To ask for a sustainable bathroom cleaning routine...

[Lycidas]

Note: I’m clueless about cleaning but trying to get better

DC and I just moved house and inherited a lovely bathroom. Any advice on how to keep it clean, grime/mould/limescale free? Some rough schedule would be hugely useful.

Eg does the bath get wiped down at every use? End of the day? With what products?
Do you use different products for the sink?
Should I be doing a deeper clean on the weekends? Again, with what?

Very confused by the number of things out there. Any help appreciated.

To help keep mould at bay, wipe the bath/shower dry after use with a window squeegee then a cloth, and air it. Bicarbonate of soda is a good anti mould cleaner.
Limescale is removed by using an acid based product such as citric acid or white vinegar, but you need to learn how to use household chemicals safely if you want to make your own cleaner.

I divide the bathroom into 5 areas;
the sink, bath and tiles - Twice a week use a cloth and any degreasing bathroom cleaner (I like Flash).

the loo - separate cloth, Flash or antibacterial fridge cleaner for the outside and seat, loo brush and bleach or citric acid or bicarbonate of soda for the inside.

the floor - separate cloth, any preferred floor cleaner (I use Flash).

the plugholes and drains - Pair of tweezers to remove long hairs. Thick bleach, once a month tip some down and leave overnight.

the grouting and silicon sealant - an anti mould cleaner such as bicarbonate of soda. Once a month make up a solution of a tablespoon in a pint of hot water and wipe over. Most bathrooms have a mould hotspot and sometimes its just easier to replace the sealant every few years than fight it.

Hope that helps.

Right.

Buy yourself:
-a multipurpose bathroom spray, some have bleach in, some don’t- your preference.
-a bottle of bleach with a squirt nozzle
-a spray bottle of astonish mould and mildew remover.
-a spray bottle of shower shine/daily shower spray (different brands call it different things)
-window and glass spray
-a bunch of microfibre cloths
-some sponge scourers
-a window squeegee (optional- your preference)

Store all the above in a cupboard/box/basket in the bathroom.

Daily

Shower: When you have a shower, while you’re still in it rinse down the walls and screen with the shower head then either squeegee them or spray shower shine and leave to its own devices.

Bath: rinse after every use.

Sink& loo: last person to use bathroom at night spray some multipurpose spray and wipe with damp cloth.

Weekly

1: spray mould and mildew spray around edges of shower, particularly at the joins between tray and wall. If possible remove the water trap and spray too. Spray around faucets of sink and bath and grout/sealant around bath.

2: spray multipurpose spray on sink, toilet, bath and shower walls/screen

3: spray window spray on mirrors and wipe with dry cloth

4: with damp cloth wipe sink/tiles, bath/tiles/sealant and then toilet from top down, including flush handle, all around the fittings/hinges, Seat, lid. Close lid, Then flush. Once water stops running squirt some bleach and leave it.

5: with scourer sponge scrub walls and shower screen, and grout/sealant, and water trap/plug. rinse then spray shower shine and leave.

6: spray window spray on outside of shower screen and wipe with dry cloth.

7: hoover and mop

8: take all towels and floor mats to the wash and replace with fresh

9: empty bin and replace bin liner with clean.

10: have a shower in your lovely clean shower. Maybe that’s just me.

I should say- for the bath when you rinse it after having a bath, dry round the seals and taps with you towel.

All of that but never use a cloth for the toilet. Put toilet cleaner in the bowl and scrub with a brush daily. After that spray the whole toilet and wipe down with toilet paper( yeah.... if you have any) put the used paper in the bowl and leave for as long as possible.. flush before using
Toilet cloth = grim

Wow some people have miserable lives.

We clean the loo when it looks like it needs it. Same with the shower and bath. Don’t think I have ever cleaned the tiles.

Floor gets mopped when it’s dirty.

Thanks for the suggestions all. Will parse through it.

I used to have the ‘whenever it looks dirty’ approach but inevitably life would get in the way and before I knew it it would look horrible... so better to have a manageable routine, for me at least.

Toilet cloth = grim

All Cloths are washed at 90 after every use.

How often do you wash your toilet brush?

Wow some people have miserable lives.

Is there any need? OP asked for a routine. If you aren’t offering a routine what are you here for?

@Rebootingagain
My eldest DS works in a supermarket and has to shower when he gets home from his shift. So I take 'cleaning the bathroom' pretty seriously atm.
I'm not miserable about it. Thanks for your concern.

Bleach once a week
Multipurpose cleaner 3 times a week
Toilet gel every night, leave it overnight.

That's what I do. Buff with a microfibre. :)

We have very hard water, so limescale is a real problem.

