Your bathroom tends to get really filthy in just a short time since you are frequently using it. This particular space in your home can’t help but attract dirt and grimes which need efficient and timely cleaning.
It’s fair to say that your bathroom should be one of the prioritised areas when doing clean-ups. But since it’s also a difficult space to keep clean, you must know how to do the job the right way and commit yourself to its regular upkeep.
Besides, any bathroom or restroom, whether at home or in a public place, needs extra attention. This is because it’s a space where you take a bath or do other essential things to keep your body clean. You typically don’t want to enter a bathroom with thick moulds, dust, and foul smell.
Moreover, a clean and well-organised bathroom allows you to have peace of mind as you won’t have to worry about dirt and bacteria lingering on its surfaces. This area in your house needs to stay sanitary and odour-free to keep your entire family safe and healthy.
But, there are some vital things you need to know and consider in order to maintain the cleanliness of your bathroom efficiently. This work may not be as simple as you might think it is. It typically requires you to understand some points and make the best judgement on the tasks you need to undertake.
Related: Bathroom Mould & Fungi: How to Prevent & Remove Them
Also, there are multiple tasks involved in bathroom cleaning, which are essential to achieve the best results. You might not think much of what this job brings to you unless you get down with it yourself.
Hence, go over to the topics and gain more ideas on how you can do timely bathroom cleaning safely and efficiently.
How Often Should You Clean Your Bathroom?
Generally, a bathroom cleaning that involves the scrubbing of your tub and shower walls must take place no less than once a week. On the other hand, some parts of your bathroom need more attention, requiring you to clean such areas often than every seven days.
Likewise, the frequency of cleaning your entire bathroom will depend on how often it gets used. For instance, if your household consists of four members sharing only one bathroom, you will have to clean and scrub the toilet and sink more frequently than a one-person home.
Here are some bathroom cleaning tips to give you some ideas on which parts you often touch and polish to keep everything safe and tidy.
Bath Towels
When it comes to the frequency of washing your towels, there are some things you need to consider. Under normal circumstances, you can use a towel for up to three or four times.
However, factors such as how it dried after usage and the area where you hang it can often affect the frequency of cleaning.
Moreover, bacteria can quickly build up on a damped towel left on an area lacking with air circulation. To prolong its usage, you should place your used towel on a rack and turn on the fan or open a window to let the moisture out of the room.
On the other hand, when washing bath towels, considering the condition of the person using it also matters. If they’re exhibiting symptoms of sickness like flu, it’s better to toss the towel in the washer after a single use and let each family member have their own towel. This simple action will help in preventing the potential spread of microbes.
Sink
Your bathroom’s sink is an area where you wash your hands and face. It’s also the area where you typically stand in front to brush your teeth. Hence, it’s not surprising to know that bacteria can grow on this part with all the routine activities you do.
And so, you’ll need a good wipe down for your bathroom sink every day to keep it clean and avoid the unwanted build-up of bacteria and grimes. You can use an all-purpose cleaner or any antibacterial cleaning material for it.
Mirror
Just like your bathroom sink, you have to do a daily wipe down for the mirror to remove dust, moist, and toothpaste specks. You can simply rub a microfiber cloth on it and clean the surface after you’ve done your routine.
Bathroom Rug
When it comes to how often you must wash your bathroom rugs, it’s best to do it once a week. You can also get it cleaned as necessary, depending on its condition.
If you see that it’s already filthy yet it hasn’t reached seven days, you may want to wash your bathroom rugs right then to keep it clean. Always follow the instructions written on its tag if you’re not sure on its proper washing.
Toilet
You can choose to clean your toilet after a few days if you’re the only person living in your house. But if your home has multiple members and you have kids, daily cleaning or wiping down the handle and seat with an antibacterial cleaner is advisable.
Although most families may usually get by with a once a week bowl cleaning, doing a daily wipe down can help you prevent some tough stains from lingering on your toilet’s surface.
Shower Curtain
You can get by with washing your curtain for at least once a month. You can take it down and toss it in your washer to clean it without using a scrub brush.
But remember not to use cold water when washing it as many plastic shower curtains may get brittle with it, making it more likely to shred. Instead, use warm water to clean the material. You can also do this even when only washing a fabric liner for the best result.
