The tips to follow to have a flawless bathroom and reduce cleaning times

The bathroom is the room in the house that is perhaps most pleasing to always have in perfect condition: we can tolerate some dirt in other rooms, but it is really annoying to enter a dirty and smelly bathroom. To always have it in excellent condition, it is necessary to establish a rather regular cleaning routine, taking care of the fastest ones daily and periodically for the more thorough ones.

Then there are a series of precautions that every day can help us keep everything in order, so that when it comes to cleaning we will have less effort and we will hurry more. Therefore, a series of indications can be useful to program the ideal routine according to our needs, in order to make cleaning sessions faster and more efficient, also organising the spaces to avoid unnecessary clutter.

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Once a week, perhaps in a single session or, if it is more convenient, by dividing the activities over several days, it is necessary to:

• Thoroughly clean the sink (tub and shelf around the tap), shower or bathtub, mirror and toilet with the appropriate tools and soaps. For each of these you can use specific products purchased or even prepared at home with common ingredients, which we indicate below.
• Vacuum the ground or sweep
• Empty the rubbish bin (which should always have the lid closed): if it seems to you that the bag is too little full, try to use smaller ones later, so as to avoid waste. Rubbish should never be left for too long in any room of the house.
• Wash the mats: always beat them very well before putting them in the washing machine. You can also help us by sprinkling them with baking soda, leaving it on for a few minutes and then vacuuming when you do your daily cleaning.

Once a month, however, you should remember to:

• Wash the lights and lamps. Again, you can use specific detergents or even just water and Marseille soap or yellow soap, with a microfiber cloth.
• Wash the walls, including baseboards and doors. The methods will differ depending on the material they are coated with, but in any case we must not forget that washing and disinfecting them is an important hygiene measure.
• Clean tracks, roll holders and all other accessories
• Wash the shower / bath curtain or thoroughly clean the shower cubicle. In the case of the tent, take a spray bottle and fill it with 500ml of bleach and two tablespoons of dish soap. Spray the mixture all over the curtain, let it act for a few minutes and then rinse thoroughly. For the shower box, on the other hand, you have several options, which we propose in more detail below.

Then there are those surfaces that are often used, such as handles, taps, knobs, switches and the toilet that should be sanitized as often as possible. If you can, therefore, take care of it during the weekly cleaning. Another precaution that avoids unpleasant surprises is to always use filters for the drain, both in the sink, in the shower or in the tub, cleaning them after each use, so as to prevent the accumulation of dirt in the pipes. And when it seems to you that they emit slightly unpleasant odors, pour a little baking soda on the filter, then let it go down the drain with some white vinegar. Let it act for a while and then pour in the water that you have boiled, but if you don't have time, also very hot water from the tap.

To help you keep everything in order and clean faster, gather all the products used most often in baskets or containers: when you have to wash the shelf, you just have to lift them as a group without having to move one bottle at a time.

Still, it is good to keep a large supply of towels always ready and dry, to avoid having them dirty and damp for too long. And if you have the habit of throwing clothes on the floor when you shower, it is better to find space for a basket in which to arrange them.

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Sink

There are parts of the sink that are difficult to reach to be cleaned properly with a sponge or cloth. Someone has found a brilliant solution to this problem: dental floss, which manages to scrape off accumulations of dirt in places where sometimes not even an old toothbrush helps.

If the taps are made of shiny metal, it is easy for the water droplets to leave obvious traces of limescale: to remove them, just rub half a lemon on the surface, and then rinse and dry perfectly. They will shine like new!

WC

When you don't want to spend too much time bent down to scrape dirt off the toilet, use denture pads: just throw one in the cup, letting it work to remove streaks and rust stains. If, on the other hand, you really have to take care of removing dirt from hard-to-reach places, you can help yourself with a screwdriver. You just have to take the table and seat apart, and cover the screwdriver head with a disinfectant wipe.

