Tips for deep cleaning your bathroom

For your shower, always take a moment to wipe down and squeegee the walls and the doors after every use (it saves you elbow grease in the long run). Deep cleaning should help clean all the build-up dirt, and because of the frequent cleaning, it will be easier and less time consuming.

Turn on the water and wet the floor and the walls of the shower. Wetting these surfaces helps you identify the specific areas you should focus on.

Using a commercial or homemade cleaning solution, apply it to the mildewed or soapy residue areas and leave it to sit for at least ten minutes. After ten minutes, use a cloth and a little elbow grease to clean the nasty stuff off.

Rinse the walls and the floors once you have removed all the grime. The on to the shower doors…. You can use a glass cleaner but distilled white vinegar works just as well.

For both your shower walls and doors, and finish with a squeegee them to remove the remaining water.

To remove limescale from your showerhead, soak it in (you guessed it..) distilled white vinegar. If your showerhead is detachable, remove it and soak it in a large bowl of vinegar, or if it’s fixed, fill a plastic bag with vinegar and tie it around your showerhead using an elastic band. In no time at all, your showerhead will be restored to its original, sparkling self.

You can use shaving foam to clean your mirrors, this stops them from fogging up when your bathroom gets steamy. Just apply a thin layer of shaving foam and then wipe off for a shiny, steam-free mirror. You can also use it on your shower doors too for a fog-free shower!

5. Clean the loo

Always start with the toilet bowl. Use a simple toilet cleaner and a scrub brush to clean the surface. Leave any toilet cleaner to sit in for at least twenty minutes before you flush it away.

Commercial toilet cleaning tablets can be expensive, harsh and bleach heavy. Alternatively, you can use dishwasher or even denture tablets and leave in the bowl overnight if it needs a deeper clean or to rid the bowl of any staining.

(Coca Cola in the bowl overnight is another good trick, what makes Coca Cola bad for your teeth makes it great for removing rings, build-up and stains from your toilet bowl. Pour a can around the rim of your toilet so that it coats the entire bowl and let it sit for a few hours to work its magic. Scrub with a toilet brush, then flush).

While the bowl is fizzing away you can close the toilet lid and disinfect the entire exterior of your toilet and pedestal. Pay close attention to where you grab the seat to lift it and the flush handle in particular.

Finally, disinfect the whole seat and the rim of the toilet bowl. If you have a resistant build-up of hard water residue under the rim you can get to work on it with a pumice stone (and consider a rimless toilet next time!).

Consider using paper towels to clean in and around the toilet when you deep clean, this avoids bacteria laden cloths going in with your wash and sewer blocking wipes going down the drain.

Be wary of toilet blocks. Bear in mind the term ‘plumbers mate’ is a term used for cistern blocks for a reason!

To unblock a drain, pour down a cupful of bicarbonate of soda. Wait two or three minutes, then follow it with a cupful of white vinegar. After an hour or so, pour very hot water down the drain, and this should clear out any unwelcome gunk.

6. Cleaning the floors

For a good clean you’ll need a good mop after a good sweep.

Avoid bleach solutions unless there is an illness in the house (bleaching the floor is a fume laden and unnecessary practice). Hot, soapy water and a little anti-bacterial spray will clean and sanitise efficiently enough. You can also mix it with one tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda for any tough dirt. Make sure you dry the floor thoroughly once you are done to avoid slips.

Keep those windows open for as long as possible, run yourself a bubble bath and enjoy!