Clean Bathroom!

 

Ah yes! The most begrudged task of em all! The BATHROOM! (Beethoven plays in the background as you say it;) Why is it we all HATE cleaning the bathroom. Is it the obvious “EW” factor? So glove up, plug your nose, run in there like there is a gas bomb, scrub out the toilet bowl, frantically spray disinfectant on the rest n run back out and gasp for air? I get it, fecal matter n urine and all the bacteria’s that come along with it, MRSA, Influenza, strepto and more, I get it, nastiness. But it’s also the first room to greet us each morning, no? And freshen ourselves…..it wasn’t called the “powder room” accidentally. So shouldn’t this area of our home warrant some respect? Some TLC even? I honestly LOVE bathroom cleaning and that’s because it boasts the biggest reward with a HUGE difference from when you walk out as when you walked in. So if you feel procrastination in cleaning this space, or the need of  hazmats suit, think of how good it will feel if it was maintained properly.  Let me give you a breakdown on a routine bathroom cleaning in use by professionals on my team, that will promise to leave every corner fresh n clean, and leaving you with a bathroom you can relax in.

Your on your way to becoming a strategic cleaner and a bathroom can easily turn you the other direction with all its unappeal, so hopefully you can see it as an itemized to do list of mini tasks vs the whole thing and just tell yourself, one step at a time n before you know it WILL be over;)

TIP: if you can’t break it all off in one sweep, store a miniature caddy in the bathroom (closet or vanity) and do one section during each of your visits. Do the toilet after you use the toilet, the sink after the next visit while washing your hands, and the shower before or after your shower pending who your cleaning for;)

I absolutely LOVE Ecloths bathroom combo pack.

 

I have one set per bathroom n I clean the whole bathroom without using an entire ROLL of paper towel. No it’s not ANY grosser, throw them into the wash as soon as your done if you have a solid infection control technique (cleaning cleanest to dirtiest) one cloth is all you need. How many luffas do you use in the shower? I’m sure you just start with your torso n then work your way down with the same one, no? Would you use a wash cloth to clean your body? If so you would likely start with your face right? Then the torso n then move south? It’s essentially the exact idea with cleaning the bathroom. Start with your mirror (your face) and faucet/vanity/sink, and then for the shower/tub (your body) and last but not least the toilet (your bottom) at which point your cloth can retire and you get a new set for each multiple bathroom. Seeming a little less gross yet? I hope so because paper towel really doesn’t deep clean. It doesn’t pick up and hold germs or bacteria and wisk them away, it just kinda spreads em around leaving you needing twice the chemicals n even then may not be so effective because to get their  “kills 99.9% bacteria” guarantee, did you know the chemical has to have approx 20 min contact time with the germ? We’ve likely wiped or rinsed it away long before then so, yea, not buying it. American hospitals now use microfiber cleaning! It started in Europe n  has gone widespread for the science behind its ability to remove pathogens. That’s the other beauty.! No rinse required.

Ok so let’s move on, and actually clean that bathroom!

Collect any used bath towels, mats and monthly to quarterly, take down your shower /liner if cloth, and launder it. Take out the bathroom garbage and spray down the bin with disinfectant, as well as the sink, the shower fixtures/floor and the toilet.

So now that you’ve successfully prepped for your cleaning, let’s do this!

Always always Dust first, I know I’m killing a dead horse with this but dusting is important and it’s ALWAYS forgotten. If you don’t forget this step yourself, your literally a prodigy;) maybe it’s because most people actually clean with paper towels n what good does that do trapping n holding dus?… but your ecloth will. Wipe down any light fixtures with your dry cloth, and run along any window sills/panes and baseboards, spritz your cloth with disinfectant and wipe door knob/switch plate and things like thermostats outlets on the wall, going top to bottoms. We wanna bring down the House, almost literally, we just wanna bring the DUST in your house down to the floor vs resting on your bathroom elements.

Now dampen your cloth and add a simple cleaning soup like Dr. Bronners citrus (love me some citrus in the bathroom; so fresh n so clean) and wash down both sides of the door and touch up any Wayne’s coating or bead board or chair rail. Wipe down any wall fixtures like towel rods and then proceed to wash down the vanity if there is one. If you have a pedestal sink leave that til the next step, and you’ll see why in a minute.

 

Nows a good time to dampen a corner to the polishing cloth that comes in the ECloth bathroom combo pack and detail your mirror glass and faucet. Use the damp scrubbing cloth for the perimeter of the mirror and for scrubbing the countertop and the sink. The polishing cloth would be more suited for thinks like tooth brush holders n soap dishes (unless their super gunky) as well as any other accessories you have on the counter. Clean the sink basin last and be sure to get around the drain stop well. If you have a pedestal, now is the time to go around the outside the sink, under it, and down the stand. This way you can utilize the cloth and any additional products you add to it on the same type of elements. You wouldn’t want to go from your porcelain sink basin to your wooden vanity front with a glossy cleaner right? If you’re using just water on the Ecloth it’s not such a worry obviously n that’s all that is warranted to remove germs is the loop technology on the microfiber cloth so no need to add products if you don’t want to but a little fresh scent is always bonus, especially if your using a quality eco-natural alternative.

