Happy Friday!! After a little time off to complete my Valentine’s Day projects, I am finally back with some progress on my February To Do List for my Household Organization Diet! If you are wondering how to deep clean your bathroom, follow these tips and tricks to get things sparkling in no time!
I talked last week about some quick and easy bathroom cleaning tips to keep your bathroom clean and tidy on a daily basis but, unfortunately, they do still need to be deep cleaned at some point. We have 4 bathrooms in our home so I am working my way through one of them each week.
Cleaning Supplies
- microfiber cloth
- 1:1 mixture of water and vinegar in a spray bottle {you can add essential oils for scent if desired}
- Norwex window cloth
- Home Right steam cleaner {optional}
- toothbrush
- baking soda
- bathroom cleaner{1 part vinegar mixed with 1 part Dawn dish soap} in a spray bottle or a scotch brite scrubber
- paper towels
- Norwex Toilet Cleaning System {or other toilet cleaner}
Cleaning Steps
- If it isn’t too cold out, open up your window{s} to let some fresh air in while you are cleaning.
- Always clean from top to bottom so any dust or grime that falls down will not fall onto a newly cleaned surface.
- Remove everything from the countertops and any shelving that you may have. This will make it much easier to clean.
- Dust and wipe down light fixtures with a microfiber cloth.
- Open the windows and wipe down the inside of the window sills and tracks. I love using my steam cleaner for this – a couple of blasts of the steam and a quick wipe with a paper towel takes care of it. If you don’t have a steam cleaner, spray it down with a vinegar/water mixture and use a toothbrush to get into the corners and grooves.
- Clean windows and mirrors. I just spray them down with water and use my Norwex Window Cloth to clean and polish. It is so much better than using window cleaner and there are NO streaks {even when the sun shines in!}.
- Clean countertops and shelving with a 1:1 mixture of water and vinegar and a microfiber cloth. Dust and/or wipe down items from the counter tops and shelves as you replace them.
- Clean the shower and bathtub with a 1:1 mixture of blue Dawn dishwashing detergent and vinegar. This is pretty much the best thing I have found for getting rid of soap scum {I also learned from I Should be Mopping the Floors that it works even better if you heat the vinegar in the microwave before adding the dish soap}. I keep some in a Scotch Brite scrubber {which makes for quick and easy scrub downs after showers!}. I start by using my steam cleaner with a squeegee attachment on the bathtub and shower walls to loosen any dirt and grime. If you do not have a steam cleaner, try closing the shower curtain and running a hot shower for a minute or two to create some steam. Spray or scrub with the bathroom cleaner, rinse {or steam} it off, and wipe with a microfiber cloth.
- Take down and launder the window and shower curtains if needed. I always add about 1 cup of vinegar to the wash. If you have a lot of stains on your curtains try using 1 cup of baking soda in the laundry INSTEAD OF detergent and vinegar. You can add the vinegar to the rinse cycle or run it through with vinegar on a short cycle afterwards as long as you are NOT mixing the vinegar and baking soda together at the same time! Make sure you run your washer on warm instead of hot if you are washing a plastic shower curtain and remove it immediately to hang to dry. It is also a good idea to throw a towel or two into the laundry with the shower curtain if you do not have anything else in there.
- Clean the toilet. I use the Norwex Sanira system on our toilets and love that the cleaning solution is built right into the brush. I have also been loving my steam cleaner for cleaning all the little areas in and around the toilet {like the toilet seat attachments and along the bottom sides of the toilet}. If you don’t have a steam cleaner, use a toothbrush with the water/vinegar mixture to get into all of those little areas. If you have “little boy spray” around your toilet, make a paste of baking soda and water and spread it around the bottom of the toilet seat and any other “spray zones”. Let it dry and then spray with the vinegar and wipe down. Don’t forget the walls too! 🙂 Wipe down the toilet and toilet seat with a microfiber cloth and the vinegar/water mix.
- Clean the floor and baseboards. Again, I am now using my steam cleaner to do this task and it is so much quicker! If you don’t have a steam cleaner, wet down a microfiber cloth with the water and vinegar and wipe along baseboards. Do a quick vacuum or sweep of the bathroom floors and wash down with the water and vinegar and a mop or microfiber cloth.
- Clean the sink. I always leave this towards the end as I use the sink to rinse out my microfiber cloths during the cleaning process. Use the water/vinegar mixture and a microfiber cloth to wipe down the sink and polish the fixtures with a Norwex window cloth. If your facet is starting to get any mineral build up affecting the water flow, use a 1:1 mixture of water and vinegar in a plastic bag and secure it around the facet {or shower head} with an elastic band. Leave overnight and then remove.
Try doing a good deep clean of your bathroom once per month. The more you follow the daily cleaning tips, the less you will have to do. Not all tasks need to be completed on a monthly basis either so just do what needs to be done! 🙂
This post is part of my Household Organization Diet series. You can join in anytime – just start with these two posts here and here. If you are looking for past projects, you can find them all on my Pinterest board}.
