Let’s admit it: cleaning washrooms is not an easy task. Though the other parts of home cleaning can be easily tackled with brooms and mops, your faucets, wall tiles and other bathroom fittings require special attention from time to time to look clean and sparkling.
A common complaint among the majority of the homeowners is that despite all the struggle of rubbing and scrubbing, washroom floor and fittings tend to pale out quickly. Sometimes permanent water marks also develop which look ugly and embarrassing.
To solve your problems and make bathroom cleaning easier, here are some tried and tested powerful DIY cleaning tips that can bring back the lost shine to your metals. So grab your rubber gloves as we get the list rolling:
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Unlock The Power Of Vinegar
Did you know that the bottle of vinegar sitting in your pantry could be a powerful agent to shine in your washroom? Yes, vinegar is found to be extremely useful for shining tiles as it can easily cut through even a thick layer of grime. Depending on the size of your bathroom, pour undiluted vinegar in a microwave-safe utensil. Heat it for a few minutes and empty into a spray bottle.If you feel bothered by the strong smell of vinegar, you could add a few drops of a fragrant dish wash in the spray. Now shake up the mixture and sprinkle it evenly over your tiles. Give it a five to ten minutes resting time before you start scrubbing. The results are sure to startle you as even the cleaning agents that you buy from the market often do not yield such a good result.
Pro tip: Though you do not have to use vinegar of any specific brand, unflavored vinegar is best for the task.
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Grab The Dry Tissue Sheets
Dry tissues can not just effectively fix your makeup, they can fix your bathroom too, especially when it comes to riding the floor and tub of stubborn soap scums. Hardened soap scums are often very difficult to remove with water jets. Even if you scrub them with your sponge, a part of the scum tends to be left behind.So instead of your usual sponge, grab a dry tissue sheet for the DIY cleaning task. Wet it with only a few drops of water and rub it gently over your stains. The marks will be gone within no time, and you will be left with a sparkling tub.
Pro tip: Fold two sheets of your dryer tissue together to form a pad. You do not have to waste your energy in scrubbing vigorously as the marks will easily come off even with gentle scrubs.
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Squeeze Lemons Over Your Watermarks
When it comes to the places such as sinks and basins that have to constantly handle running water, the water marks are inevitable after a point of time. However, you do not need to buy costly cleaners to deal with such marks as you can easily find an effective solution for this in your own kitchen.The saviour is lemons. Lemons are rich in citric acid, making them an excellent agent against water marks. Cut the lemon into two halves and sprinkle a pinch of baking powder over each half. You do not need to extract the lemon juice for the task as the skin of the lemon itself may be used as a scrub for effective results.
Pro tip: You can incorporate this lemon tip in other parts of your home cleaning as well, to deal with watermarks in your kitchen sink and bar.
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Use Floss And Toothbrush To Reach The Corners
From maintaining your oral hygiene to your bathroom, floss and toothbrushes can serve a number of purposes. Sometimes the nooks and corners are difficult to be reached with the usual brushes and scrubs for bathroom cleaning as they are quite big.So, for those inaccessible nooks and crannies, let a toothbrush do the task for you. Dab the toothbrush with your cleaning gel and wet it with a few drops of water. Brush the nook like you brush out plaque from your teeth. The flexible bristles can reach out to any corner and remove the dirt effectively. For yet smaller portions which cannot be reached out with your toothbrush, use the dental floss for effective cleaning.
Pro tip: For cleaning out dry dust from inaccessible corners, use a dry toothbrush in place of a wet one.
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Get The Tea Brewing
No, we are not asking you to take a break from the bathroom cleaning to sip your tea. Rather your tea can be used effectively to make your DIY washroom cleaning much easier. Make a strong cup of black tea and drain out into an empty spray bottle. Let the tea cool down and then spray it over your washroom mirror. Rub off the tea with a clean wet tissue or a piece of cotton cloth and your mirror will look shinier than ever.Pro tip: You can use the black tea for DIY home cleaning of mirrors and shiny glass surfaces in other parts of the house as well.
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Let The Dishwasher Handle Your Toothbrush Holder
If you are a lover of fancy toothbrush holders and soap cases, it is likely that you have to spend a great deal of energy and time cleaning them. But why clean them with your hands when you have a dishwasher at home.Since the quality toothbrush holders and soap cases are usually made of glass, they can be easily tackled by your dishwasher. What is more, you can restore their shine with zero hard work or time waste.
Pro tip: Rinse the cups and cases with water and throw in with your usual kitchen load, to save water and electricity.
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Dab The Nail Paint
At times medicine cabinets and other fittings may have exposed iron hinges and the like, which though not in direct contact with water, tend to get rusty owing to the moisture trapped in the bathroom. Dealing with rust marks is indeed difficult.So, in place of spending hours scrubbing them, taking a few minutes of precaution in advance can keep your bathroom shiny as new. All you have to do is coat the surfaces of the fittings that are likely to rust with a few coats of clear nail polish, and they are good to go. The nail polish coating seals away the moisture-laden air from finding their way to the fittings.
Pro tip: Let the first coat of polish dry before applying a fresh coat. Repeat the process to 4 coats for lasting results.
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Cleaning With Baking Soda
Most of you must be already aware of the numerous functions that baking soda can serve you. Well, it is time to discover one more for your DIY carpet cleaning. Many times, washrooms develop an odd smell even when they are clean. This is because the drain that carries away your waste water may be the source of the odor.In such a situation, baking soda can be of great help. Mix the baking soda with 25 ml of vinegar and empty it directly over the drain. Do not use the washroom immediately. After a few minutes, flush out the drain with a few mugs of water, depending on the length of the pipe. Ventilate the washroom for a few hours by opening up the window, and it will start smelling fresh as ever.
Pro tip: Make it a part of your bathroom cleaning ritual to prevent any foul odor from finding their way to your washroom.
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Use A Mild Bleach Solution
Are you afraid that bleach will fade away into your bathroom? Not always. While the use of bleach may not be recommended for all kinds of surfaces, they actually work as a great disinfectant. Further, using a mild solution of bleach is very effective to bring back the lost shine from surfaces such as marble flooring or basin tables.However, always make sure that the solution of bleach that you have prepared is mild so that it only cleans and disinfects without affecting the surface.
Pro tip: Go through the information provided in the packet of the bleach to understand its strength. Also, test it on a small part of the surface before using it everywhere.
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Let The Bathroom Dry Out
Using your bathroom right after you have cleaned, it may be tempting owing to the good smell. But you must resist it to let your hard work last. Allow your entire bathroom, including both the wet and the dry area to dry out properly. Open your windows and ventilator post washroom cleaning and let the moisture escape out. In this way, your bathroom can remain cleaner for a longer duration of time.
While bathroom cleaning may not be your favorite chore, having some easy DIY methods can reduce the pressure. Now that you have all these cleaning tips on your fingertips, use them right away. Your key to a clean and fresh washroom with limited cost and efforts.