So that pretty much concludes the sink, your HALF way done! Hang in there. This is SO gonna be worth it in the end and for all your efficiency you will notice your cleans will last longer before your pulling your hair out n digging at your skin to clean again;)

Shower/tub is next. Start by detailing the glass if you have that vs a curtain (p.s have you ever used a degreaser on bathroom shower glass n tile?….it removes soap-scum like a gem but if you’re a paper towel user it will leave a film. Only the cloth will buff it sufficiently to avoid it). Scrub the tile in panels, one side at a time, top to bottom, polish any chrome fixtures, including the curtain rod if you have a curtain vs glass. I usually find these SUPER dusty. Wipe off any product bottles (yea this can be a chore if you have a lot but you should keep on top to reduce bacteria havens in your bathroom. The good thing is the more you hate cleaning product bottles the more you will start to minimize what you keep in there. If you have a spacious shower with ample space, consider using a tile pad to a microfiber mop (I use starfiber pro mop) to get the high places n avoid the work-out in hand scrubbing. This works especially good on stone tile. It gets in those nooks n crannies fabulously! Otherwise an average combo shower n tub just step in the tub while working on the shower walls. PLEASE don’t stand outside n try reaching across your tub to get your shower walls. Why do we do this to ourselves? It’s crazy! Backbreaking and kills your elbow grease and stamina. There IS NO sign in the tub that says you can’t step in it while cleaning the shower walls;) “Oh but, Kathleen the floor is always wet from the most recent shower” you say? Take a cloth and dry it up. Right? I mean c’mon this our backs here we’re risking. Anyways, sorry for that rant….once done with the shower walls, step out of your tub n clean the tub. Then spray down the shower curtain liner with disinfectant (remove and launder monthly to quarterly if it’s cloth. (Cloth is my personal preference, otherwise I end up spending $10 that often to replace plastic ones when they get nasty:/

Lastly, spray the outer curtain with linen spray. Don’t have all this on hand in your cleaning caddy in the bathroom with you? Check out my next blog on tools for the task;)

omg!….you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, just the toilet to go. Now we left this for last hopefully with plenty of time for it to sit in the disinfectant we sprayed it down with. But first, if you have any floor accessories, like a scale? Do that first. Waste bin? Wipe that down first, as well as the toilet paper holder, like if it’s chrome one? Detail it and fold your toilet paper all fabulous like;) treat yourself to the next time you sit down n feel like you had a pro job done cause thats what your about to accomplish. Especially in your half bath or guest bath. Adds a little something extra.

If you keep any items on the back of your toilet, take em down now n wipe em down BEFORE touching the toilet. For me this is the only part I wear a glove for but that is personal. If your gonna wear gloves , just wear one on your dominant hand. Leave the other hand free for grabbing new products from your caddy, wiping the hair from your face, flushing your newly cleaned handle etc. Ya need one dirty hand one clean hand here. The one gloved hand I learned about surinf mt healthcare career, as an infection control technique, but here in my business we refer to it as #theMichael Jackson glove.

So you’ve removed the contents front the back of your toilet n cleaned them, if you keep facial tissue on the back of the toilet, let me just say, find another place for it. I will NEVER understand why we insist on putting FACE-ial tissue on the pack of our TOILET. (P.s I put it that way for obvious emphasis). We all MUST know the odds that people drop the toilet lid when flushing……guess where all that splatter is going? Too close for comfort to the Kleenex your likely to put on your face. Omg goosebumps n shivers down my back. Sometimes we just DONT think things through. Who could imagine why? I mean we’re only working, running a house, raising children, possibly, multiples even, and trying to cook n keep n manage everything in between. Ok. I just breathed a sigh of relaxation and noted to forgive myself. I’m pretty sure we just go for the next likely spot to rest something on, like a shelf. But there has GOT to be a better way. I’m going to invest in the first one who comes up with a handy hook hanger or do-hickie to rest facial tissue on in the bathroom. Literally. It will go far. Hint, hint.

Anyways, clean the top of the toilet, the tank and the handle first then go for each lid consecutively, the back of the seat, down around the front n……oh yea, thats right, you know it’s coming…….that spot at the base of the toilet that seems to have a bullseye on it that says “urinate here”. Why else is there ALWAYS a mess there. Is it just me? Are my kiddos just nasty? I don’t know, I been in a TON of houses and guess what, that spot ALWAYS looks like hell. So just make sure you get it and OH! The toilet brush holder/plunger and toilet plumbing?  These need to be cleaned too. I know they are gross but no where’s near as gross as they will be with dust n rust and splatter all over em. So take one for team n keep your pristine.

Your pretty much done! I clean the floors separately when I’m doing floors but bathroom floors should be done at least monthly by hand. Just so you can get a close scrub right up against baseboards in corners and around base of toilet and plumbing.

Routinely we should do this things Weekly-BiWeekly pending how heavily traffic’d your home is, and it should take you approx 10-15 min for a half bath, 35-45min for a Full bath and 45-1hr for a suite (you know the fabulous bathrooms with a separate soak tub AND stand up shower)?

Hey no one said cleaning especially bathroom cleaning was painless but the reward is oh so sweet n there ARE ways we can take the bulk of the pain out of it. Best of luck! I hope this made you feel ownership of your bathroom cleaning and I want to hear about your successes in tackling them. If I forgot to mention anything or you have any additional questions, your probably thinking “yea right, this chic just high jacked 15 min of my time reading about the most boring subject in the world” but IF you should have additional questions over a specific bathroom cleaning obstacle of yours, personally, I’d love to hear about it!

Happy cleaning!