This is great! My agenda for the weekend has giving our bathrooms a deep cleaning on it! These tips will def make my cleaning easier! Thanks for sharing!!
http://www.everythingemilygblog.blogspot.com
Your timing is amazing. I have been cleaning and decided to take a computer break before tackling the bathroom. I’m going to have to get some blue dawn so I can try it.
What type of steam cleaner do you have? I have heard a few people talking about them lately and think I may be interested in getting one. Also – your bathroom looks awesome!
Wow, I can’t believe how many bathrooms you have. I’d hate to clean that many. I deep clean our one bathroom weekly as it obviously gets a decent amount of use. I do a lot as you do, but I might have to try the dawn in the shower. Thanks.
Love it! I so need to do a deep clean to our bathrooms, I dread it!
I am really enjoying your posts on cleaning. I am embarrassed to say that I have reached this age in my life and have never really learned how to clean my house. I have a question about your steam cleaner. Once you use the steamer on say the counters, then do you just wipe them with the vinegar/water cloth? And for the floors, I assume that I vacuum them and then use the steamer. Do I have to then wipe with the vinegar/water?
Great ideas! I recently bought a dish scrubber form IKEA, and it doesn’t hold soap inside, but I just squirt a bit of shampoo on it and wipe down the shower while I’m in there. Works great!
I clean with vinegar all the time – a staple in my routine. But I have never tried that window cloth – I must try it! Thanks for the tips I am adding them to my standard routine.
Great tips. I need to do a serious deep clean tomorrow. Not one of my favorite things to do, but I’m so happy when it’s done.
Great tips, I will definitely use the tip for the “spray zone” my little boy is notorious for missing the toilet….I just completed a bathroom makeover I’d love for you to stop by and take a look.
great tips! Your steam cleaner sound amazing! :o) I host a Tasteful Tuesday link party (still open until Friday) and would love for you to come over and link up! http://www.nap-timecreations.com/2013/02/winners-and-tasteful-tuesday-party.html
Thanks for the great tips! I should definitely put your deep-cleaning methods to work in my bathrooms this week 🙂 I’d be thrilled if you’d link them up at this week’s Off the Hook!
I also use that “bathroom wand” with 1 part vinegar and 1 part dawn. I love it! It has really saved my shoulders and back from all the scrubbing. Thanks for sharing!
I found your blog through {Just Something I Whipped Up} link party…thanks for sharing, this is a great idea (I am a full time working lady always in need of cleaning motivation) =)
xoxo, Meg http://www.willwork4cupcakes.blogspot.com
Your timing is perfect! Can’t wait to follow your ideas this weekend to get our bathrooms all deep cleaned.
Thank you for the tips! I need to make some of that 1:1 dawn dish soap and vinegar solution!!! I’ve heard so many good things about it!
Selene @ restorationbeauty.com
I’d love for you to come link this up at my Tuesday Time Out! We all need great tips!
Melanie Reasons To Skip The Housework
We tried the Dawn and heated vinegar thing a few months ago. My husband immediately went into a respitory attack. We called the Dawn people and they said DO NOT MIX WITH VINEGAR. It produces a fume simalar to mixing bleach and ammonia. Just thought you should know.
thanks for all the really good info. I’m your newest GFC follower. I would love for you to stop by my blog sometime.
http://viewfromrivermountain.blogspot.com
I appreciate your tips to clean the bathroom! I now use steam cleaning! Thank you for your tips!
Yes, steam cleaning is amazing in the bathroom! Quick, effective and no chemicals! 🙂
Great tips. I do want to post a warning…..be careful with your faucet and soaking in vinegar, I have a brushed nickle one and it took off the finish (yes it is an inexpensive faucet). Just a heads up…BTW, I did this long before coming to this blog, so not any fault of this post.
Gail
Great post! Love seeing a person get those kinds of results. I can tell you from a professional perspective it is very impressive.
Thanks for the exhaustive list and these useful brilliant advices. I like that you clean with natural detergents such as vinegar and baking soda and know from personal experience that they really work. I agree that if you do what have to be done more frequently you don’t need to spend one whole exhausting day deep cleaning the bathroom.
I am the kind of person who wants everything to be clean and tidy but as we are talking about bathrooms I must say that this in not my favorite place to clean. My bathroom is wet most of the time and I should clean it every time when I use it. Thanks for the useful advices! Beckton Carpet Cleaners Ltd.
I love the way you have described every single step. I clean with natural products at home like vinegar and baking soda. I make a mixture of one part white vinegar and two parts water and this mixture can clean your windows and mirrors. Thanks a lot for the interesting article!
Here is one tip from me. Wipe condensation from all surfaces after showering, and leave the window open for one hour a day to lower the room’s humidity level.
Thanks for the tips! 🙂
My favorite tip to cleaning the bathtub and shower head with dawn and vinegar solution. It works so well!