Potty Training Tips and Clean Up: 3 Easy Steps

Potty training is a significant milestone for little ones and parents. The first step to the end of dirty diapers, woohoo! But before you get to full toilet independence, you’re going to be dealing with a lot of accidents, messes, and cranky toddlers. 

While potty training isn’t always easy, I want to help you make it easier with my potty training tips, the difference between a potty chair vs. potty seat, my favorite potty training cleaning products, and how to clean a toddler potty chair. Because whether you’re potty training boys or girls, it’s going to get messy. 

Potty chairs need to be cleaned after every use, which can feel like a big chore. But if you know the right products, tools, and techniques to use, you can get it done quickly and efficiently so you can keep those little tushies clean and happy. 

Potty Training Tips for Boys and Girls

Some children are really interested in and excited about learning how to use the potty, and some really aren’t. To get your little one excited, let them help pick out their potty at the store. Involving them in the process will get them interested in actually using it. 

Buy exciting big kid underwear. They can pick this out too. Maybe they’ll like princess underwear or dinosaurs. Then they have an incentive to learn how to use the potty. Once they’re successfully out of diapers, they’ll be able to wear their new underwear. 

Praise, praise, praise! Every time your child successfully uses the potty, it is a BIG DEAL! So keep the motivation high and focus on the successes. 

Potty Chair Vs. Potty Seat

A seat that goes over the regular toilet seat is far and away the easiest to use in terms of maintenance. A stand-

A potty seat is a seat that goes over the regular toilet seat. This is by far the easiest when it comes to cleaning and maintenance because you can just flush the toilet. However, you’ll still have to clean the seat frequently, especially if you’re potty training a boy who is still working on his aim. 

Sometimes a potty seat is too big of a step at first. If this is too much for your child, a potty chair will be more on their level, literally. A potty chair is their size, it can be more colorful, and it’s just for them. Even though it requires a lot more clean-up, a stand-alone potty might be the best bet.  

Extra Potty Training Messes

There are often potty train casualties outside of the potty itself. For example, your toddler might discover they enjoy throwing toilet paper around, or they might just have trouble with their aim. 

When appropriate, you can ask them to help out with some clean-up. For example, if toilet paper is thrown on the floor, they can put it in the garbage. But the real cleaning is just for you, and even when it does get messy, never chastise your little tike. You want to make sure potty training is always a positive experience. 

Cleaning the Potty Chair

Once you’ve dealt with other messes, it’s time to clean the potty itself. Here’s how. 

Rinse First

Lift the inner potty bowl out of the chair and dump the contents into the toilet. Then, rinse with hot water and dump into the toilet bowl. This may take a few attempts to get everything out. dump into the toilet bowl. This may take a few attempts in order to remove all, or most, of the fecal matter.

Disinfect Thoroughly

Spray the bowl and the rest of the chair with a disinfectant cleaner. I like to make my own disinfectant by mixing 1 cup of water and 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide (so a 4 to 1 mix). You can use a cleaning toothbrush to get into any corners and crevices. Then, let this solution sit for about 10 minutes to really get all those bacteria and germs. 

Rinse and Wipe

To finish, rinse off all the disinfectant and wipe dry with a paper towel. Or you can use a designated microfiber cloth for this, and this only.

Clean Around the Potty

The area around the potty chair can get pretty dirty as toddlers develop their aim and coordination. Have an enzyme cleaner handy. Enzymes are great for breaking down urine stains and odors. You can use this on the toilet, walls, and tile surrounding the toilet. 

And don’t forget to launder bathroom rugs and shower mats regularly; they pick up a lot of spray!

Potty Training Tips and Clean Up

If you have a toddler, you know that keeping them clean is a full-time job. But modeling good cleaning and cleaning their potty chair after every use is an excellent way to show them cleaning is important. 

While no one likes to clean a potty, once you get a routine down, you’ll be able to do it well and quickly. And before you know it, you’ll be reminiscing about potty training days while you try to get them to clean their rooms. Good luck and happy cleaning!