How To Deep Clean a Bathroom
Below are some practical tips on how to give a bathroom a deep clean from top to bottom.
20/07/2023
With working full-day and having someone clean house for me, I know that there I times I need to get stuck into certain rooms to give it a deep clean - things that normally get ignored or overlooked - that can build up if you don't tackle them sooner or later. The bathroom is one of the rooms where I need to get in there myself and do a thorough deep clean for all the fittings and fixtures.
Being confined to the house due to cold weather, there is nothing like getting stuck into a room to do a deep clean!
Essential cleaning supplies
Before you get stuck into cleaning any room, you are going to need all the essential cleaning supplies:
- Spray bottle for white spirit vinegar
- White spirit vinegar, lemon juice, bicarbonate of soda
- Nail brush or small scrubbing brush
- Old toothbrush for tight spaces
- Sponge scourers, cleaning cloths including soft cloths for polishing
- Feather duster
- Stepladder
- Safety gear: dust mask and rubber gloves
You will also need cleaning products such as Handy Andy, household bleach, dishwashing detergent, and glass and mirror cleaner, and you can substitute any of these with the many eco-friendly or homemade cleaning products that you normally use.
1. Ceiling fixtures, fans and air conditioners
Always start at the top of a room and work your way down and that means tackling any fittings or fixtures on the ceiling or around the top of walls. Think downlights, ceiling lights, or ceiling fans as well as any extraction fans or air conditioners. Without the aid of a stepladder, these items are regularly overlooked and definitely in need of a good cleaning. Pop on a dust mask and use a feather duster to get into hard-to-reach areas to remove loose dust and then use a damp cloth to wipe down. Finish off with a soft, dry cloth to buff and polish. Find tips for air conditioners here "Regularly Clean and Maintain Air Conditioner."
2. Curtain tracks, rods, blinds, and more
Here is a fitting that rarely gets cleaned and yet attracts a lot of dust.. curtain track, rod, and rails. Now that you have a stepladder on hand, you have the perfect opportunity to clean these fixtures as well as the top of any window or door frames at the same height. Use a damp cloth and a little Handy Andy to remove dust and grime and dry with a soft cloth. Find more helpful tips in our article "How to Clean all Types of Blinds." And don't forget about the shower curtain or top of the shower frame.
Cleaning curtains tracks, rods, or rails provides you with the perfect opportunity to have curtains cleaned, particularly shower curtains.
CLEANING TIP
I love horizontal blinds and have plenty installed in my home but I do not love cleaning them, until now. There are plenty of sites and social media sources that show you how easy it is to clean blinds but it is not. Cleaning them while hung makes it so easy to damage the slats and you can spend hours trying to clean off grime and dust. The best solution ever is to pull up the blinds, remove them from the bracket and soak them in your bath with a scoop of washing powder. Rinse clean. Hold the blinds up to let excess water drain and then re-hang. Have hubby or a partner help you to remove and carry the blinds.
3. Walls, tiles and floors
If the bathroom is tiled from ceiling to floor, there is a likely chance that the top third of the wall hasn't been cleaned for a while. We all tend to clean what we can reach easily and forget everything else and that's why having a stepladder close is handy as it allows you to clean these areas. Wipe down tiles with a mixture of water and lemon juice that can also be used to brighten the grout. An old toothbrush comes in handy for all the corners, nooks, and crannies.
You may also come across areas that require even more cleaning if there are signs of mould lower down the walls. This is often true in showers where mould has started to thrive in corners or doors and is hard to get to. Or it could even be lime scale or hard water stains on shower cubicle frames or doors. This article explains why white spirit vinegar is better than household bleach against mould, "Use Vinegar Not Bleach To Kill Mould."
Did you know that household bleach does not kill off mould spores? You should be using white spirit vinegar!
4. Fixtures, fittings and sanitary ware
The last things to concentrate on are all the fittings and fixtures lower down. Give extra attention to your shower cubicle as this is an area where lime scale and hard water deposits can build up. You will find our article "How to Clean Bathroom Fixtures for Spotless Surfaces" helpful for cleaning bathroom surfaces and find many more helpful and practical tips in the Bathroom Section. Click here for advice on removing lime scale and hard water deposits in the bathroom
Anyone who works full-time and doesn't have a daily cleaning service will find this advice useful when tackling a 6-monthly deep clean, or can add this to their spring cleaning schedule.