If you ask my kids what’s the one thing that will make Mum lose the plot they will say – if the bathroom isn’t cleaned properly. Maybe it’s silly, but I just can’t cope with a bathroom that is under par!
I remember Jenna telling Jesse when he was young, “Just do it - otherwise, you’ll just have to go back again and again until it’s done right”. She tells stories of having to spend all day cleaning the bathroom until she met my high standards – I’m sure this isn’t true but it’s a good story.
I wrote my first cleaning checklist when Jesse was a baby – we had a trainee nanny who would forget everything as soon as I told her, so I decided that writing lists was the best way to go.
It worked! After that everything got done and we were all happy.
I continued this practice as Jesse got older and it became his responsibility to keep the bathroom clean.
Now, you might think I’m crazy, but this works.
If you have kids, and you’re teaching them about cleaning the bathroom, or any other room, it might be helpful to write them a checklist. In my experience children like to be independent but can’t always remember everything they need to do so writing it down works.
For the longest time, this checklist laminated (actually a more specific checklist) hung on our bathroom wall so it could be referred to whenever necessary.
This checklist is for our weekly clean. I'll address what happens on a daily basis soon.
It may seem extensive but it really isn't. I've just broken it down into small steps so nothing gets missed.
You can download the checklist from the link at the bottom of the page but first, let’s walk through the items on the checklist!
I know not everyone has a bath, but we do, so I included it in my list.
Spray the bath and walk away for a minute or two. If your shower is not over your bath, you can spray the bath, then spray the shower, then come back and clean the bath.
I used to use Wendyl’s Peppermint Paste to clean my bath which does work really well, but I find that you need to wash it off really well, otherwise you get a lot of residue.
Now, I use 30 Seconds Shower Spray. It works equally well for the bath and shower.
For the shower, spray (as above) and leave for a few minutes. When you are ready, give all the walls of the shower a good clean. Once they are clean, give them a wipe over with a dry towel or microfibre cloth to remove any excess water. Water sitting on glass is your enemy - it will leave spots if you have mineral deposits in your water.
Is bathroom mould a problem in your house?
I’ve included a checklist item for cleaning off the mould. We have a shower/bath combo which has wood around the bath, and this grows mould like crazy. We’ve tried adding mould inhibitor to the paint, but it didn’t really work. This is temporary as we do intend to replace this wood with tile at some point. I included it in case it’s an issue for you.
My go to product for cleaning off mould is another 30 Seconds product Mould Off. It works tremendously well – all you have to do is spray it, leave it for a bit, then wash it off.
One word of warning! Mould cleaners can damage paintwork so watch your overspray!
I also use this on my shower curtain when it gets a bit yucky.
I don’t even take it down!
I just spray it, let it do its work, then I wash it with the shower.
There are a few steps to cleaning your vanity. You can use the same shower spray.
Just give the top a spray and wipe with a damp cloth.
Wring out your cloth so it’s pretty dry, then wipe down the cupboard doors and drawers.
Give the basin a final rinse and dry it with a towel.
If you read my Kitchen Cleaning in 15 Minutes post you will know that I dry everything.
In my opinion, there’s nothing worse than a streaky surface, and that includes your taps.
All you need to do to clean your taps is given them a spray with your spray cleaner, wipe them off with a damp cloth, giving a little special attention to any marks, then dry them with a dry cloth.
It’s not hard and it takes only a few minutes – the results will be outstanding.
Do your mirrors get really dirty?
I’m not sure why, but our bathroom mirror always seems to have handprints on it.
To clean my mirror I use a blue microfibre cloth which is specifically for glass.
Actually, I use this cloth to clean the taps too, after I’ve cleaned the mirror.
This is a spot cleaning job – and if you have young children who are working through this checklist, they may not be able to reach to do this. Basically, ensure there’s no dust or dirt on the walls.
In my house we have white, square skirtings which seem to catch everything particle of dust and every stray piece of hair. Use a damp cloth to give them a quick wipe.
