Cleaning the bathroom can be a total chore, with the number of items that you need to scrub, wipe and disinfect to perfection. Not only that, you also need to ensure that everything stays spotless and squeaky clean! Among these bathroom fixtures needing the most care and attention is the toilet seat. As one of the most used seats in your home, the toilet requires a certain level of effort and quality cleaning. Since it’s a fixture that everyone uses during their personal and private time — from day and night — it should always be kept clean and sanitized for proper hygiene and wellness.
Although the idea of cleaning the toilet can be icky and potentially messy, many homeowners are actually able to do it with ease and minimum effort. While this is the case, you still need to come up with a cleaning gameplan to maximize your time and effort when restoring your toilet to its original, squeaky clean state. Luckily for you, we’ve rounded up a complete guide on how to clean a toilet -- including the things that you’ll need and the steps that you’ll need to follow when doing the chore.
Gathering the Essential Cleaning Supplies
In order to get started on cleaning your toilet, you’ll need to gather the following cleaning supplies:
- Disinfectant wipes
- Disinfectant spray toilet cleaner
- Toilet bowl cleaner
- Paper towels
- Rubber gloves
- Toilet brush
- Eye protection gear
- Cleaning cloth
How to Properly Clean the Toilet
- Make the exterior sparkle - Before diving deep into the toilet bowl’s interior, focus your cleaning efforts first on the exterior of the toilet. To start, get the disinfectant spray and begin spritzing a generous amount of solution to the entire toilet exterior. Also include every corner, base and the underside of the seat when spraying the disinfectant. It is important to also spray the flush handle and the walls behind and beside the toilet bowl. Since every flush of the toilet bowl is scientifically proven to emit dirty bathroom particles in the air, it’s considered good practice to not leave any corner untouched. Once you’re done spraying, let it sit for around five to ten minutes.
- Clean the toilet bowl - How to clean toilet bowl? While letting your toilet exterior soak up the disinfectant solution, you can start cleaning the interior of the bowl. First, you need to drain the water out of the toilet bowl before applying the liquid or powdered cleaning solution. Removing water will help the solution to easily attach to the bowl, prevent spraying and splaying, thereby giving you an easier cleaning process. To do this, simply turn off the water valve at the toilet’s base and flush. Once done, apply the solution to the bowl and begin scrubbing it with a toilet brush. Make sure to use your rubber gloves and protective eye gear while cleaning to prevent any chemical-related irritations that can affect your eyes and skin. Other solution alternatives include baking soda, oxygen bleach, and a mixture of baking soda and distilled white vinegar. Since most people prefer going with an all-natural cleaning approach, these ingredients can be the perfect alternative choice. But if you want to achieve the same cleaning and sanitation with store-bought items, consider getting solutions with hydrogen peroxide or oxygen bleach. Whatever your choice of solution, remember to always use protective gear and cleanse the bowl thoroughly by repeated scrubbing.
- Scrub the toilet stains away - To get rid of tough and difficult toilet stains, in addition to a powerful solution, you need to get a hard-bristle toilet brush. The most common and stubborn toilet stain is usually the one that appears in a rust-colored ring around the bowl’s interior. If your bowl happens to have these rust-colored ring stains, don’t worry. Although they might seem permanent, they can be easily removed. With the solution applied to the interior of the bowl, use toilet brush to scrub around the area. Doing this will break down the stain and will let them slowly fade away after repeated scrubbing. Alternatively, you can also use a pumice stone to get rid of these toilet bowl stains. Just put the pumice stone on a stick and slowly swipe it on the stained area. Since the pumice is a softer stone, it won’t cause any scratches on your toilet bowl’s surface. Once done, rinse the stain away by turning the toilet’s water back on and hitting the flush handle. Additional tip: Never make the mistake of using a soft sponge to clean the bowl because it can be a good source of different bacteria. Since sponges are usually damp, it can be the perfect breeding ground for a host of harmful bacteria.
- Wipe the toilet seat clean - As one of the most used seats in your home, the toilet seat should never be neglected. It comes into close and actual contact with different people, and contracts different types of germs with every use. That’s why you need to make sure it gets cleaned properly and thoroughly. To do this, you need to raise the seat and spray it with the disinfectant. Also include the inside lid and the rim when spraying. Wipe all of these parts down with a clean cloth or disinfectant wipes to remove any additional germs and get rid of any traces of the solution.
- Wipe the toilet bowl and fixtures - Once your solution has fully seeped into the interior and exterior of your toilet bowl, begin wiping them with disinfectant wipes. You can also use a clean cloth for this step. Just make sure to do and use it thoroughly to remove any trace of the solution on the exterior surface of the bowl. For the interior area, any trace can always be removed and flushed down the drain by turning the water back on.
- Sanitize your toilet to perfection - As the final step in sprucing up your toilet, sanitizing the whole area for one last time is highly recommended to preserve cleanliness and promote better hygiene. To do this, simply pour a strong bleach solution into the bowl and let it soak for a minute. Once done, rinse the solution with a cup of water and flush it away. On the other hand, tidying up your toilet also involves sanitizing your materials afterwards — from the toilet brush and the hand gloves. To clean and sanitize the toilet brush, simply clean the brush and the canister with warm and soapy water. For your hand gloves and protective gear, it’s best to scrub them with hot water and soap.
How Often Should Your Toilet Be Cleaned?
By properly disinfecting and tidying up your toilet regularly, you are also reducing the risk of coming into close contact with health-threatening germs and bacteria. To continue having a clean and well-sanitized toilet, you need to clean it as often as possible — without any limit! However, once or twice a week is a good standard maintenance schedule when it comes to fully disinfecting your toilet.
Keep Your Toilet and Home Clean With Homefresh
Keeping your toilet clean at all times is very important for you and your family’s hygiene and wellness. Since the toilet is a bathroom staple being used on a daily basis, it is only necessary to make a regular maintenance schedule and routine to keep it extra clean and sanitized. By disinfecting the toilet regularly with your supplies (toilet cleaner, paper towels, toilet bowl cleaner, etc.), you can be assured that the existence of germs can be further reduced and subsequently, any health-related issues or illnesses.
If you need a professional home cleaning service to help you save time and deal with toilet and bathroom cleaning, stain removals or just the full scope of general home maintenance, drop us a call here at Homefresh! Our team of friendly part-time maids will leave no stain untouched and no corner unchecked. Book us now and experience quality home cleaning and service in an instant.
