Bathroom Cleaning Tips

For all the work involved in cleaning the bathroom, it can be frustrating when you don't get good results. Here's some helpful hints that will not only make your bathroom sparkle, but actually get it clean!

My grandmother taught me a lot about cleaning. I learned how to sweep, how to make my bed, and most of all, how to properly clean the bathroom.

Once you know why a bathroom gets dirty, you know how to clean it. For instance, when you take a shower or bath, steam permeates your bathroom. It fogs up your mirrors and literally touches all surfaces of the room including walls and ceilings. Interestingly, steam is not just composed of vaporizing hot water. It also contains all the soaps, shampoos, and body washes that you're using to get yourself nice and clean. So the orange spots you see on your bathroom ceiling is a build up of soap, dyes (from those shampoos and soaps), and other yucky stuff that escaped via steam from the shower.

Grandma had me use the towel that I just dried off with to wipe everything down in the bathroom after taking a nice hot bath. Otherwise the stuff contained in these vapors builds up on all surfaces making it nearly impossible to ever get clean again.

Scrubbing the shower too vigorously can result in big problems too. The scrubbing action could lift the edges of the caulk allowing water and soap to penetrate... And it all starts to rot.

Comet and Soft Scrub with bleach are fine choices for an all-around cleanser, but never use Comet or Ajax on your cultured marble, fiberglass, acrylics, or anything with a clear gel coat. Of course they do a great job on steel tubs and tile.

The best cleaner for the chrome and brass in your bathroom is a damp cloth. That's right, no abrasives please!

Spray on products for the shower do a good job of extending the time in between cleanings, but you still need to clean the tub and tile at least once a month.

Those new scouring pads that look like plastic steel wool are great for getting into all the nooks and crannies of your tile floor. Be sure to only use a white, brown or gray one though. The green ones can leech into your new grout and discolor it.

How do you take off the sticky stuff left by the manufacturer tags? Use lighter fluid and denatured alcohol. Just squirt it on a paper towel and rub the sticky stuff right off. Works like a charm!

John Ashton, Founder
Baths Plus Inc.
513-821-7464