Last one to use the shower in the morning sprays tiles, bath, taps with shower spray.

Last one to use the basin in the morning wipes it, and the taps, mirrors and tiles, with a microfibre cloth.

Anyone who gets skid marks on the bog scrubs them off with the toilet brush after flushing, then flushes again. They rinse the brush in the clean water of the 2nd flush.

Every couple of days I chuck toilet cleaner down before we leave for work, wipe under the seat and top of the pan with bog roll, and dust cistern and the bathroom shelf with the dry microfibre cloth.

At the weekend, the floor gets swept and mopped and the bin dusted and emptied.

Once a month or so, I clean the windows, polish the wooden bits and wipe down the window frame and sill.

I just spray with a multi purpose spray, leave for five mins, wipe clean and buff dry. Job done.

A dirty bathroom is miserable imo

If you don’t regularly clean your bathroom - not just when it “looks like it needs it” then I can assure you it’s dirtier than you think. Lots of germs, dead skin, bodily fluids etc - ok it’s not the end of the world to have a bit of dirt and dust but it’s just nicer and more hygienic to brush your teeth, wash and wee when it’s been cleaned.

Wiping a spray and cloth over tiles takes about 2 minutes a week.

Yes everyone wipes their own skid marks but with toilet paper not the brush unless you want shit all over it yak. The toilet brush is only used to clean the toilet with toilet cleaner, not skids

How’s this for a motivator to keep (at very least) your toilet clean on a daily basis? You get the sudden urge to vomit- where are you sticking your head? Will you have time to clean that place before vomiting? Unlikely. So keep it clean all the time. It doesn’t take much time.

I’m not a mad cleaner and we have soft water so that helps but I wipe the sink and taps around most evenings usually while there is a child in the bath, I use method daily shower spray and the bathroom cleaner. I do the toilet with some ecover gel and the brush most evenings or morning before we go to work and I do the bath and shower maybe twice a week. Floor gets done once a week.

Massively over thinking this.

Clean visible dirt as soon as you see it: spilt shampoo tooth paste wee poo etc. Use a cloth or loo roll. Rinse bath after use and remove the ring if there is one.

Use a squeegee on glass screens and wipe metal in shower after each use if hard water: this massively reduces need for chemicals.

Scrub and harpic toilet every couple of days or as needed.

Weekly wipe of everything, vac dust and mop floor. Get bleach on mould as soon as you spot it and occasionally scrub floor and wall tiles if needed

I tend to do little bits everyday and then it never builds up.

So, shower first thing and spray with a homemade bleach solution each time. I also spray down the plastic screen, tiling and windows (our shower is over the bath right by a window) as stuff like conditioner/soap can easily get flicked onto the glass.

Toilet gets cleaned 3-4 days a week - I pop some cleaner down there first thing and when I'm back from walking the dog, it just gets a scrub and a flush and it's all done.

I rinse around the sink and mirror at the same time - use spray and a microfibre cloth for the mirror, and just a spray and J-cloth for tiles/ceramic. Maybe takes 2-3 minutes.

Hard floors get swept and mopped daily. Like the toilet, I do it just before taking the dog out, and it's dry by the time I'm back.

I find it much easier to spend 10 minutes on it each day than having to do a big clean once a week.

I suppose it depends on how many people are using the bathroom/how many bathrooms you have in the house.
It’s just me and dp using the bathroom and before we had ds I used to clean it everyday. Now I don’t have as much time (energy), I clean it twice a week and give the occasional wipe down if/when I see its dirty.
I think I give the tiles a proper long scrub about once a month because our bathroom doesn’t have a window, so you can imagine how quickly mould can build up.
The floor is laminate and I don’t clean it very often as I haven’t really considered it. I’m going to do it once a week now though.

Clean up shit, piss, blood, shaving detritus, toothpaste and hair dye as soon as it happens. 10 seconds' work.

Squirt sink with cleaner, wipe off. 10 seconds' work.

Have bath/shower/hairwash, squirt cleaner over bath and rinse. Pull hair clogs out of plughole as soon as you see them. 15-20 seconds' work.

Squirt toilet cleaner down loo each night after the last visit before bed. 5 seconds' work.

Once a week, clean windowsill, taps and sink inside and out, tiles, taps/shower head/mixer bath inside and out, cistern and outside of toilet. Empty bin (lined with carrier bag for ease of emptying). Mop floor, put bath mat and towels into wash. Takes about 15 minutes.

Sorted.

I do it once a week thoroughly. I learnt how to do it and what to use from Mrs Hunch. The cloths she uses are a revelation.