Easy Steps for Cleaning a Toilet
How to Clean a Toilet
It is safe to assume that cleaning your toilet is not your favorite household chore. No one loves cleaning a toilet, but if you do it on a regular basis and in the right way, it can feel less overwhelming and become a lot easier. Let’s look at how to clean a toilet.
Toilet Cleaning Supplies
Separate your toilet cleaning supplies from your other cleaning supplies by keeping them in a bucket.
- Waterproof cleaning gloves
- A stiff bristle toilet brush
- A pumice stone on a stick
- All-purpose disinfectant spray
- A toilet bowl cleaner
- Paper towels
Step One: Spray the Exterior
Cleaning your toilet can be quite a messy job, so you should remove any items on the tank lid and around the toilet. You do not want items on top of the tank to fall into the toilet or toilet water to splash on other items.
Take your disinfecting spray and liberally spray all over the exterior of the toilet. Spray the tank, tank edges and the handle. Pay particular attention to the seat. Lift the lid and spray all over, including on the hinges. The toilet seat is one of the most used seats in your home and you need to make sure viruses and bacteria that could be lurking do not spread.
Make sure you spray on all the hard to reach areas, such as the back of the base. Also, spray the wall behind the toilet and the floor around it. A microbiologist from the University of Arizona found that microbes are ejected and float around in the air after each flush, settling on the floor and walls around the toilet.
After you have sprayed, it is important to let the cleaner sit for about five minutes. If you wipe it away immediately, it does not really have time to work. While you are waiting, you can make a start on the interior.
Step Two: Tackle the Interior
You can use a commercial toilet bowl cleaner containing oxygen bleach or hydrogen peroxide, but it is also easy to make your own.
Make up a batch using a cup of table salt, a cup of oxygen bleach and a cup of baking soda. The salt is an abrasive, the oxygen bleach disinfects and cleans, and the baking soda removes build-up. Pouring a cup of distilled white vinegar and a cup of baking powder directly into the bowl is another option that also works effectively.
Flush the toilet with the lid down and then add your choice of cleaner to the bowl. Try to apply it as close to the rim of the toilet as possible, so it does not get diluted by the water in the bowl.
Some experts suggest draining the water before applying the cleaner so that it does not become diluted. If you get the water out of the toilet, you can use a milder cleaner with good results.
While you are waiting for the cleaner to work, you can turn your attention back to the exterior.
Step Three: Wipe the Exterior
Wiping down a toilet is one chore where paper towels are ideal. You do not need to use a wet cloth if you use a disinfectant spray.
Start wiping the disinfectant off every surface, working from top to bottom. Wipe down the tank, handle, lid, seat and hinges. Make sure the sitting surface is free of all traces of spray. Wipe the entire outside of the bowl, beginning with the sides and the front before cleaning the bottom part where it meets the floor.
Remember to wipe where you sprayed the wall and floor as well and toss the paper towels in the trash when you are finished.
Step Four: Scrub the Interior
Use your stiff bristled toilet brush to scrub the interior of the toilet. Begin at the top and scrub under the rim first. Once you have scrubbed all the grime away from under the rim, scrub the bowl and finally the drain hole at the bottom.
If you notice brown or reddish rust in the bowl, the culprit is probably minerals in your water. A swipe or two with a pumice stone on a stick can deal with this.
Vinegar, baking soda and borax all do a great job of dealing with stains and using them regularly will prevent stains from building up.
Step Five: Sanitize Your Tools
Clean the toilet brush carefully before you put it back in its canister. Prop it under the seat cover and run some cleaning solution over the bristles and into the bowl. Clean the canister with warm, soapy water.
Before you take off your gloves, go to the sink and give them a good scrub with soap and hot water. This will clean the gloves and prevent your hands from getting dirty. Remove the gloves and hang them up to dry.
Happy Cleaning
Consistent cleaning is the best way to maintain a stain free toilet. The more frequently you clean, the less buildup will occur and this will shorten the cleaning time. That chore you dread will not be so difficult anymore and anyone who sits on your toilet will appreciate the effort you put into cleaning it thoroughly.
