Imagine a bathroom in an elite office building with a long line of sparkling clean sinks. How do they look like that every day?
How a professional cleans
The building cleaning crew does not wait until Friday night to scrub and scrape a week’s worth of accumulated gunk. Unfortunately, that’s the way most people approach their cleaning.
The professional approach to cleaning bathrooms is to give them a quick wipe down each day. It only takes a couple of minutes and your bathroom will always be sparkling clean. You also won’t need to use harsh chemical abrasives which can wear away at the finish and cause damage.
Cleaning tools for the job
Each bathroom should have its own spray glass cleaner, spray bottle of all-purpose cleaner, terry fabric cleaning cloths (old towels cut into squares are the best cleaning cloths you will find), and a toilet brush. Straight vinegar works wonderfully as a spray cleaner for the entire bathroom eliminating the need for two spray cleaners.
Daily maintenance
Here’s the daily wipe-down technique: Clear the counters. Spray the chrome, countertops, sink, tub, and toilet. Fold the terry cleaning cloth twice so it’s in four sections. Dampen it and go back over wiping everything. Start with the chrome, counter, and then the sink. Next, wipe the inside of the tub and ledge. To clean the toilet, start with the handle and then do the tank, lid, seat, rim, and outside of the toilet bowl. Give the toilet a swoosh with the brush. It’s done in about two minutes and the bathroom sparkles.
Have cleaning tools ready
By having the spray bottle, cloth, and rubber gloves under the sink, you can easily fit this two-minute job into your day. Depending on how often you’re home, you may only need to do the wipe down every second day. But don’t leave it too long or you’ll be back to scrubbing accumulated gunk again!
Daily shower maintenance
After taking a shower, use a hand towel to wipe the walls and tub. This takes about a minute, gives you a good stretch, and helps to eliminate future scum-scrubbing. Once a week, shake out the mats, vacuum, spray and wipe the floor. You could also spray and wipe the ceiling with the all-purpose cleaner.
Prevent mildew
Be sure your bathroom has good ventilation to prevent mildew. The best way to get rid of mildew is prevention by keeping your bathroom clean and aired out. If mildew does start, use a little bleach to wipe it away.
In the kitchen
Daily maintenance of the kitchen should be part of your routine. Keep a spray bottle of all-purpose cleaner mixed with water, a bottle of glass cleaner, and some terry cleaning cloths under the sink. Or one spray bottle of straight vinegar will clean just about anything in the kitchen.
Keep the kitchen counters clutter-free. Put every item where it belongs so you can clean faster.
Here’s the daily wipe-down technique: At the end of the day, spray the chrome, sink, countertop, cupboard doors, and stovetop. Go back over with your damp terry cloth. (You can see why less clutter makes for a faster job). Sweep the floor daily and wipe any dirty spots right away.
A couple of minutes’ attention each day in these two rooms will save heavy scraping and scrubbing of grease and dirt later. The added bonus is you’ll always have a sparkling clean bathroom and kitchen.
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