This area always seems to get very dirty with all the splashes from wet hands reaching for the towel. I just give it a wipe with a damp cloth when I’m working through my cleaning checklist. This means that it’s always nice and clean and the marks don’t become stains which are hard to remove.
I’m stepping into grossland here but if we are going to talk about cleaning the bathroom and toilet, we need to discuss this!
My apologies in advance!
OK, I know that I’m a little OCD when it comes to cleaning but, have you ever been to someone’s house and there is a grubby mark on the back of the toilet door where everyone touches it? I know right, it’s gross.
I’m determined that mark will never happen in my house so, as part of our bathroom cleaning routine, it gets a wipe every time!
I also feel the same way about light switches – you really need to wipe them every time you clean. Honestly, this only takes a few seconds, but it makes such a difference.
In my bathroom, we have a window in our shower!
It’s crazy!
This is our ‘before’ shot. It’s changed quite a bit since then but I’m not quite ready to show you.
Anyway,as you can see, there’s the shower and there’s the window. This window is covered by a curtain but the window behind gets really grubby. If you don’t have this wonderful situation in your bathroom (which I’m sure no-one else does), then you probably don’t need to clean the window every time, but you probably need to give the windowsill a wipe.
It’s a given really. The floors in our bathroom are vinyl, which is nice and easy to keep clean, but they do get really dusty so a vacuum and a wash is vital once a week.
Some people use their towels only once and some use them a few times before they wash them. It’s personal preference. In my house, I wash the towels most days, so this refers to the hand towel and bath mat.
There is some cross-over here so I’ll only going to discuss what I haven’t already covered.
This Eco-Planet Toilet Cleaner is my all-time favourite.
Unlike other products that smell so artificial, this one smells like peppermint!
I know!
Who doesn’t want a toilet that smells like mint?
Not only, does this product smell great, it’s really effective. I squirt it around inside a bit and let it sit while I clean the rest of the toilet.
Next, I give it a good scrub, a flush, and you’re done! Love it!
As part of cleaning the toilet I also lift the lid and wipe all of the surfaces.
With a clean cloth, I wipe the seat, the lid and the cistern.
I also clean the outside of the toilet, just wiping it with a damp cloth, right down to the floor, and at the sides and back.
There’s not much to say here, we have a little bin in our toilet which gets full of things, and when we clean the toilet, we remember to empty it.
Boys make a mess – even the older ones! So, it’s a good idea to give the walls a quick wipe every time, just up as high as you need to (waist high).
I’ve already covered this, but it goes without saying that these are high traffic areas which need to be kept clean.
This is particularly important in the toilet.
Just so no-one finds themselves in an awkward situation, it’s a good plan to check on the toilet paper supplies when you are finishing up your cleaning.
Now you can stand back and enjoy the moment when your bathroom and toilet are sparkling clean.
It’s a good question – how often do I need to work through this process? Well, in our house, this happens once a week.
Between times, I keep the bathroom clean by wiping down the vanity top, basin and giving the taps a polish on a daily basis, just to keep it dust free.
Now you may wonder when I find time to do this.
Here’s the trick.
I do it while I’m cleaning my teeth!
Yep, toothbrush in one hand and dry cloth in the other.
I know this is madness, right?
But, it works for me.
Now, I haven’t covered every item in my checklist above so make sure you download it, and I’ve made it printable so you can get one laminated for your bathroom. Believe me, your kids will thank you – well maybe not, but you’ll always have a clean bathroom.
One last thing!
There’s one thing you can do that will make your cleaning efforts much more effective!
DRY!
For streak free surfaces, dry it!
If your bathroom cleaning routine differs from mine, I’d love to hear about it. Leave me any suggestions for improving mine in the comments below.
Please note that this is not a sponsored post. These are just products and I use and love and I wanted to share with you. I have not received any money to promote these products.
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November 19, 2020
Hi, my name is Carol Karl. I live in little old New Zealand. My family and I strive to live the most ‘real’ life we can – by that I mean that we eat real food, we live real lives and just generally be our most authentic selves.
