bathroom is remove any towels, robes, rugs, trash and I take the shower curtain and liner down. Go ahead and pitch that trash of course, but why don’t you make your way to the washing machine and toss in a towel or two along with your curtain and liner. (Make sure you don’t throw the clips in the washer however!) When you make your way back to the washer later to flip your load over, make sure you DO NOT throw the liner in the dryer! I always go back to the washer when I am done in the bathroom, so that way I can immediately put liner and curtain back onto the clips and bring back to the bathroom to hang up for it to air dry.
Since your washing machine is open again, why not toss another towel or two in with your floor rugs. (DISCLAIMER: If you have skid-proof floor rugs, the sticky part on the back could flake off and clog the pump. Run with warm or cold water, but nothing over 100 degrees and DO NOT put into dryer!) Also some research shows that you only need half of the recommended amount of detergent for rugs. Do what you wish with that piece of info. I always throw my rugs outside over a patio railing or over the top of a chair if it’s raining. I never wish to chance shrinking it, or causing a fire putting the rug into a high heat situation like the dryer. I advise you do something similar as well. ***
1. Check your bottles.
From shampoo and conditioners, to face washes. Body washes, razors, and any other miscellaneous things that have collected in your shower area. Are there even more hidden away under the sink or in any cabinets? Are any ready to be thrown out? Is there any of the same products that can be combined? One way or another, pull them all out of the shower stall altogether. Take everything off any shelves, or caddies.
2. Spray It Clean
So now you are ready for any sort of shower spray that you have. Personally, I use a mixture of ½ cup ammonia, ½ cup baking soda and 1 gallon warm water in a spray bottle. (Sometimes the smell is still not going to fly with me that day so I use Dawn dish soap and vinegar in a clean spray bottle.) I spray everywhere from the top of the shower stall down to the drain itself. After letting it sit for a short time, I set about scrubbing it back off with a rag or my personal favorite, Magic Eraser. I continuously rinse out my eraser in the sink as I go, to rinse off the dirt and grime that I pick up as I go.
3. Deep Clean Grout
There are many different ways to do this out there. The two ways that I will mention are tried and true in my house. Option A is to get a small bowl and combine 1 cup warm water, with 1 cup bleach and 1 tbsp. dawn dish soap (Any dish soap works). Apply this mixture on any mold or mildew stains or marks and let sit for 20 minutes. A grout scrubber or an old toothbrush will work wonderfully at letting you scrub any stubborn stains or marks away. Once dry, inspect to see if there is a crack or any missing pieces along the grout. If so, you will need to purchase a grout Sealer or clear silicone spray to seal this area back up to prevent further moisture build ups.
4. Porcelain Goodness
When in doubt, use bleach. Pour bleach straight into the toilet and shut the lid. Let the fumes loosen up anything it can get to for a few minutes. You can take this time to decide between a toilet brush, a rag, or something to scrub with. However if you use a rag, or scrubber, this will be the last place that you use that today. Directly after that will need to hit the wash machine, or trash. I love using my toilet brush here, since it happens to clean both the toilet as well as the brush. Since I use a brush, I take this time to grab a disposable disinfectant wipe to wipe the seats, the rim, the area behind the seats and tank with lid. I usually go through 2 or 3 during this process to ensure I’m not moving germs from one surface to another. By that time, I feel the fumes have done their job so I lift the lid and scrub away with my brush. Once finished I flush the toilet and run the brush through the flushing water. It’s always good practice to use bleach water or a disposable disinfectant wipe on the toilet brush canister as well since that tends to collect all sorts of nasty things if not.
***TIP— Research has shown that all germs do not flush down the toilet as expected. This allows germs to shoot up in the air, landing on the seat, handle and any other close surfaces. Let this be a great reminder to everyone to keep toothbrushes covered whenever not in use. Is a drawer, cabinet or covering case that closes completely! With that in mind, look around your bathroom to anything else that airborne germs could come in contact with. Hair brushes, glasses, contact cases, open denture cups, cups meant for water to rinse out your mouth after brushing your teeth. ***
POP QUIZ QUESTION
What part of a typical bathroom has the MOST germs? A sink drain is actually the answer. That means that the kitchen sink actually TOPS the toilet, and toilet seat.
5. Sink and exterior of vanity
Disposable Disinfectant wipes are actually quite recommended for daily or frequent use on the counters, faucet and sink itself. I use those same wipes down the front and sides of my vanity. As for the sink itself, we deal with a decent amount of back up on a pretty common basis here between the facial hair grooming and the regular every day uses on top of that. I use the well-known volcano affect cleaners to help naturally clean those drains. This means 1 cup baking soda to ½ cup vinegar down the drain in that order. If you can plug the drain, do it. You really want to keep the reaction as much inside the drain as possible. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes before removing plug and pouring hot to boiling water down the drain as a chaser.
6. Have you EVER cleaned the ventilation fan?
Think about all of those airborne toilet germs combined with the constant moisture being vented through. Now add in regular dust that happens everywhere. And the fact that you have likely never cleaned this before.
This is simpler than it sounds. Turn off the circuit breaker before attempting this. Grab yourself a good flashlight and head back into the bathroom. Some of these vents have a release tab, others require a screwdriver. Make sure you verify what your vent needs and remove accordingly. Place the vent itself in a sink full of warm soapy water that you will later scrub and allow to air dry. Using a disposable disinfectant wipe to wipe off the fan blades themselves. You could use a dry paint brush, or something similar to brush off standing dust on the motor. I have seen some people say to try a vacuum tool, but not many vacuums have long enough hoses for this to be a feasible option. Make sure everything is dry before you put back together.
7. No streaky walls for you
One of the last few things that I do is spray down the walls that with an all-purpose cleaning spray and turn on the hot water in my shower for a few minutes, while shutting the door and allowing the steam to grace the walls as well. I’m slightly shorter, so I take a step stool with me when I go back and wipe the walls down, starting from the top of the walls down. I wipe my walls down more than I ever would have expected since I have a pretty small full bathroom.
8. When mopping sounds easy
Mopping suddenly seems super easy at this point because it means that the end is near. I happen to like using a fun smelling Mr. Clean scent, but some people use a simple vinegar water mix. (Equal parts of each for this mixture.) I have also heard people tell me that they use that mixture with a mop to clean down walls as well. I may try that one someday, to see if that would help combat my short girl problem.
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