When it comes to cleaning, the bathroom is always the most dreaded room, hands down. With all its tight corners and crevices, the everyday moisture from showering and the heavy traffic, it’s the perfect place to build up an army of bacteria and filth.
Thankfully, we’ve got 12 awesome hacks to make cleaning even the scariest bathroom seem like a walk in the park. In addition to being crazy effective, these hacks are also insanely cheap. Better yet, you probably have everything you need right in your house!
1. Bathtub/Shower Cleaner
Want to really make that bathtub shine? Simply add 1 part Dawn Dishsoap to 1 part vinegar in a dish-wand, seal it tight and it’s ready to go. Run the water in the shower to get it lightly coated, and scrub away to your heart’s content. The mixture cuts right through the soap scum, leaving a squeaky-clean feel to your oh-so-loved shower!
2. Shower Head
Okay, this hack is even easier than the first. Can you guess the main ingredient? That’s right; vinegar! There’s a reason this powerhouse ingredient is in almost every natural cleaner. It is effective! So to get that nasty buildup off of your shower-head, immerse the head in a plastic resealable bag filled with vinegar, secure the bag with a rubber band and let it sit for around an hour.
When you remove the bag, run the shower for a minute or two, and then give it a quick wipe down. You’ll be amazed at the difference, and will never run out of vinegar again.
3. Drip-Dry Your Toilet Brush
A tip so simple, you would hardly believe it’s a hack. Yet I can’t even begin to describe how many times I went to clean my toilet right after mopping the bathroom floor. It seems like no big deal until you drip dirty old toilet water all over your fresh floor when you go to scrub! Allow the brush to drip-dry each time you use it by wedging it between the bowl and the seat.
Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later.
4. Get Rid Of Mold In Grout And Caulking
Here is a hack I know many a lady will LOVE! You know that really gross mold that builds up in the grout between tiles, and the caulking where the tub meets the wall? Yeah, that brownish-black muck that we all hate. Well, now you can virtually wipe it out!
All you need to do is mix just enough bleach with baking soda to make a thick paste. Make enough to line every place you see the mold in your shower (works on countertops too). Then lay it on thick and let it sit for at least 8 hours (while you catch your zzz’s). Wipe off the paste in the morning, gently scrubbing any stubborn bits off with a toothbrush, and giver her a rinse. Bam! No more nasty shower muck in your grout.
**Glove up for this one folks!
5. Clean Hardwater Stains Using A Lemon
Yep. It’s as simple as it looks. Cut a lemon in half and use each half like a little scrub brush, thoroughly going over all the stains. This works especially well on chrome fixtures.
6. Get Those Glass Shower-Doors Sparkling Again
There are two ways to approach cleaning your shower that are both effective and easy. The approach you’ll want to use is totally dependent on how much soap-scum has built up on your shower doors.
If you are just doing maintenance cleaning, and there isn’t much soap scum, using worn-out, balled up pantyhose can do wonders for clearing up the water deposits on the shower doors. However, if you are like most of the population and your shower doors haven’t seen a good squeegeeing in a while, then the Magic Eraser is your BEST friend.
This works not just for shower doors, but also bathroom mirrors, chrome fixtures, and glass in general.
7. When There Is No Magic Eraser
That’s right! Dryer sheets can do more than soften up your laundry and smell nice. You can use these as an alternative to cleaning your shower doors and mirrors. They remove water spots like a charm, and their anti-static effect makes them perfect for wiping down all the dusty spots in your house.
8. Get Stains Out Of Porcelain
Depending on the shape your sink is in, this a 1 to 3 step process. If you’re only battling a little soap scum, you can get away with using a small amount of Bar-Keeper’s Friend.
If your sink is looking pretty miserable though, you can first wash it with dish-soap/detergent to remove any grime and most of the buildup. Then spray your whole surface down with bleach and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Go ahead and wipe it down, and if it’s clean enough for your liking, go on with your day.
If you still have a few marks or stains in the sink, put Bar-Keeper’s Friend on each mark and gently rub it in, then wipe away. You’ll be thrilled at how your sink shines!
9. Deep Clean The Toilet With A Screwdriver
No kidding. I can’t believe I never thought of this before! When things start to smell a bit funky, wrap a Clorox wipe around the tip of your screwdriver, and run it beneath or around those hard to reach places. You will be oh-so-happy you did!
10. Keep Papertowels In Reach And Out of Sight
This is more of a tip than a hack. It’s always nice to have a paper towel handy, especially in one of the dirtiest places in the house. However, they don’t exactly pass for home decor.
Have your cake and eat it too, with this nifty mounted shelf paper towel holder!
11. Keep Your Toilet Wand Fresh
In addition, to drip-drying your toilet brush, you can add a small amount of Pine-Sol to the holder. It will keep the whole room smelling fresh, and be ready to use when you go to scrub the toilet next. Just make sure you remember it’s there so you can give your brush a little tap to let the excess cleaner drip down into the holder first, and avoid splashing yourself.
12. Cleaning Faucet Handles
When is the last time you deep-cleaned your faucet handles? I know, not a common question. When you think about it though, that faucet handle sees a HUGE amount of traffic. That traffic is usually comprised of hands that just flushed the toilet, so you can imagine the bacterias that hide beneath those faucet covers.
Fortunately, in order to get things nice and clean, you only need to remove the cover and use a screwdriver to remove the handle. Soak it in vinegar, and give a quick scrub, and you’re back on track! Can you believe these hacks? I only wish I would’ve known sooner!
