To ask how to clean the bathroom.

[BathroomSOS]

Name changed for obvious slobby reasons.

For a long time I have been suffering from anxiety and depression and other members of my family are physically unwell/ disabled so the house for a while wasn't the cleanest.

Over the last few months I've been increasing how much I've been doing. Firstly the front room every few days, then the whole kitchen and front room, i cleaned the whole conservatory top to bottom over a vast number of days as it had become a junk room essentially.

My point is whilst I know this is a slovenly question I am an improving sloven(?) But the one room I've always tried to avoid is the bathroom just because the thought of the germs disgusts me, and others have cleaned it non routinely but I'd like to add it to make it regularly cleaned as hopefully after the first time it won't be so bad.

Its mostly the toilet im concerned about.In the house we have Dettol bathroom cleaner and Harpic. Do I use the Dettol spray on the outside of the toilet and Harpic inside? Or the dettol spray inside and out and then Harpic? I believe I can use the dettol spray for the bath, sink and tiles?

Sorry if I'm waffling on but I know it's a disgusting question so I thought I should give some background as to why I'm clueless.

Put the harpic down the loo and close the lid. Move any items off the sink/side of the bath. Take the towels out. Spray the bath/sink/splashbacks with the bathroom spray. Leave to sit for a little bit then wipe everything over. Rinse with the shower.

Scrub the inside of the loo with a loo brush. Wipe around the outside/over the seat with the cloth. Flush.

Put the cloth in the wash, replace everything, mop the floor, job done.

Harpic inside and the Dettol outside and on both sides of the seat.

Although I use Flash Spray Wipe Done Glass Cleaner (Lavender) on every surface everywhere in the house apart from the inside of the toilet, which gets cleaned with Cif cream and bleach in combo with a bog brush. Best combination and better than the black Harpic.

It's not a disgusting question. Well done on getting motivated, it's very hard to make that start. As above said, Harpic inside the toilet. Squirt it under the rim and into the bowl. Close lid and leave it to do its work. Spray everywhere with Dettol spray. Wipe down. You can use an old toothbrush to get into corners. Scrub the toilet with toilet brush and flush. Spray the toilet wipe everything down including the lid. Get some cloths just for the bathroom so you have a clean one while the other is in the wash. I have a battery operated airfreshner in my bathroom so it always smells clean

Thank you for your responses i feel stupid asking but looking online most pages just said that the dettol spray " can be used on multiple bathroom services"

I use washing up brushes rather than cloths to clean things that are a bit yucky (not the one from the kitchen… ones bought especially!) so if you find the idea of cleaning bathrooms difficult, that might be an idea for you? It gives your hand a bit of distance from what you are cleaning and helps with some of the tougher scrubbing like limescale.

Get rid of any clutter and over everything with a disposable duster first or you end up just wiping a wet bitty mess around.

Pop some runner gloves on and Harpic on the inside of the toilet, close the lid and spray the loo area, sink and taps with antibacterial spray, it has to sit for a few mins to kill the germs so I leave that whilst I clean the shower/bath and tiles with bathroom cleaner and use a bit of vikal where needed as we are in a hard water area.

I don't like the thought of germs on a sponge so I buy a pack of cheap sponge scourers use one to clean the sink and taps, then the toilet top to bottom including the floor around the base, then just pop it in the bin. Then I use the loo brush to clean the loo. I always pop some disinfectant in to the loo brush holder.

Once clean I then use glass cleaner/white vinegar on the mirror, shower screen, and anything shiny.

Finally I replace the bath mat and towels.

@maryberryslayers that's so wasteful using disposable dusters and chucking sponges after one use!

First thing I do is black Harpic under the rim of the loo and shut the lid. (always have a window open if you can while doing this) Use thick beach maybe x 2 a month instead to keep it really white.
Take everything off the sides of the bath/shower as in shower gel, soap, shampoo etc and spray Flash Bathroom ( or Dettol spray) over the bath and leave it.
I have Dettol or Flash wipes to clean the towel rail, cabinet and scales.
Go back to bath and use a J cloth to scrub bath and rinse.
Wash toothbrush and soap holders in the sink.
Wash sink using Flash and J cloth. Wipe down bottles - like soap and face wash.
Bin has been emptied and fresh liner put in at the start so throw wipes and empty toiletries bottles etc in the old binliner so it all gets chucked.
Clean loo using J cloth and Flash- so top of cistern 1st, then the lid and seat top. Bottom of seat and all around the rim.
Scrub inside with bog brush and flush (while rinsing aforementioned brush)
wipe the out side of the pedestal and the surrounding floor.
Chuck that J cloth.
Use Mr Muscle Glass cleaner for mirrors and taps with kitchen roll and buff everything up. Takes 20 mins- small room and ideally do it x 2 a week.
My life is not this boring I promise I do other stuff but I am the queen of a clean bathroom. I do other shit like wipe the walls and buff the tiles sometimes and the whole floor.

