16 Bathroom Cleaning Tips That You've Probably Never Heard Before

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According to the American Cleaning Institute, bathrooms can be one of the trickiest parts of your home to keep clean. This is due to the fact that your bathroom can have a variety of surfaces to clean, and it can also have different types of dirt and debris to deal with. As you’ll see, the key is in choosing the right products and techniques to do the job.

Bathrooms don’t have to break you. With these bathroom cleaning tips, you can master your bathroom cleaning. From soap-scum showers and tough toilets to messy mirrors and beyond, cleaning can be a breeze from top to bottom.
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Get ready, get set, go! Save time with pre-planning.

Before you even step foot in the bathroom, a little planning can save you a great deal of time and effort. DIYPassion.com provides easy steps on how to create a custom cleaning caddy for each room in your house.

By having all of your tools tucked away under the sink or in a cabinet, you’ll save valuable time and steps as you start cleaning.

Take baby steps by doing the basics every day.

A cleaning schedule is important (more on that later.) But one of the most important things you can do to reduce the time you spend cleaning your bathroom is to do a few basic steps daily.

Rinse out your tub or shower after each use to prevent soap scum buildup.
Keep disinfectant wipes handy and wipe down surfaces daily. This prevents the need for deep scrubbing later.
Kill the clutter. Make sure towels are folded, toiletries and makeup are stored in cabinets or drawers, and clothes are put away.

This handy list from ApartmentTherapy.com provides a simple, five-minute checklist to do daily to keep your bathroom in good shape every day!

Break the glass ceiling (or at least start there.) Prevent re-work by cleaning from top to bottom.

When we say your bathroom will be clean from “top to bottom,” we mean it literally. By beginning at eye level or above and working your way down, you will ensure a consistent method and avoid having to re-clean areas you’ve already done.

There’s nothing worse than mopping your floor, then accidentally undoing your hard work when you clean the counters!

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Take on the tile, and keep grout sparkling clean.

Walls (and even ceilings) can be magnets for dirt, mold, and mildew. Especially if you have tile in your bathroom, the grout between the tile can become unsightly in a hurry.

Tackle tile cleaning on a regular schedule, and use a combination of different methods to keep it clean and clear. Try:

Combining one part borax, two parts baking soda, and one or two parts water to scrub the grout.
Using a pencil eraser for hard-to-reach spots.
Cleaning the surface with bleach. For easy stains, use a bleach pen. For tougher stains, try soaking a cotton ball in bleach then taping it to the stubborn spot.

Rise and shine. Change up your cleaning supplies to make your glass doors glow.

While you’re working on your walls and tile, don’t forget about your glass shower doors. Although they are beautiful when they’re clean, the glass seems to attract soap scum. Reader’s Digest provides several alternative cleaning options for your doors using products you already have around your house.

Make cleaning a breeze by keeping your bathroom aired out.

An easy step that will help prevent some steps in cleaning is to make sure your bathroom is well-ventilated. After your shower, be sure you leave the door or curtain open to allow it to dry naturally.

Also, if you have a vent in the bathroom, turn it on to help prevent mold and mildew from growing in the first place.

Soaking’s for more than the tub. Soak your shower head for low-effort cleaning.

In areas with hard water, mineral deposits can quickly build up on your shower head. This can be unsightly, and it can also impact your water flow. Removing these deposits is surprisingly easy.

Better Homes and Gardens provides several easy options to address this. Simply disconnect the shower head, and then rinse, scrub, or soak it in your cleaning solution of choice. Done regularly, this can quickly and easily keep the mineral deposits under control.

You can also do a quick soak without dismantling your shower. Fill a plastic bag halfway full of vinegar, and tie it around your shower head. Simply leave it hanging for a few hours or overnight.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, end clean streaks for once and all.

As you work your way from top to bottom, you’ll soon come to the mirrors in your bathroom. First, make sure you move everything from in front of the mirror so you have a clean slate to work with.

Then, use a combination of ammonia-free cleaners, microfiber cloths, and dry terrycloth towels to do the cleaning. Wendy Williams, the Cleanup Queen, walks through an easy process in this video.

Nine out of ten dentists say they don’t know how remove rust. Use your toothpaste to do the job!

As you continue your quest for cleanliness, your sinks, tubs, and toilets can be a little tougher. If you come across rust stains on your porcelain, try toothpaste to remove them.

An old toothbrush makes the perfect applicator, and according to eHow.com it quickly and easily lets you tackle tough rust stains. Mix the toothpaste with baking soda and let the paste sit on the stain if the initial application doesn’t do the trick.

All that glitters isn’t gold. Your faucets can shine with these unlikely cleaners.

Once you’ve cleaned your sink, get your faucets shining like new with a couple of easy options. One popular choice is to use vinegar to shine and remove water spots.

You can either soak paper towels in vinegar and wrap your faucets with them for ten minutes or create a paste by mixing vinegar, flour and salt.

Another choice that works well for shining copper or stainless steel is to wipe down the faucet with ketchup. For chrome or stainless steel, wipe down dry faucets with a thin coat of baby oil.

Banish bowl buildup and eliminate toilet stains easily.

Toilet bowls are notorious for being hard to handle, especially when you get calcium stains or buildup in them. There are several ways to address this, ranging from home-grown remedies to more toxic but powerful options. Check out our favorites that span the spectrum from HowStuffWorks.com.

Take out the trash (literally.)

This seems like a logical task, but it’s important to keep trash to a minimum in order for your bathroom to look (and smell) as clean as possible. If not kept under control, trash can quickly accumulate and draw attention, making your bathroom appear unclean.

Tuck your trash can in a cabinet or other unnoticeable area, and make sure you take the trash outside regularly.

Make it a clean sweep by using your vacuum in your bathroom.

When you have finished all the surface cleaning in your bathroom, you’ll want to clean your floors last. One of the best kept secrets of sweeping is that you don’t have to use an unwieldy broom.

Most vacuums work equally well on both carpeted and hard floors. The added benefit of using a vacuum is that many have small lights on the front, making it easy to see small hairs or makeup dust that might be harder to capture with traditional sweeping.

Keep calm and get organized.

One of the things that can cause a bathroom to feel as though it’s not clean is if it’s disorganized. Try to keep your countertops clear of clutter, and use shelves, cabinets, drawers, and baskets to help.

Pinterest has endless ideas to help you find creative solutions for all of your storage and organization needs. A few of our favorites include:

Adding a second shower rod in the shower to hang baskets.
Adding hooks or over-door hangers to keep towels out of sight, dry, and off the floor.
Using spice racks mounted to the inside of cabinet doors to store shampoos, cosmetics, or other small bottles.

Don’t be afraid to DIY.

There’s a myriad of different cleaning products available for you to use, and no single product will work for every need. The key is finding what combinations work for you.

If you don’t like your current results, don’t be afraid to create your own options.

Dive into the details to address hidden grime.

While basic cleaning must be done regularly, there are also small details that need to be addressed on a consistent but less frequent basis.

Here they show you tips for cleaning your shower curtain liner, scrubbing underneath your toilet tank, and disinfecting bathtub toys. For a complete clean, work these small details into a manageable schedule.

Keeping Your Bathroom Clean

Despite its dirty reputation, bathroom cleaning doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Effective and efficient cleaning is simply a product of working smarter, not harder. As you can see, there are a several different bathroom cleaning tips to help you do this.

Next time you start to tackle the task of your bathroom cleaning, start small. Choose one of your favorite suggestions and try it out. Each time you clean, test a new technique, and before you know it, your bathrooms will be sparkling.