Shower and Tub
A once a week cleaning is what your shower and tub require. However, if you’ve got a glass shower door, you will need to give it more attention. Soap scum can accumulate on the glass surface. Hence, to prevent this, you may use a sponge to wide it away, keeping it looking spotless and clean.
This action only takes a few seconds and can typically save you from a demanding scrubbing during the weekend. There are also some areas on your shower and tub that need daily cleaning. You must identify these parts and keep them clean as much as possible.
Regular cleaning can lessen and prevent the dirt, bacteria, and grimes from growing within these areas, allowing you to save time in the long run. Use your best judgement and preference when doing a clean-up job.
Health Hazards of a Dirty Bathroom
Bathroom cleaning is a task you’re less likely excited of doing. Wiping down soap scum and scrubbing toilets will never be an idea of a good time for anyone. But, this job is necessary for every home or even public space.
Without timely and efficient cleaning, your bathroom can become home to moulds and hazardous bacteria. There are several health issues that a dirty bathroom may cause due to the microbes building within the area. Here’s to give you some ideas on the hazards it can bring to you and your family.
Moulds
Bathrooms can be the perfect spot for the build-up of deathly fungus like moulds. These harmful organisms may grow underneath your toilets and sinks or around the shower area. The bacteria from moulds can spread through the air and are typically very small for the naked eye to see.
It’s essential to wipe any water spills, fix pipes that are leaking, and clean your entire bathroom using disinfectants since moulds can cause several health issues when inhaled. Some of these risks are respiratory and vascular problems, including having trouble breathing, fragile blood vessels, and bleeding lungs.
Aside from that, moulds can also cause damages to the immune system, headaches, skin rashes, kidney and liver damage. Any bathroom without proper care can be dangerous with all the bacteria growing on its surfaces.
But you can easily avoid such problems through regular cleaning and safety habits, keeping you and your family secured and healthy with a clean and sanitised bathroom.
Infections
The bacteria known as staphylococcus causes staph infections, and this type of microbe lingers on door handles, in the toilet, sink, and shower areas. Although it does not usually result in infection with normal body contact, once it enters an open cut or wound, a person will have the chance of getting a staph infection.
These bacteria also spread easily and most likely contaminates razors and other bathroom grooming products. You can prevent staphylococcus from harming you by keeping your bathroom clean.
Closing the toilet cover before flushing, using antibacterial cleaners to scrub and wide down the surfaces, and washing your hands every after bathroom use can help you maintain safety and avoid unnecessary infections.
Gastrointestinal Viruses
The gastrointestinal viruses present in a dirty bathroom can cause stomach sickness. These bacteria commonly linger on the sink counters and toilets, which may induce vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, and pains.
On the other hand, bacteria such as salmonella and e.coli can also be present in bathrooms which triggers similar stomach illnesses. Fecal matter carries these microbes, so it’s essential to close the lid before flushing the toilet, wipe the surfaces, and wash your hands after using your bathroom.
Strep Throat
Streptococci bacteria are the cause of strep throat, and they can also be lingering in your bathroom. That’s why regular sanitising and cleaning is very important for all its surfaces. The toilet, sink, walls, and handles should have a good scrubbing and wipe down every once in a week, depending on your best judgement.
Bathrooms and toilets can be the best breeding places for microbes and bacteria. Hence, keeping them tidy at all times is a discipline that everyone should put into priority. Failure to clean your bathroom efficiently and regularly can lead to serious hazards like diseases and infections.
Common Bathroom Rubbish and How to Properly Dispose of Them
After the kitchen, your bathroom may typically be the second room in your home that contains a lot of rubbish needing regular cleaning. Plastic-based wastes are the main types of unwanted materials found in this area.
Besides, you typically throw away substantial quantities of rubbish from your bathroom now and then. Hence, it’s important that you know how to properly handle and dispose of these items to help reduce ecological footprints and lessen the ones that end up on congested landfills.
There are many kinds of plastic products and packaging that people usually consume within their bathrooms. Most of these things are hazardous and contain toxic materials that may be harmful to the environment if not disposed of safely and properly.
