Why do people on mumsnet hate toilet brushes? 🚽

[Chloefairydust]

So it has come to my attention that toilet brushes are unpopular among mumsnetters … I own toilet brushes, and always have done. I don’t know how you would clean a toilet without one, I see it as a necessary thing in the house.

Can anyone explain why they are hated so much?? And how else I should be cleaning my toilet? 🤔

Years ago I did holiday work as a hotel room attendant/chambermaid and we were taught how to clean a toilet. We had to bleach and let stand whilst we cleaned the rest of the room, changed the beds, cleaned the rest of the bathroom, polish bath/shower/sink with the dirty towels that we would replace, then scrub loo with loo brush, flush with the brush under the stream, and then flush and rinse again under the clean water.

This is what we do too. Then when I clean the loo properly x 2 a week i scrub under the rim with a cloth which after is rinsed thoroughly and stuck in the next load of washing.

Easy really.

I've never understood how people think that sticking your hands down the toilet to scrub it is less gross than using a brush. Even with gloves on it gives me the heebie jeebies.

As pp said, you clean the brush by holding it in the water stream while you flush.

And if you are just squirting bleach or bog cleaner down the pan and then not scrubbing at all, that's not great cleaning!

I don't use one either. I use Harpic White & Shine bleach which cleans everything quite quickly and with no poo bristles 🤢🤢

It's not the method of using the brush I think is a bit grim but more unless it's immediately cleaned PROPERLY by everyone who uses it every time then even in a bowl of bleach you've got poo in the corner of your bathroom. Yuck. Plus a bit of tissue straight on the "crumb" is focused and targeted! I've known people who only clean their loo occasionally "coz we have the loo brush".

Each to their own though.

We stayed in a cottage last week with a loo brush and it was quite stained. > shudders <

That's exactly what I do.

I also pour a bit of Zoflora on the brush before putting it away.

I'd say just as many people have them as hate them.

They aren't really that hard to clean either. If you've got clumps of shit on your loo brush the you aren't using loo roll to wipe the bowel first which is daft. A loo brush is a finisher not the main act.

If you've got clumps of shit on your loo brush the you aren't using loo roll to wipe the bowel first which is daft.
I like to have a pre poo shot of domestos to clean my bowel first.

Why? Nothing to do with not affording a new one. It functions. It is rinsed with bleach in the loo after each use.

For regular cleaning I just squirt bleach under the rim, scrub around with the loo brush as required, and then reapply bleach around once again. I then leave the loo brush down the bleached u-bend leaving it all to work for 10-15 minutes before rinsing the loo brush under the flush.

I admit I did go in with a hands on clean with rubber gloves on for both loos when we moved in. It probably is more thorough as you can get a sponge right up under the rim - I'm not convinced the bleach squirt reaches right up under the rim, and neither the loo brush too, so I suspect there are probably some germs living it up under my loo rims. I'm not overly concerned about them but one of these days I might go all out with gloves and sponge again to get those germs up there 😁

Silicone brush with bleach in the pot.

So hotel sinks are polished with towels that have wiped previous guests' private parts?!

It's the storing of a filthy brush that is grim.

@ZeldaWillTellYourFortune

But the brush isn't filthy 🤷🏻‍♀️ First flush the loo to clear it of paper, next use the brush to scrub it clean, then add bleach and scrub again. I then flush to rinse the brush and flush again if any detritus is left. Then I leave the brush in the toilet and squirt some bleach into the water and let it sit for half an hour. The result is a clean toilet and clean brush.

And three flushes of wasted water.

Yup 🤢🤮 I don't care what everyone else does but I never use one . Shit and bleach flicking at you 🤣

But it's not a filthy brush if you put bog cleaner on it and then rinse it in the flush water before you store it.

What as opposed to the water needed to wash the rags some people are using? You can't really clean a toilet without water being involved somewhere along the line

Are you certain??? Have you checked the shed and attic?

I've got young kids who are into everything so I couldn't have a poo brush at the moment even if I wanted one - the thought of one of the kids picking it up and touching it and putting it in their mouths and carrying it around the house 🤢

If somebody leaves poo mark in the toilet I do the same as a pp, take a bit of toilet paper and wipe it off then thoroughly wash hands.

For proper toilet cleaning I have a bag of rags under the kitchen sink (old socks, old cut up baby vests etc). I use bleach and one of the rags to clean under Tim etc and then bin it.

I suppose I can understand not having the loo brush around young children, I leave mine sitting in bleach too which wouldn’t be good … Although I still don’t think I wouldn’t want to get too close to my toilet when cleaning, I like to have the distance of a brush at the end of a stick. I would probably still have a loo brush and keep it in a locked cupboard or something…

Also I’m concerned about the hotel cleaning their bathroom with dirty towels 🤢

There’s one in the work toilet.
It sits there in it’s little holder fully of drippy toilet water, that sometimes is overflowing, and so dirty toilet water is slowly seeping along the floor most days 🤮

they don’t clean under the rim anyhow, just scrub up and down.

I use the disposable duck ones.

Also I’m concerned about the hotel cleaning their bathroom with dirty towels

Then you don’t want to think about them cleaning your coffee cups with the same sponge they clean the toilet with.

At one hotel I worked that the chamber maids used to have a good laugh about that. I always wash the cups when I arrive in a hotel room.

*Then you don’t want to think about them cleaning your coffee cups with the same sponge they clean the toilet with.

At one hotel I worked that the chamber maids used to have a good laugh about that.*

Are you serious ?!