When not toiling away for “the man,” there are so many things one longs to do.
Read a book. Bake a cake. Do the splits, both ways.
But cleaning the bathroom? That’s, like, number 34, 027 on my list of possible pastimes. Sometimes I think that, without the occasional house guest, I may never see fit to don the yellow gloves.
Melissa Maker, owner of Clean My Space in Toronto, wasn’t overly keen on scrubbing the porcelain throne, either. But one night, she went to the loo at a friend’s house and it was so revolting she couldn’t bring herself to use it (let’s face it, you might floss your teeth with your own hair, but someone else’s discarded DNA is ew, ew, ew). That’s when she decided to launch a cleaning service of her own.
While Melissa is obviously an advocate of the full-blown, roll-up-dem-sleeves cleaning session, she stresses that it’s the in-between maintenance that makes the biggest difference. Using the following tips, you can elevate your bathroom from glorified outhouse to temple of sanitary goodness. Or something along those lines.
Don’t let unruly accessories and hygiene products loiter anywhere they damn well please.
Melissa says a tidy, streamlined counter looks cleaner – and no scrubbing required! Woot.
Line counter items up parallel or perpendicular, as shown above. This is most pleasing to the eye.
And when in doubt, hide! Place any excess items into decorative baskets or hide temporarily in a linen closet or under the sink. Nobody needs to see your Preparation H or Herpes medication (speaking from experience, I saw this once, proudly displayed for the world to see on a shelf. Not sure if it was an accident or a crafty way to avoid verbally broaching the topic with potential suitors. Have you ever stumbled upon something embarrassing in someone’s washroom?).
Instead of waiting until your whole mirror looks like a piece of styrofoam, do spot-washes whenever you see some goo.
Melissa uses a flat microfibre cloth to clean and shine a mirror. A flat cloth is better than one with loops because it cannot hold on to any debris, thus reducing streaks and providing a superior shine.
To keep bathmats clean between washes, Melissa uses a basic lint brush.
It picks up the stubborn bits, like hair, that vacuums may miss.
Find products that are designed for everyday maintenance. This new product, Scrubbing Bubbles One Step Toilet Bowl Cleaner, subtly attaches to your toilet.
You clip the nozzle over the rim, then step on the lever after use to keep toilet rings, hard water marks and limescale at bay.
Along the same lines, I’m a fan of Method Daily Shower Spray.
Melissa has a special loathing for the scum (read: bacteria) that builds up on soap dishes and pumps. And don’t even get her going on that crud that accumulates on electric toothbrushes…
Good news: when it comes to many bathroom accessories (not the electric toothbrush, mind you), you can get your dishwasher to do the work for you. For a full cleaning, place your empty soap pump / dish onto the top rack of your dishwasher and place on the sterilization cycle for a super-fast clean.
Ever wonder why your white shower curtain has a blush of pink along the bottom? You don’t really want to know the answer.
Just take Melissa’s advice and chuck your curtain into the the washing machine with a few towels. That way the curtain won’t shred but it’ll get a thorough bath of its own.
What are your bathroom cleaning tricks? Do you have any favourite products? Let me know in the comments area below.
And please feel free to drop by my house to use my SUPER IMMACULATE bathroom. Just give me a two hour warning…
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