I suppose it depends on how bad it is.

For me the spray would be the outside, making sure you get around the back. The harpic inside. You might find a dettol spray might not be enough to remove some dirt.

For the bath and shower I’d use bathroom specific spray for soap scum, limescale, mould.

I have 2 bathrooms, one en-suite with no window and broken fan so I worry about mould. I use a general soaps scum spray and make sure I use a good black mould spray once a week, Bam is good.

The toilets I clean the outside with antibacterial spray (Dettol is perfect). And I bleach the toilet daily. I’m not a fan of toilet brushes I feel like they are germ breeding bits of yuk.

Bathroom sink, again a good antibacterial spray.

If you have limescale find a limescale spray. My en-suite tap gets bad limescale, I usually spray it and leave it 20 mins before cleaning it off.

If you have a brown toilet it’s probably limescale not poo stains. I always use half a tub of bicarbonate soda or backing soda then use half a bottle of white vinegar, leave for as long as possible before flushing.

Bicarbinate Soda and white Vinegar are amazing for so many cleaning jobs, I use them for all sorts..

Unblocking drains - half a cup of soda down the drain, half a bottle of vinegar on top, leave for half an hour then boiling water.

Cleaning the washing machine - fill the reservoir with white vinegar and put on a clean or 90 degree wash.

Anything with mould, white vinegar is amazing. When I moved into my house I used hot water and white vinegar for everything. It left a vinegar smell but that disappears.

Cleaning smelly fridges, bicarbonate of soda will soak up the smell and white vinegar will too. Lemon’s are also good.

Carpet stains, again soda first with vinegar on top. Rub it in let it dry and hoover up.

Other tips, tooth brushes get into little corners.

I only use spray or floor wipes on my bathroom floors, they are too small for mops and to many corners a mop won’t get into. I get on my hands and knees so I get everywhere.

I use toilet roll and kitchen paper, I hate having dirty sponges and clothes after cleaning a bathroom. Toilet paper I obviously flush, kitchen paper straight in the bin.

Another fantastic all round cleaning product is cream cleaner, like a Cif, but most supermarket home brands are just as good and cheaper. I use it for cleaning my windows, oven, shower screen, hob, it’s amazing at lifting baked on dirt. Apply it, leave it then clean it off with a damp cloth.

As you get use to cleaning and feel confident you will find other products out there that don’t cost as much as dettol and harpic.

wear gloves and old clothes if your worried about germs, you can strip and wash them straight away. I’ve been known to don a face mask when cleaning too, I have a compromised immune system and feel it can get to the back of my throat and chest, especially with lots of chemicals. It’s why I like using more natural products like vinegar and soda.

Good luck

Well done. You've got this.

A bottle of cheap bleach can go a long way to keeping a toilet clean. Just pour some around the top of the bowl every couple of days and that will make it feel easier to clean when you come round to cleaning the bathroom.

@BreakfastAtMimis that's literally what they are for, they are like an antistatic paper towel.
I find anything else unhygienic. I don't really want to keep a 10p sponge that's scrubbed my toilet thanks, but each to their own.

Best thing I use is a yellow sponge pad from M & S which has the scrubber bit on one side and a wipe down side on the other, so you scrub with one side, rinse off and then wipe dry with the other. This is great for the sink and bath. I use Flash bathroom cleaner for the loo and sink. I use cloths and the toilet brush for the loo - one cloth to clean the seat etc and the brush to do the bowl. Wipe dry with the second cloth. Chuck both cloths in the washer with the towels.

The only thing that gets the bath really clean unless you’re cleaning it every day is CIF. The spray cleaners don’t seem to get the job done properly. Just rinse it well with the shower head. I also use CIF for the shower screen and then rinse off.

1. hoover first because the floor will get wet while you’re cleaning.
2. put your harpic around the rim of the toilet and close lid.
3. take everything away from the bath/shower (shampoo bottles etc), then spray and wipe down the whole area including tiles. Then rinse - I use the shower head but depends on your bathroom set up!
4. wipe down any shelves, bin, dirty bottles etc (my handwash bottle always gets bits of toothpaste on it).
5. wipe toilet, all parts except the inside, you can use spray and a cloth or a disposable wipe.
6. spray and clean sink.
7. clean mirrors and window with glass cleaner.
8. mop floor.

