Lots of people contact me for details about how to get on top of their cleaning, and over the course of a few posts, I am going to sum up some of the main hints and tips. The first hint is that if you spend two minutes wiping around the taps, sink and toilet every day, it will never get too revolting in a bathroom, even if there are a lot of menfolk and teenage girls in the house (I name no names here). On top of this, all you need to keep a bathroom really clean is a weekly session using some bleach and cream cleanser for the toilet, a spray water bottle and a microfibre cloth for polishing tiles, ceramics and mirrors, and occasionally some descaler if you are in a hard water area. Use separate gloves, cleaning cloths and drying towels for the toilet and sink/bath/shower, and remember to clean the area at the base of the toilet and the pedestal to the sink, as a lot of unsightly drips end up there. To clean the toilet properly you will need to get right in with a pair of rubber gloves on, and a non-scratch scouring sponge, as well as some cleansing cream, doing the top of the s-bend as well as around the rim where the water comes in. Dabbing at the thing with an old toilet brush like an effete 18th century fencing master just won’t do the job, I am afraid.
In terms of equipping the bathroom, in an ideal world every family member should have his or her own peg or rail with a bath towel, flannel and hand towel ready to hand. In real life, people tend to share these items, which makes the laundry easier, but which transmits yukky tummy bugs and threadworms amongst family members, so it’s best avoided. There should also be separate tooth mugs, regularly cleaned, and possibly even separate toothpastes to avoid arguments about who left off the lid (and so you can measure how much a reluctant tooth cleaner is actually using, mwah hah hah!). It’s all a question of space and practicality.
Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
