Do you have a toilet brush?

[GermanHouseCat]

My cleaner insists that I have a toilet brush - a proper old fashioned one that always seem to get filthy.

I bought what I thought was a compromise in one of those toilet duck ones that have disposable heads, but she refuses to use it.

What does everyone else do? I was never brought up wirh one, and previous cleaners have put rubber gloves on and got stuck in.

[gamerchick]

How does it get filthy? My brain is boggling. Do you all explode then leave it splattered or something?

[rabbit123]

As much as they're hated, I still have a loo brush. I just make sure it gets a soak in disinfectant/bleach every couple of weeks.

[gamerchick]

I mean you're not just leaving the toilet for the cleaner are you? A quick once over every day means it doesn't really get dirty, it takes less than a minute. Then it can get a real good going over when the cleaner comes.

If you're not touching it then you can't really blame her unless she comes daily.

[GermanHouseCat]

I do clean it myself every couple of days, and put bleach down. I hate the idea of a festering brush sitting in dirty water as a constant feature in the bathroom.

[Superexcited]

If it is only the cleaner using the brush then I can't see how it is getting filthy as I presume she is just scrubbing away limescale etc and not actual shit.
Is somebody else leaving it in a mess?

[gamerchick]

I don't think you'll be able to make your cleaner put her hands down the toilet but there are some nice toilet brushes about and a bit of bleach or Milton in the pot it sits in will keep it hygienic.

Or take it off the list of jobs for your cleaner and replace with something else for her to do instead.

I can't think of anything else as a compromise.

[GermanHouseCat]

At the moment I don't have a toilet brush proper, I have a toilet duck thing with disposable heads which my cleaner refuses to use. We are at stalemate.

I have survived this long without needing a toilet brush, and previous cleaners have never asked for one. Unsurprisingly I rarely find myself with a need to push shit down the toilet.

[Superexcited]

Toilet brushes are not for pushing shit down the toilet, they are for scrubbing away the limescale and any stubborn dirty marks.

[Thelastthneed]

I agree with gamer. I think you'll have to take it off her list of jobs...

[sebsmummy1]

But they are used for sticky shit that sticks to the bowl and thus that shit sticks to the loo brush. It's ridiculous to state that a standard loo brush would not see poo in it's lifetime.

I use bleach, lime scale remover and those fresh duck things.

[sebsmummy1]

And also agree just clean the toilets yourself and ask your cleaner to clean other things.

[Hellionsitem2]

Yes but all my friends recoil when I tell them

[notjusttheirmum]

I don't use mine, I can't stand it. It gets poop stuck in it & makes me feel sick! I bleach, all the time, & should any marks be left in the toilet the bleach seems to move them by itself. Iv never had any problems to 'need' a toilet brush. I can't get the image out of my head of poop particles festering in the bathroom corner ???? haha!

[Sparklingbrook]

I have no problems with my loo brush. I use it and flush the loo putting the brush under the water to give it a clean.

Bleach is vile, it makes me heave and smells like there's a cover up going on.

Bit of Toilet Duck and a scrub-all fine.

[TheDowagerCuntess]

Yes, we have one, but I bin and replace it every couple of weeks.

We have people to stay regularly enough, including DF who has bowel issues, and I'd hate for somebody not to be able to leave the loo spotless. That's a pretty mortifying position to be in, in someone else's house.

[Sparklingbrook]

I agree Dowager, other people should not be made to feel awkward in your loo. They are cheap enough and can be replaced often.

[KoalaDownUnder]

Yes, I have a toilet brush.

This is how they work:

• squirt toilet cleaning solution around rim of bowl.

• scrub entire bowl with brush - sides and under the water. Bristles will remove sticky residue or stains

• let sit for a few minutes for cleaner to do its job

• flush. As toilet flushes, hold brush under clean flow of water

• put brush back in holder. Which is hidden behind base of toilet where nobody can see it unless they go looking for it.

No, the brush is not covered in bits of poo, as you have rinsed it. Yes, it probably still has residue on it, but as you are never going to put the brush head anywhere but back in the toilet, it does not matter.

Why people on MN find it preferable to stick their hands in the bowl and dab around with soft paper, rather than using a stiff brush with a long handle, is beyond me.

Buy the woman a toilet brush, or clean it yourself!

[LuisSuarezTeeth]

Those toilet duck things are useless, you need a brush for scrubbing.

Run it through the dishwasher on hot once a week.

[Sparklingbrook]

I like to empty all the water out of the toilet bowl before I squirt and brush.

[PeppaWellington]

I am a mumsnetter and a toilet brush owner and PROUD.

I don't use mine much, because I rarely have the need, not because I need Kim and Aggie. A combo of bleach/Bloo/anti limescaler keeps my loo clean. Occasionally I have cause to scrub a bit and, like Sparklingbrook, a bit of deft scrubbing of the brush on a cleaned bit of the loo, then a flush, then (obv not for Sb) a quick squirt of bleach and it's back in its (also recently cleaned) holder, with any remaining micro-poo particles melting in the manner of the Wicked Witch of the West after Dorothy threw the bucket of water on her.

I don't see the horror of the loo brush, myself, but they're very unpopular on mn. If you keep them clean, what's the problem?

Also those toilet duck things are a PITA for people working in sewers, they clog shit up (literally) and have to be unwedged. Delightful.

[Sparklingbrook]

Oh yes Peppa, the lovely 'wipebergs' of moist loo roll/toilet duck thingies etc.

[PeppaWellington]

OK even I wouldn't put a loo brush in the dishwasher.

Good point about guests with bowel issues. Or who, y'know, poo.

[sebsmummy1]

The last thread that a Mumsnetter proudly announced they ran their bog brush through the dishwasher had the whole thread aghast lol. Poo residue on your dishes, whatever next!!

[Sparklingbrook]

Strictly speaking the dishwasher temperatures would obliterate any poo particles, but there's no need.

Why does the loo brush have to be even cleaner than the loo all the time?

[sebsmummy1]

Apparently the dishwasher does not get hot enough to kill all the bacteria. Personally I have no idea but i have eyed up the dishwasher a few times and quite fancied shoving the fresh duck sticks in there. Haven't had the nerve though.