Simplify Your Bathroom Cleaning

The results of our first poll are in! Cleaning the bathroom ranks as the least favored chore among our readers. Here are some hints and tips you can use along with your Speed Cleaning technique to make your weekly bathroom cleaning a cinch. No matter what the problem areas are in your bathroom, we have come up with some solutions to make this weekly chore more manageable and enjoyable (yes, we said it)! The keys to getting this job done quick are regularly scheduled maintenance cleaning, prevention and organization.

Let’s tackle the shower first, which by the end of the week for most of us is a soap scum sanctuary. If you aren’t biding your time battling hard water stains, maybe you are trying to tackle a mold and mildew infestation. No matter the case lets review some things we can do to prevent this little weekly chore from becoming cleanings worst nightmare.

Prevent water spots by using a shower wiper. When you are finished up in the shower, dedicating a few routine minutes to squeegee the shower walls will all but eliminate unsightly water spots. Fitting in these few extra minutes squeegeeing after each shower will equal less time scrubbing at the end of the week. Pro Tip: Make sure your squeegee blade is white instead of black. Black blades can leave scuffmarks on hot shower walls. Be choosy when picking out your new shower accessory. Be sure to purchase a squeegee made especially for showers. The blade should be slightly firm and flexible. (We sell an excellent shower wiper that we have personally tested and scrutinized for quality).

Clean the shower while you shower. The mother of all multi-tasks. It takes just a few moments daily during your shower. Have handy a tile brush or white pad so you can scrub down the shower walls while you are conditioning your hair. If water conservation is on your mind, simply turn off the faucet while you complete the task. Pro Tip: Use a handy Speed Rinser that connects to your showerhead. This practical device makes rinsing walls (and your hair!) a snap.

Use a dehumidifier. Small bathrooms, especially those without windows or exhaust fans can have massive amounts of condensation build up. Condensation over time can lead to mold and mildew problems. A dehumidifier can help control the bathroom atmosphere that will help control the growth of fungus, mold and mildew, bacteria as well as control odors.

If you're tired of fighting soap scum buildup, try switching to liquid soap or natural soap. The talc in most bar soaps causes most of that annoying buildup. Changing soap might help eliminate the buildup. The choice of liquid body wash or bar soap (and which brand of either to use) has long been a subject of discussion at The Clean Team. Some members think one is easier to clean, but the next person says the opposite. We just don't know for sure. No matter what brand of soap you’re using, regular maintenance here is the key.

Unsightly mold and mildew spots on your shower curtain? Try a Mildew-Proof Shower Curtain Liner! Shower curtains and liners are a breeding ground for mold and mildew. Since they are continually exposed to warmth and water it doesn’t take long for a new shower curtain to become dingy and worn. Prevention is the key here. Specially treated curtain liners are a great line of defense. We offer a shower curtain liner that won’t ever mildew thanks to its exclusive anti-bacterial treatment. And since we like timesaving convenience, it is machine washable for optimum cleaning efficiency. Pro Tip: For mold and mildew problems try using a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water. It is just as effective as bleach but won’t harm your lungs or the environment.

Shower caddies not only offer organization and space saving efficiency, but they actually make your shower easier to clean. Leaving soap, shampoo and conditioner bottles on hard shower surfaces create rings that need to be scrubbed away. Keeping these bottles in a caddie eliminates this problem. Shower caddies come in a variety of styles, from over the showerhead to suction shelves to corner caddies. Once every couple of weeks just rinse down your caddie (with your helpful Speed Rinser perhaps) and contents and you are ready to go! Pro Tip: For extra dingy caddies just pop in a dishwasher for easy clean up.

Now that we have covered time saving shower cleaning tactics, lets move on to the dreaded toilet area….

Ring around your toilet? Use a pumice stick, an all-natural green way to eliminate unsightly rings. Toilet rings, which are caused by water evaporating and leaving behind tenacious mineral deposits, can cause permanent damage if ignored for long periods of time.

Inexpensive U-shaped rugs that fit against the toilet base are great to have “laying around”. They catch most of the misses and near misses that happen around the toilet. Weekly maintenance is a breeze; just throw them in the washer and dryer. You can maintain throughout the week simply by light vacuuming or shaking off outside.

Keep your toilet bowl sparkling in between regular cleanings by dropping a few
denture cleaning tablets in the bowl and let the bubbles do all the work! This tactic along with regularly scheduled cleanings using products like all-natural Red Juice or Pro Scrub will keep your toilet looking tip-top.

Moving onto the sinks, fixtures and mirrors….

Rinse out the sinks after each use. Keep a cleaning cloth handy underneath the cabinet or in a near by drawer to quickly wipe down the sink after using it. Swiftly polish up the fixtures after activities (like brushing teeth) that leave small splatter marks that dry making weekly cleaning more tedious. Pro Tip: A small, handy toothbrush will make all the difference in your bathroom cleaning. It makes small, tight, hard to reach spaces easy to clean. Our pro toothbrush is designed to outwit hiding grime and outlast your ordinary toothbrush.

Mirror Splatter, fingerprints and rogue droplets can all be pretty much eliminated by adhering to Clean Team Rule 10: Pay Attention! Are you a careless brusher? By simply tilting your head right (or left) while brushing your teeth takes bathroom mirrors and fixtures out of the line of fire. Do you blast water from the faucet while washing hands? Just a slow dribble should do for hand washing. This keeps soapy, messy stray splatter at bay!

Where kids are concerned…

We know cleaning is upped the ante where kids are concerned. Here are a few quick bathroom-cleaning tips to help you manage the cleaning chaos that comes with having kids.

-Use hooks for hanging towels instead of bars. They are easier for smaller children to use.

-Have a hamper available for soiled and dirty items. This will help piles from accumulating

-Net hangers for bath toys not only keeps toys organized but it also keeps them from growing mold by helping them drip dry faster.

-Use a little food coloring instead of bubbles in the bath. Three or four drops of blue or green food coloring makes the water a fun color without the left over soap scum and slippery mess.


It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it! We hope these tips and tricks help you enjoy your weekly bathroom cleaning a little more and most importantly we hope it saves you time! If you have any time saving tips you’d like to share with us feel free to post them in the comments section!

*Red Juice, Pro Scrub, Pro Toothbrush, Speed Rinser, Pumice Sticks, Mildew-Proof Shower Curtain and Shower Wiper as well as a variety of superior cleaning products all available excellently priced and quality guaranteed at http://www.thecleanteam.com/