How to Clean A Bathroom: Cleaning Hacks

After 14 years in the cleaning game, I can say with confidence that I still don’t like cleaning the bathroom. And I would be surprised if there are a lot of people out there who disagree with me. That being said, I’ve found some cleaning secrets and time-savers that make a big difference when it comes to cleaning the bathroom. 

So if you’re here to find out how to clean the bathroom, if you have questions about shower grout or bathroom organization, or you’re looking for cleaning hacks like shower squeegees and DIY cleaning recipes, you’ve come to the right place. 

I can’t promise you or I will ever enjoy cleaning the bathroom, but I can promise that I can teach you the best cleaning techniques to get your bathroom clean and organized in the shortest amount of time. 

Sink Cleaning Hacks

Do you know how people in the movies wake up with perfect hair and beautiful skin and walk into their bathroom and brush their teeth while they admire their perfect everything in the mirror? Well, those people probably don’t have to clean their own bathrooms. 

For all of us non-movie stars, brush your teeth looking down into the sink, not up into the mirror. When you brush your teeth, it gets foamy, and if you’re looking up, that foamy toothpaste will splatter all around your sink. If you look down, the toothpaste splatter will be directed into or at least closer to your drain, making it easier to wash away. This means that your sink won’t dirty as quickly, and you won’t have to clean it as often. 

Bathroom Cleaning Product Tips

I’ve been telling people this tip for years, but when you use a product, LET IT SIT. Most cleaning products will be more effective if you let them sit for five to ten minutes before going back to cleaning. That’s called pre-treating in cleaning terms or marinating in barbeque terms. 

This allows the product to do the work it’s designed to do, and it saves you from having to work as hard. And this is especially important in the bathroom where, let’s be honest, there’s a lot of bacteria on certain surfaces. So let the product do its thing by pre-treating your surface before cleaning. 

Toilet Cleaning Secrets

You might be wondering how you’re supposed to let the product sit in your toilet bowl because the bowl is full of water. Well, I’ve got a professional cleaning secret for that too. 

Use a toilet bowl plunger to push the bowl water down the chute. This helps expose more of the bowl so you can get a more thorough clean. Then you can spray or treat the area with whatever product you’re using and scrub. When you flush, the bowl will fill up normally again. When I do this, I like to pretend I’m sword fighting, but that’s optional. 

Cleaning Bathroom Floors

My bathroom is not a fun place to be after I’ve styled my hair, and I try not to subject my family to that, which is why I clean my bathroom floors often. When you clean your bathroom floor, always vacuum or sweep first, or at least wipe it out by hand. Otherwise, you’ll just be pushing a wet mop with a big old disgusting pile of hair underneath it. 

Mopping the bathroom floor without picking up hair first will not yield good results. My bathroom floor rule: dry treat first, mop second.

Shower Grout Banisher

Dirty grout lines are unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean you have to live with them. Luckily, I created a quick and easy DIY grout cleaner recipe you can make at home. 

Make a paste using two parts baking soda and one part hydrogen peroxide. Apply the paste to the discolored grout and use a cleaning toothbrush to scrub it off. Wait 10 to 15 minutes, then rinse the grout clean. The baking soda and hydrogen peroxide whiten the grout lines so that they look a lot better with minimal effort. 

Use Your Bathroom Fan

Your bathroom fan isn’t just a decoration. Bathrooms are humid places, and that makes them the perfect home for mold and bacteria. So if you notice that pink stuff growing on your shower curtains or in your toilet bowl, it’s a sure-fire sign there is too much moisture in your bathroom. 

Turn your bathroom fan on before your shower, and leave it on for at least 30 minutes after you’re finished. You want your bathroom to feel bone dry, not like a tropical destination. If you don’t have a fan, be sure to open a window and let the room air out entirely. A good rule is that your bathroom shouldn’t be more humid than the rest of your house. If it is, you’re going to start seeing mold and mildew. 

Bathroom Organization Tools

It’s all well and good to have a clean bathroom, but you want it to look neat and organized as well. I love using trays for this. Trays are handy in a space like a bathroom because they allow you to corral all of your products into one area. 

I have a lot of products I like to use in the bathroom, and I used to struggle with bathroom organization. Now I have a tray in the master bathroom, and so does Chad. We both put all our little bottles, creams, and other products on our trays for a neat and organized look. If your bathroom is feeling cluttered, check out my article on Decluttering Your Bathroom. 

Bathroom Cleaning Maintenance

Have you ever taken the time to clean your bathroom and then immediately taken a shower and blow-dried your hair? It feels like all that time you just put into cleaning goes out the window!

Here’s my tip for bathroom cleaning maintenance. Put a towel on the counter and/or floor before you embark on a messy job in the bathroom. I do this before I style my hair or put makeup on, and Chad does it when he shaves. This way, all you have to do when you’re finished is bundle the towel and put it in the wash, and your floor will stay clean. Take a look at my article 5 Habits For A Cleaner Bathroom if you need more tips. 

Shower and Tub Maintenance

Like your bathroom floor and counter, showers and tubs can get dirty quickly. Each time you shower or take a bath, moisture, body oils, dead skin cells, the products you use cling to the wall, the shower glass, and the tub. 

Keep a squeegee and a microfiber cloth in the bathroom. Squeegee after you shower, and wipe the tub after you take a bath. I don’t mean you should do a complete clean. I literally mean take 30 seconds to get that gunk off. Because if you let it sit, it will harden and build-up, making your cleaning job more difficult when you do actually clean the bathroom. 

Recruit Some Help

One of the great things about being a parent is that you can make your kid do all the stuff you don’t want to. OK, OK, I’m joking, but truly there is no harder or more willing worker than a child looking to earn some extra allowance. 

I know this because my parents essentially employed me to clean the house every weekend for a pretty penny, or at least what felt like a pretty penny when I was 11. That money was an excellent motivator for me as a kid. So if bathroom cleaning is a sore spot in your family, put some money on the table for your kids. This is a great way to teach kids how to clean and let them earn some money while they’re at it. 

Bathroom Cleaning Made Easy

Cleaning your bathroom is never going to be fun, but it can be easy. Remember that cleaning small messes when they happen will save you time during a bigger clean. And it means that you’ll have to clean the whole bathroom less often. 

Make less work for yourself by pre-treating surfaces and using your bathroom fan, and watch your bathroom cleaning routine get shorter and easier. Or better yet, pay your kids to clean the bathroom and sit back and relax. Either way, I hope my tips help you with your bathroom cleaning and organizing.