Toilet Cleaning Tips

Preventive maintenance is the key to keeping your home in top shape. Your bathroom, specifically your toilet, is no exception too! It’s this one part of your bathroom that you use everyday, sometimes more than once! If it breaks down or malfunctions, it becomes a big problem and would need a plumber’s attention. If it accumulates bacteria, it can be a terrible health hazard too. But you can prevent that part by maintaining it properly. Here are some toilet cleaning tips:

Before you begin, clear the toilet of things that may obstruct you while cleaning. Clearing items will keep them out of the way, safe from harmful cleaners, and will prevent any accidental drops into the toilet.

Put on clean waterproof rubber gloves. Toilets can be infested with bacteria so you would want to keep your hands as clean and dry as possible when you’re cleaning yours. Invest in a good pair of gloves but do replace them at least every 2 months.

Squirt a solution of specially-formulated toilet cleaners on the inside of the rim of the bowl, allowing it to drip down the sides of the bowl and into the water. It’s important to apply cleaner to the inside of the bowl’s rim too.

Using a firm-bristled toilet brush, scrub the entire bowl thoroughly, focusing more one stains that may accumulate along the water level and at the back of the bowl. Do scrub the areas even without stains too. Scrub at least 5 minutes.

Flush the toilet. Flushing rinses the bowl and the brush. Continue to scrub as the water drains from the toilet, as the motion of the water may not be enough to rinse all of the dirt away.

Clean the handle thoroughly. The handle needs to be extra-clean because you touch it every time you use the toilet. In fact, you are more likely to give yourself germs from the handle than you are from any other part of the toilet.

Another effective alternative if you don’t have a disinfectant solution is to pour a cup of baking soda into the bowl. Let sit for a few minutes, brush the same way as mentioned above, and then flush.

Germs linger in the bowl even after flushing and bacteria can fly into the air while flushing which may then land on the seat, the handle, and other surfaces. To prevent this, remember to close the lid when you flush and use the vent fan as it sucks up bacteria before they can settle. If you’re not already storing toothbrushes and contact lenses inside the medicine cabinet, you may want to start now.