Here are some of the rubbish that can be present in your bathroom:
- Bottles of Shampoo, Conditioner, and Soap
- Tubes of Toothpaste
- Bags of Cosmetics and Female Sanitary Items
- Single-use Wipes and Cotton Buds
- Aftershaves and Perfumes
- Bathroom Cleaners and Disinfectants
- Unused Medicines
- And more!
Aside from those, bathroom rubbish may also be your old toilets, sinks, and tiles. These things will get considered as rubbish when you’re doing renovation, replacement, or strip out.
Recycle Your Rubbish
One of the best and effective methods to dispose of your bathroom rubbish is to recycle them. If you’ve got plastic boxes or bottles that can be of good use, you can always opt to utilise them to lessen the number of junks you’ll throw away.
You may less likely think about the impacts of the rubbish you throw out, but collectively it’s harmful and huge. Suppose the entire population of Sydney doesn’t take necessary actions and make changes in waste management. In that case, a thousand tons of unwanted materials will end up on landfills every year and increase as time goes by.
Hence, recycling such items as much as possible is essential to reduce harmful effects and create a sustainable environment for the future generation. Your simple action can make a huge impact on the upkeep of your entire neighbourhood.
Disposal Through Council Rubbish Pick-ups
The Sydney region has scheduled council pick-ups to rely on when it comes to disposing of specific types of rubbish. While some of your bathroom wastes may get accommodated, there’ll be many unwanted items that will not get taken.
Knowing what kinds of rubbish your council pick-ups collect and dispose of is important for you to find other efficient ways on how you can eliminate those left behind junks. Besides, you will not want to have enormous piles of bathroom wastes lingering within your home for quite a long time as it may cause health problems.
If your bathroom rubbish is on the list of the items that council pick-ups can take, then you can wait for the collection schedule and dispose of your junks through them.
Hire Professional Bathroom Rubbish Removalists
Since most wastes in your bathroom are hazardous, you can’t typically throw them away on general bins. As mentioned earlier, council pick-ups can only take specific and limited types and amounts of rubbish, leaving you with substantial quantities left behind.
While you can reuse or recycle some of your rubbish, others may need to get cleaned and taken to the right facilities for proper disposal. A professional rubbish removal company near you can help you with your bathroom cleaning job.
You can always hire a removalist team if things get tough and demanding for you. Whether you want to dispose of your weekly or daily bathroom rubbish or you’re having a strip out and renovation job on this particular space in your home, local expert removalists and cleaners can back you up anytime.
Steps in Cleaning Your Bathroom
Cleaning your bathroom may not be an exciting job for you, but you’ll eventually have to carry out this task to keep things safe and in order. When doing such work, it’s essential to know how you can efficiently and properly accomplish the responsibility.
While you can opt to perform things your way, here are some quick and simple steps you can follow to restore the cleanliness of your entire bathroom.
1. Take Out All Movable Items in Your Bathroom
If you want the best clean-up results, you should not skip this step. Remove all products and items from the bathtub, shower, counters, and cabinets, including the curtains, towels, rugs, bottles, and aftershaves.
Don’t forget to take the trash cans out. Once you strip all the contents of your bathroom, you’re now ready to perform a thorough and efficient cleaning.
2. Wash and Clean all Washable Materials
Before starting the clean-up job, make sure to put your bathroom’s rugs and mats into the washer. You may opt to wash all these materials first and let it dry as you finished cleaning your entire bathroom.
This is a step which you can take at a sequence you prefer. You may even do this after completing the clean-up job as this helps you provide a fresh and tidy bathroom feel while getting rid of the foul smells lingering on your floor rugs and bath mats.
3. Dust and Sweep
Cleaning and sweeping the dust is also one of the essential steps you need to take when doing bathroom clean-ups. Using a duster with a long handle will help you eliminate any loose dust and cobwebs in the corners, ceiling, vents, and fixtures.
Once you’ve thoroughly done the dusting, vacuum or sweep the floors and give your bathroom a good clean. This way will help you pick up all the debris lingering on the floor.
4. Apply Cleaner to Your Bathroom’s Bathtub and Shower
Now that you’ve cleaned the dust and loose dirt in your bathroom, it’s time to give your shower and bathtub a scrub to sparkle. You may use any bathroom cleaner or an all-purpose cleaner if you’re doing clean-ups regularly.
