How do you clean your toilet?

[MediumOrchid]

Inspired by the 'does your dh clean the loo' thread...

How do you clean your toilet? I don't mean inside the bowl, that's reasonably obvious (bleach and toilet brush, though I'm intrigued by how those without toilet brushes manage), but how do you clean the seat, underneath the seat and the top of the bowl? Do you use a sponge or cloth and do you reuse these or throw them away straight after?

I do clean these parts myself of course but I'm interested to see how other people do it (in case I've been doing it wrong for years)!

[dementedpixie]

I use antibacterial wipes and throw them in the bin. I don't use bleach in the toilet as I use toilet cleaner stuff instead. I do use a brush.

[Looseleaf]

We no longer have a cleaner but I noticed ours used to like leaving bleach in for a good half hour minimum before cleaning so weekly I throw some in before going out and then clean it when back.

I either use a cheap sponge and Tesco value cleaning cream stuff on the seat and rinse well or one of those antibacterial wipe things.

Sometimes I give a good scrub under the rim with gloves and cover cleaning stuff

[Nervo]

When dh does it he uses a sponge and some kind of cleaning agent.

When I do it, I use anti-bac skoosh and baby wipes.

[ceres]

I use a cloth and whatever cleaning solution I have to hand - flash or whatever. I go through phases of using natural cleaners like vinegar or bicarbonate of soda.

Cloths go on a hot wash along with towels, tea towels and bedding.

[FromAtoZ]

Antibacterial demestos flushable wipes for wiping the seat and all the ceramic (right down to the floor)

Inside I use Harpic power plus and a cheap sponge that goes in the bin after (oh and I wear gloves again cheap ones or one DH gets from work )

How often do you all clean yours?

[CremeEggThief]

Antibacterial wipes, usually 3 or 4 for different parts. 1 for flush and tank and, 1 for outside and inside of lid, 1 for seat, both sides and that bit that's between the lid and the tank and 1 for under the rim and for any skids. I always leave toilet cleaner in the bowl for 15-30 minutes before cleaning too. I then dry it all off with toilet roll.

Once a week.

[Vivacia]

Cloth and vinegar solution all around the outside, a disposable wipe around the seat, under the seat and then glove on and same wipe inside bowl. Squirt of bleach. Bathroom is done every day between us.

[wiltingfast]

Cheap sponges, bleach and cream cleaner. Dump sponges after a few uses. Have wiped for quick clean ups in between

[hobNong]

With my tongue.

[unlucky83]

viv be careful mixing vinegar with bleach -they react together and give off chlorine gas!
Anyway I use vinegar and an ecloth and washing up liquid (actually about 15-20% acetic acid). Vinegar down loo and leave for a while - then scrub with a loo brush. Hot soapy water in sink with a sloosh of 'vinegar' to wipe down all over loo (seat last). Used to dry off with loo roll but now have another dry ecloth. Both get washed in a standard (40 deg) wash in Ecover Non-bio. (I used to have a nominated loo cloth but have given up and just use whatever is in the bathroom). Cloths get dried on radiator or go in with clothes that have been mainly line dried - I 'air' them in the tumble.
We are never sick, no upset stomachs for literally years.
If any of us did get a dodgy tummy I would use bleach or disinfectant in the sink of water - and pay particular attention to the flush/taps/door handle.

[Vivacia]

Thanks unlucky I am aware of that, had a great aunt who ended up in hospital with that. I don't use the vinegar (or cloth) in the bowl with the bleach.

[unlucky83]

VIV I knew but still managed to do it by accident in the kitchen sink! I had used vinegar to descale around taps/clean sink it was still in the ubend. A bit later I put a drop of thick bleach around inside of plug hole so it was slowly running into the vinegar water ...did smell it quickly and just ran lots of water to flush it out/dilute it down...but took me a while to work out what had happened!

[TeaAndCake]

My loo seat comes off completely so I put it in the bath, lash loads of bleachy water all over it with a j cloth then rinse off with the shower head and leave to air dry in the bath.

I use the j cloth to clean the rest of the bathroom first and then clean the loo last and chuck the cloth in the bin. Usually pay £1-£1.50 for a pack of 20 j cloths.

Also use Flash bathroom wipes on the loo in between times which then go in the bin (3 males in this house).

[Vivacia]

My DP taught our sons to sit down to pee. It's something I'm very grateful for.

[lavendersun]

I am not as thorough as you lot! One of those micro fibre cloths with a bit of bleach, once a week or more often if they look like they need it. Tbh the main problem with my loos is dust, very dusty old house with open fires/woodburner. The bathroom nearest the stairs and main chimney is very very dusty.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Antibacterial demestos flushable wipes

Just a wee reminder that you should never flush "flushable" wipes/moist toilet paper etc. Only normal toilet paper and urine/faeces etc should ever be flushed.

[lavendersun]

Yep - I don't buy wipes for that reason - there is nothing in the bathroom that a hot wash doesn't kill.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/19/dont-flush-wet-wipes-toilet-conservationists

[ArcheryAnnie]

I have a bag of clean rags in a cupboard - things like unmendable socks, or the bits left over when I've cut out the salvageable fabric from an old t-shirt for my reclaimed fabric box. I use one of those, and a bit of dettol cleaner, and afterwards I will usually toss it. If I've planned properly, I've first used the rag for some less manky/germy cleaning a few times, washed it out, then used it for the loo before I toss it.

Method loo cleaner in the bowl, left for a while then a scrub. NOTHING else works in this loo with the hard water we have around here. It's Limescale Central. I sometimes put a squirt of Method in the cistern to keep the pipes clear, too.

[ArcheryAnnie]

And yes, no wipes are "flushable", whatever it says on the packet.

[lavendersun]

Us too Annie. I cut up old clothes to use for cleaning.

Those disposable wipes are 'thneeds' in Lorax terms, we really really do not need them and they will have long term effects for our world.

[PetraStrorm]

Antibacterial spray and loo roll for on/under/around the seat, so I can flush it away. Then a squirt of bleach in the water and leave it for a while.

[unlucky83]

Archery have you tried vinegar down your loo? I inherited a loo in this house (soft water area) that had caked thick brown limescale and we are in a soft water area. I tried everything to shift it -then I plunged with a loo brush and put vinegar and hot water down, left it for an hour or so and it fell off in great big flakes...one of the most satisfying cleaning jobs ever! (Almost wish I could come across another gross loo just to do it again...)

[ArcheryAnnie]

unlucky I tried vinegar, coke, bicarb, everything! And regular commercial stuff - though didn't like the thought of those. The Method is the only thing that made a difference - I am stupidly evangelical about it now.

[lavendersun]

I buy white vinegar in 5l bottles for about £5 from a local orchard. We have a horrible limescale problem, I use it on everything. We have replaced our loos but when we moved in one in particular was truly grim. I emptied the water out with a cup and put vinegar in it just beyond the water line. Left it overnight and it was miraculous.

God I wish I knew about vinegar when I bought my first house, it was an Edwardian house and still had the outside original toilet at the end of the kitchen. It was like one of those mason cash bowls, glazed terracotta. I actually cried, I was 25 and didn't have a clue. My lovely best friend helped me clean but that particular toilet took hours and hours of scrubbing with brillo pads.

[easterlywinds]

Any idea how to get yellow stains off the toilet seat? I have used bleach, vinegar and bicarbonate soda paste, not all at the same time. We cannot take our toilet seat off. I hate having to live with yellowness but cannot afford a new toilet.