How To Clean a Bathroom Step-by-Step

Bathrooms are supposed to be the cleanest rooms in the house but they are the least agreeable to clean.  It’s a dirty job but, unfortunately, someone has to do it.  So grab your cleaning kit and let's get started together! 

When it is time for the general house cleaning, it's a good idea to assemble your cleaning materials in a bin that you can carry around from place to place.  But, bathrooms can use as many different products as the whole house uses, if not more.  So, dedicate a separate bin containing just bathroom cleaning supplies - which includes soup scum and mildew remover, bathroom surface cleaner, window washing fluid, toilet bowl cleaner, dust rags, paper towels, sponges, scrub brush, and floor cleaner.

The first step to cleaning a bathroom is to remove any dirty clothes or dirty towels and make sure that everything is in it's place.  Remove any rugs to wash as well. 

Often the hardest part of cleaning the bathroom is the shower.  This is the most likely place to get a build up of soap scum and mildew if it is not cleaned on a regular basis.  So, since cleaning the shower is going to exhaust most of my energy, I like to start there while still fresh.  If the soap scum in the shower is really bad, you can leave the cleaner to soak for a short while before you start scrubbing it.  Don’t forget about cleaning the shower curtain or the shower door and track.

There are plenty of products formulated specifically for shower cleaning.  The choice of which products to use is up to you.  Rinse the shower really well with water after you have cleaned it.  Rinsing gets rid of any other loose dirt and chemicals.

After the shower, the next step in bathroom cleaning is the mirrors.  In our house, we love to write messages to each other in the mirror after a hot shower has made it all foggy.  But the down side is that it leaves streaks on the mirror.  Use your rags to dust any shelves, moldings, door frames and baseboards.  

Next, clean the sink including the taps (faucets).  Any product meant to clean bathroom or kitchen surfaces is fine for cleaning the sink.  This also includes any counter tops or the pedestal of a pedestal sink. 

After cleaning the sink it is time to tackle the dirtiest job in the bathroom; the toilet.  There are several different areas of the toilet and they all need to be cleaned.  The inside of the toilet can be cleaned with a regular toilet brush and some toilet bowl cleaner (or a disposable toilet bowl cleaner).  The rim of the bowl and the underside of the lid and the seat also need to be wiped clean.  The back of the toilet can be cleaned with a good surface cleaner.  An area of the toilet that some people overlook is the pedestal especially towards the back near the floor.  You can use a surface cleaner for this also.

The last thing to do in the bathroom is to mop the floor and to empty the garbage.  I like to use paper towels to clean the bathroom.  Although it is more eco-friendly to use sponges or rags, I am concious of the many germs circulating in bathrooms and so prefer to clean with disposables which I can just drop in the waste bin after use.  So for me, the end of cleaning the bathroom is clearing the garbage and relining the bin(s) with fresh liners.