But, if you have left your bathroom uncleaned for quite a long time, you might need an acid-based cleaner to tackle the serious build-up of soap scum, stains, and moulds on your shower or bathtub. Once you’ve applied the necessary cleaner, let it soak before performing the scrubbing and wipe down.
5. Get All the Other Surfaces Clean
Many other surfaces in your bathroom need your attention, so get down right to them and start the cleaning. Sponge and cloth work for this task. You only have to spray the all-purpose cleaner, scrub and wipe down all surfaces, from the shelves and towel racks to the windows and doors.
Make sure to clean and wipe every corner and not lose track of where you’ve done cleaning. You can start working from the top to the bottom of your bathroom, or simply in sections as you prefer.
6. Finish Up Cleaning the Bathtub and Shower
After cleaning all the other surfaces while letting the cleaner soak on your bathtub and shower, you can now get back to cleaning them. At this point, it gets easier for you to scrub the stains and grimes as the cleaner has already done its work.
Clean and scrub the floors and walls in your shower and bathtub area, then rinse it afterwards. If you have a glass door in your shower, spray glass cleaner and wipe it down to give it a spotless look.
7. Clean the Sink Area
Your bathroom’s vanity area includes the sink, mirror, countertops, and faucets. Use an all-purpose cleaner and a clean rag to wipe down these parts. If there’s a bit of stain or grimes building up on your sink, the coarse side of a sponge can help you rub off these unwanted filths before wiping it clean.
For the mirror, use some glass cleaner to remove any dirt and toothpaste specks since water, and all-purpose cleaner won’t be enough to restore its clear and spotless condition.
8. Give the Toilet a Good Scrubbing
If you’ve done regular scrubbing on the inner portion of your toilet, then using an all-purpose cleaner to polish it will do the cleaning job. You only need to spray a small amount and scrub its surfaces. Use clean water to rinse and flush the toilet afterwards.
However, if there is some evident growth of moulds and stains, you might need a stronger toilet cleaner variant to achieve the best result and complete the job efficiently. It’s best to let the cleaner soak for a few minutes, depending on how thick the grimes are, then do a good scrubbing using a toilet brush.
After cleaning the inside, spray some cleaner on the outer part and then wipe down the surface with a clean cloth.
9. Clean and Mop the Floor
Finally, after completing all the preceding steps, you are now down to mopping the floor. First, get a bucket filled with warm water and an adequate amount of all-purpose cleaner. Submerge the mop into the bucket with a cleaning solution and then start mopping your bathroom’s floor for an added clean look.
Once your bathroom floor gets dry, it’s time to put the freshly cleaned and dried mats and rugs. Put back everything you’ve removed right before the cleaning process started, and arrange it in a clean and nice setup.
All these steps can help you make your bathroom cleaning easier as you can track the tasks you’ve already done. Although the job may take time and energy when doing it yourself, it becomes very fulfilling once you finish all the responsibilities. Seeing your entire bathroom sparkly clean makes you feel at ease, relieving you from the worries of facing health issues.
Related: 6 Actionable Tips to Declutter Your Bathroom
Final Thoughts
The efficient cleaning of your bathroom involves multiple tasks and duties: from knowing the frequency of doing clean-up jobs and recognising the risks of having a filthy room to finding ways to properly dispose of rubbish and doing a step by step cleaning procedure.
What you should always remember is to perform a bathroom cleaning regularly. There are things you can perform every day to maintain the clean look of your bathroom. Whether you just simply wipe down surfaces or wash rugs, towels, and mats, it can bring a difference and a significant benefit in the long run.
As such, never leave your bathroom uncleaned for a long time, letting the moulds and dust build-up. Take out any sorts of unnecessary items and rubbish from this area, and make sure you know where to throw them away.
If things get difficult and you need some extra hand on your bathroom cleaning or strip out, you’ve got Paul’s Rubbish Removal backing you up here in Sydney region.
We are the leading rubbish removal company in Sydney, servicing all properties within the area. We work with safety and diligence. Our team intends to fulfil and accommodate any rubbish removal needs within the region.
You can reach and book us for any rubbish collection and disposal concern as we don’t only cater to bathroom junks but also other types of rubbish. For immediate rubbish removal service in Sydney, please call Paul’s Rubbish Removal anytime at 0407 125 125 and get a free estimate.