Sweep and hoover first before you get anything wet.
you need to give the chemicals time to work so pace yourself. Toilet cleaner in the loo, remove all the bottles etc (wash these in the basin before you replace them). A spontext cloth with help with mirrors, glass and taps. Clean the light, switch and and any fittings. Spray bath basin shower. Scrub inside the toilet. Scrub the bath etc, then the outside of the loo. Put everything back. Mop floor. Tea.

its going to be beautiful

You realise when you combine baking soda and vinegar, you are just neutralizing an acid and a base leaving you with a neutral paste? And contrary to popular belief it doesn't actually unblock drains -sure it's an exothermic reaction but drains are hardly a closed system. Anyway, a chemical reaction that could actually blow open the drains wouldn't be safe. It's actually the hot water that does the unblocking. A science teacher has a video online demonstrating with lumps of butter with a better explanation than I've given here. Save money - use really hot water.

I keep old toothbrushes and washing up brushes for cleaning the bathroom with. Toothbrushes are great for cleaning taps and fiddly corners. Washing up brushes for the loo. Jif/Cif is great for sink / bath / shower tray etc. And I swear by HG Mould Spray for grubby grout and sealant.

Uss tissue to clean the toilet. Uses the same sponge is disgusting.
Get a disinfectant spray, would suggest zafora as it smells lovely. Spray leave for a few minutes.

To get rid of soap scum, I would use above spray and washing up liquid around the bath.

Harpic in the toilet then use bleach after as harpic usually stains toilets.

Or get a cleaner?

So just use some toilet paper or a loo brush.

That ‘10p sponge’ is going to be around for thousands of years in landfill when you ‘pop iit in the bin’

Congratulations on this progress. The explanations here are very good.
I had a former housemate of mine write on Facebook on that long ago that she had just found out that bathrooms needed to be cleaned, so you are doing better than more people that you think (she was not the worst I house shared with).
I use a cloth rather than a sponge, but do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I hope it is not condescending to say well done

Rubber gloves are your mate here. I literally just use cheap thick bleach, zoflora spray and viakal. I have a scourer sponge I change once a month and an old tea towel that is only for cleaning the bathrooms that I wash after each clean. My steps are-

• take everything off the shelves and out of the room
• dust off the towel rail and skirting boards with the tea towel
• spray the viakal on the glass and taps and leave
• pour bleach under the toilet rim
• spray zoflora spray on all other surfaces and wipe down
• using the scourer side clean the parts you have used viakal on to get rid of water marks and limescale
• wet the tea towel and spray zoflora on the floor and wipe the floor (gathering any dust/dirt as you go)
• leave to dry, should all be sparkling!

It's not a disgusting question. Many people don't know how to tackle bathroom cleaning, specially the toilet bowl, when we wanted free of germs and sparkling white.

I use Domestos (or Aldi's equivalent), pure bleach and the bathroom Magic Eraser for the toilet seat.

Give a good squirt with the Domestos and work the bowl with the toilet brush. If the bowl have difficult edges, you need a good pair of gloves and disposable cleaning cloth to work around those areas. The Magic eraser will do wonders to eliminate yellow stains from the seat so easily, it's truly magical :)

Twice a week before going to work or sleep, give a good pure beach splash in the bowl leaving it for a few hours, it'll get rid of nasty stains on the parts you can't see.

A clean bathroom doesn't take time but it needs regular cleaning (at least a couple of times a week).

You can do this.

I use method to clean the bath and the sink and Glass
Delphis to clean the taps ect ( limescale remover )
Bleach to clean the toilet pan and seat and lid, scrub the pan with a toilet brush and wear gloves if you don't like touching it all.

I spray the outside of the loo and both sides of the seat or lid with antibac spray

Then I squirt some washing up liquid into the bath and add a teaspoon of citric acid. Wet my sponge and wipe this mixture all around the bath and shower and sink. Use the sponge to give it a bit of a scrub (adding more water as I go). Rinse off the sink then the bath and shower. Give the sponge a really good squeeze out and then wipe over any other surfaces. Use a dry cloth to go over the surfaces and dry off the sink, bath and shower.

Use loo roll to clean the outside and seat of the loo then flush, then add bleach to the bowl. Once a month or so I put a toilet bomb down there to deal with any limescale.

Then I mop the floor.

When I do a deeper clean I’ll also wipe all the walls down but I don’t do this every week.

I honestly find the bathroom is cleaner using washing up liquid than any bathroom cleaner I’ve tried.

Just to add, it's a horrible job but some cheap wireless earbuds and a podcast or music go a long way!