As for the alternative products that you can use to wash the toilet, in addition to solutions of water and Marseille soap, or water and vinegar with baking soda, or even bleach, there is also another remedy: toothpaste. In fact, you will have to fill a bottle with water, pour a little toothpaste, then close and shake well and pour everything into the toilet, taking care to start from the internal rhyme. Leave for 10 minutes and then scrub with the brush. After rinsing everything, the toilet will be shiny again! A similar result is possible using - in the same way - some mouthwash.

Shower and bathtub

As well as for cleaning the window panes, you can also use white vinegar (wine, apple or alcohol) for the walls of the shower cubicle. Heat some in the microwave, pour it into a spray bottle and spray it while it is still hot. If you don't like the smell, you can also add a little dish soap. It will be an excellent mixture for degreasing and removing dirt.

Also, when you wash these glasses or the bathroom mirror, help yourself with a squeegee to complete the cleaning avoiding droplets and dripping of water or soap. If you move it by making curves, a bit like snakes move, you will also avoid the streaks that are more evident with linear movements. It is also helpful to keep it ready to use right after taking a shower.

To wash the bathtub you can prepare a do-it-yourself product: in a spray bottle pour 3 glasses of water, 1 of denatured alcohol, half of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of baking soda, shake well and spray the product all over the surface. to clean; let it act for at least 15 minutes and then scrub with a sponge. Finally, rinse thoroughly.

Mirror

A curious method to make the mirror shine again that remains stained by limestone halos due to the water droplets that have dried on it, or to the splashes of toothpaste or water and soap, involves the use of tea.

Prepare a large amount of green tea (with two sachets), let it cool and then use it to wash the glass: the tannic acid present in the tea is useful for dissolving dirt, eliminating halos from the glass and making it look like new again.

Alternatively, you can prepare a product based on hydrogen peroxide and sodium bicarbonate: just mix them well and pass them on the surface to be treated like any other detergent. In an emergency, you can try using shaving cream as an alternative!

Mould

The bathroom is a very humid place, where mold stains easily form. To avoid them, in addition to cleaning with disinfectant agents (vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and bleach help a lot), it is necessary to ventilate it as much as possible. When you cannot keep a window after taking a shower, you should at least activate - perhaps during the shower - the ventilation system of the room.

When you see mold on the tiles, around the tub or shower, you can get rid of it in three ways:

• With bleach: just soak a little cotton (better if not in discs) in the bleach and leave it overnight on the points affected by mold, then remove everything. Remember to wear gloves, ventilate the room well and in case also wear a mask.
• With vinegar: this method may take a little longer to work, but it is more natural. Just spray it with a spray bottle on the surface to be treated, let it act for half an hour and then rub it with a brush or toothbrush. Spray again and rinse after another 30 minutes.
• If you want to create a paste to adhere on the areas with mold, create it with baking soda and water with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar. Leave on for 10 minutes, scrub with a brush and then rinse.

If, on the other hand, the mould stains affect painted walls or walls covered with wallpaper, try this remedy:

• Mix two tablespoons of borax with 60ml of white vinegar and 460ml of hot water in a bowl
• Pour into a spray bottle and sprinkle generously on the walls
• Rub vigorously with a cloth, then remove with another just wet one
• Spray the mixture again and this time wait 10 minutes before drying with a clean cloth.

Limescale

Both the faucet mouth and the shower head are often blocked, and we realize this because the water jet does not come out as uniformly as it should. What obstructs these objects generally are limestone packs, much more frequent when the water circulating in the pipes of the house is hard, but which sooner or later actually comes to form in any bathroom. To eliminate them there is a famous and very effective do-it-yourself remedy which consists in the use of vinegar.

In fact, you need to get an old rag, a basin, some vinegar, a plastic bag, and a lace or an elastic band. Fill the basin with a finger of vinegar, immerse the rag and wrap it around the shower head, or around the mouth of the tap. If there is any vinegar left in the bowl, pour it back over the fabric so that it is fully engaged. At this point, cover the shower head or the faucet mouth with the plastic bag, and knot it so that a closed environment is created around the point affected by the limestone. Leave the vinegar to act overnight as well, and you will see that the next morning what has not dissolved will still be easy to remove.

Good job!