Here’s a scary fact: 6 of the 22 most bacteria-friendly surfaces of a home are in your bathroom. That includes your toilet seat, toothbrush holder (ew!), and the floor.
Cleaning a bathroom might be one of the least fun chores, but it’s one of the most necessary.
Here’s the best order to maximise your efficiency!
First, declutter the space – tidy up towels and dirty laundry, and put away bottles and tubs. Then start in the shower area before moving to the benchtops. After that, clean the sink, then the toilet. Last to go is the floor. Make sure you dry all surfaces thoroughly after cleaning.
How to clean a bathroom is pretty simple – but it’ll take a lot of elbow grease.
Get ready to get down and dirty, then admire your sparkling space afterwards!
Why Clean Your Bathroom?
Do you really need to ask? The wet, enclosed nature of a bathroom means it’s the perfect place for bacteria, mould, and mildew to thrive.
These pose a health hazard to you and your loved ones, especially with how frequently you use the space.
It’s not the most pleasant chore, but bathroom cleaning is essential.
Fortunately, you’ve got friends in your home to help – including distilled white vinegar and bicarb soda. Alternatively, use eco-friendly cleaning products that won’t harm you or your home.
And if you don’t want to clean your bathroom? (Trust us, we don’t blame you.) Deep cleaning can be the job for expert home cleaners.
Just leave the task to the cleaners, go out for a few hours, and presto! A clean bathroom to come home to.
Cleaning The Whole Bathroom
The key to bathroom cleaning is efficiency. Don’t waste time and effort shuffling from space to space; do one step, then move on to the next.
Work from one side to the other and top to bottom to maximise your productivity.
1. Declutter
The first thing you need to do is declutter the bathroom!
Tidy up any laundry you have lying around, and put away any bottles and tubs. If your surfaces and shelves are disorganised, they’ll be harder to clean.
Now is also a good time to go through any skincare and personal care products you have on your benchtop or shelves. Some of them may have expired – here’s your sign to toss them out.
2. Shower Area
Start with the shower area – particularly the shower itself. You’ll need to clean your shower head often to prevent mineral build-up.
This also ensures you’re not spraying yourself with bacteria and grime (gross).
Tie a plastic bag filled with vinegar around your shower head and leave it there for about half an hour (or ideally overnight). Rinse afterwards.
Once that’s done, move to the main shower area.
Spray all the surfaces with a shower cleaner. Leave for 15 minutes, then get to scrubbing. The same strategy will work for cleaning the bathtub.
Lastly, you’ll need to clean your shower doors.
Glass cleaner can work well, but if you really want to get rid of soap scum, use a paste of vinegar and bicarb soda on your glass shower doors.
Let it sit for an hour, then scrub down with a microfibre cloth. Rinse with warm water, then buff dry.
For your shower curtain, toss it in the washing machine with regular detergent and a cup of vinegar for freshness. Hang it back up to dry.
3. Benchtops and Other Surfaces
You can use an all-purpose cleaner or simple white vinegar to clean your bathroom surfaces.
Alternatively, some dish soap and warm water will do the trick. Spray down the benchtop, then wipe down with a clean cloth.
For stubborn stains, you can use a scrub brush to get a good, deep clean.
Don’t forget your light fixtures and switches! Those are a magnet for bacteria.
Spritz disinfectant (such as isopropyl alcohol) on a clean cloth. Then use the damp cloth to wipe around the edges and crevices to ensure a thorough clean.
4. Sinks
Next up: the bathroom sink. To clean the sink drain, pour white vinegar in, then rinse with hot water. Then you can use a disinfectant spray on the faucet handles and fixtures (or if you’re feeling lazy, a disinfectant wipe).
Finally, spray vinegar or your chosen cleaning solution onto the sink surface. Scrub with a sponge to remove soap scum and other residues. Rinse the sink and dry with a cloth or paper towel.
5. Toilet
Yep, you got it: it’s time to clean the toilet. We know that’s the last thing you want to get up close and personal with, but it’s also one of the most essential places to clean!
To get your toilet sparkling clean, you can use one of two methods.
One: Pour a cup of bicarb soda into the bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then grab your toilet brush and get scrubbing. Switch to a damp pumice stone if your toilet bowl needs heavy-duty cleaning. Flush afterwards.
Two: Pour in toilet cleaner, then use a toilet cleaning brush. Again, flush afterwards.
When you’ve finished cleaning the toilet bowl, move to the outside. Spray it down with an all-purpose cleaner, then wipe with a cloth.
Don’t forget to deep clean your toilet brush once a month and to clean the plunger after every use.
6. Floor
Last but not least – time to clean the bathroom floor! If you have one, use a steam mop on a high setting to clean the floor. If not, get your bicarb soda and grout brush.
First, sweep the floor along the edges then in the middle. Don’t forget all the nooks and crannies such as behind the toilet and under the sink!
Mix half a cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of dish soap into about 5–7 litres of warm water. Mix it until suds form. Then submerge a clean rag or scrub brush into the cleaning solution and wring out the excess water.
Scrub down the floor, working from one side to the other. Rinse your rag or brush between passes. Then towel-dry your floor (yep!) to get those tiles squeaky-clean.
If you need to clean your tile grout around ceramic or porcelain tiles, combine two parts bicarb soda with one part vinegar. Use an old toothbrush to apply the paste to your grout lines. Let it sit for 5–10 minutes, then scrub clean. Rinse with water.
Apply grout sealer 24 hours after cleaning, when the floor is completely dry. Repeat every 6 months.
Keeping a Clean Bathroom
No, you cannot get away with just deep cleaning your bathroom once a month. Ideally, you should do a thorough bathroom cleaning once a week to avoid a build-up of mould and dirt.
Some tips for keeping your bathroom clean include:
- Sweeping frequently
- Installing a drain net to catch debris
- Squeegeeing shower walls after use
- Tidying up bottles on shelves and cabinets
- Cleaning dirty grout around your bathroom tiles
And of course, don’t forget to keep your bathroom cleaning tools ship-shape, too! You won’t clean anything with dirty rags and brushes.
If you’ve found yourself searching “how to clean a bathroom,” we hope this guide has helped. Remember to keep your bathroom neat and tidy – that’s where you clean yourself up, after all!
