Get Your Bathroom Spotless by Using These Cleaners
Keep These Tips in Mind
It takes a range of different bathroom cleaners to really get things spotless. There are many products to choose from to banish dirt and grime from the different surfaces in your bathroom, including the toilet, the shower, the sink, the tub and the floor. Here are some bathroom cleaning tips to keep in mind.
Common Bathroom Cleaners
Some of the most commonly used bathroom cleaners are the finely ground pumice cleaners like Comet and Softscrub. These products work really well for sinks and tubs, but they should not be used on all the surfaces in your bathroom. Toilet bowl cleaners can be used once or twice a week, but if you don't have kids or pets in your home, you can use the continuous cleaners that hang in the tank of your toilet.
If you don't want to spend the money on toilet bowl cleaners, you can always pour a half a cup of bleach in your toilet to clean it thoroughly. The function of the toilet cleaner is to kill the germs and remove hard-water rings, and bleach does a good job of both.
There are also all-purpose bathroom cleaners that can be used on every surface but the mirrors, and they usually come in pressurized spray cans. These work great on all surfaces and they're also nonabrasive. Many of them contain germicides which kill common bathroom bacteria and germs.
Ceramic Tile Cleaning
Tub and shower walls made of ceramic tile need special cleaners that will dissolve soap and hard-water scum stains without scratching the tiles themselves. While there are many effective cleaning tools on the market formulated specifically for ceramic tile cleaning, you can also try vinegar in a spray bottle. If your home uses hard water, you might want to use undiluted vinegar. Home improvement stores also sell products that are stronger than what you can typically get in the supermarket. These solutions will cut right through the built-up deposits on your ceramic tile.
Mold and Mildew Removal
Mold and mildew can build up on all bathroom surfaces exposed to a high volume of water. Both mold and mildew can be killed by using a mixture of bleach and water. Add about a quarter cup of bleach to a cup of water in a glass jar or bottle, dampen a rag with it and apply it to the surface. Once the mold and mildew have disappeared, quickly rinse the surface. You can also buy gentler mold and mildew removal products that are not as caustic as chlorine bleach is but will still get rid of the problem. Green cleaners that use environmentally safe ingredients are also a good choice.
A Comparison of Major Bathroom Cleaner Brands
Here is an overview of what you can expect from the major bathroom cleaner brands on the market:
- Comet bathroom cleaners. In addition to liquid and powder toilet bowl cleansers, Comet manufactures mildew stain removers and general-purpose cleaners with disinfectants. The stain remover is available in a spray gel formulation, which cling to stains instead of dripping down your tiles and shower doors. The company's general purpose disinfecting bathroom cleaner can be used on a full range of surfaces, including plastic, vinyl, porcelain, stainless steel, tile, bathtubs, sinks and toilets, and doesn't use corrosive or harmful bleaches or abrasive chemicals.
- Kaboom bathroom cleaners. Kaboom has positioned itself as a company that makes powerful cleaning products. There are four major Kaboom bathroom cleaners on the market: Shower, Tub and Tile cleaner, Bowl Blaster toilet cleaner, Never Scrub! toilet tank cleaner, and Ultra Scrub for heavy-duty toilet and bathtub cleaning. You should check carefully to see which surfaces each product is formulated for use on, since their powerful cleaning solutions aren't for general-purpose use.
- Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaners. Made by SC Johnson, the Scrubbing Bubbles product line includes products formulated for tiles, tubs and showers as well as toilets and general-purpose use. As the name implies, these products tend to foam, offering gentle yet effective stain removal and disinfecting power.
- Lysol bathroom cleaners. Lysol's claim to fame is that it removes up to 99.9 percent of household germs and bacteria; you can purchase liquid general purpose cleaners for bathrooms as well as air fresheners and the company's flagship line of Ultimate Clean bathroom cleaners, including Lysol toilet bowl cleaners and Lysol tile and shower cleaners, which are excellent at removing lime stains and soap scum with an effective foaming action.
Recommended Bathroom Cleaning Products
- Best tile cleaner: Lysol Ultimate Clean
- Best toilet bowl cleaner: Kaboom Bowl Blaster
- Best general purpose bathroom cleaner: Lysol Disinfectant Ultimate Clean
