I realised cleaning the toilet is something if not done regularly can turn into a nightmare job. The Indian Toilet needs a lot of attention as we love under different climatic conditions.
How often should you clean the Toilet? This is a much debated question. In my house we clean the toilet daily. We have certain cleaning jobs such as scrubbing around the toilet base and ubend which is performed weekly. Monthly cleaning is reserved for all deep cleaning jobs.
If you dread cleaning the toilet, here is a simple tip, just maintain it daily. Avoiding this task can really make your life so difficult.
Toilet Cleaning Procedure
Create a routine for toiletcleaning. This is the easiest way to get things done. Once we clear off our mind of all the non essentials and knowexactly what we must do, the brain kind of just gets towork on it.
Here are my steps which you can copy
- Clear off any clutter which is lying in the bathroom
- Spray surfaces with Cleaner
- Scrub the Surfaces
- Wipe down surfaces
- Remove Odour
- Remove Trash
How do I get rid of Toilet Bowl Ring
In our locality especially towards the summer
These are few ways which I managed to clean up the rings and have them look sparkling white. It did take a little effort but it was worth it.
How to Remove and Prevent Pink Mold
Aureobasidium or pink mold forms in humid environments. Pink mold can cause inflammation, respiratory problems, bleeding and infection in lungs and rashes. Children, elderly people and pets seems to get affected more from the spores of these molds.
You can see the molds in the toilet, in the grout, on tiles.
To eliminate the mold apply bleach based cleanser and leave it for some time ( as per instructions on the can). This will kill the spores.
To prevent new
Wipe down the soap and scum after every shower. These are what pink
How to make Bathroom Smell Nice
To make your bathrooms and toilets smell nice an keep them that way, follow my 2 step process.
Eliminate existing smells – In step 1,just go through the bathroom and remove all things which are producing nasty smells. The main culprit is the dustbin and also some products which must have expired.
Food plates with stuck on food are also common culprits, so remove all these from the bathroom. Take all plates and cups and glasses to the kitchen and leave them there to be handled later.
Use Air
To add some fragrance while eliminating odour from the toilet,mix in 5 to 10 drops of essential oils in the baking soda. I like to mix in lavender essential oil, rose essential oil and lemon essential oil.
You can alternatively use commercial deodoizes available in the market but I tend to stay away from chemicals.
Another option is to leave activated carbon in a dry part of the bathroom.
How to Remove Black Rings in Toilet Bowl
Black Rings can be mineral deposits where the water is reacting to urine and leaving scales. It could also be mold which is breeding under the toilet rim. This mold is very dangerous for our health and can cause respiratory problems, skin rash and other health issues.
The mold seems to thrive in hot humid climates, such as the one in the state where I live in India. When I visit my parents house in southern India I always marvel at how spotless and white the toilet bowls are.
The high heats and lack of humidity in the air naturally clean and kill all kinds of molds. The windows are always allowing air circulation and direct sunlight enters the toilet and falls on the toilet bowl.
This is actually enough to sanitise the toilets. The only issue they have is mineral deposits due to hard water. It was resolved in two ways.
Inititally, we added vinegar to the toilet bowl to keep it clean. This removed the minreal deposits and the toilet bowls actually sparkled.
The permanent relief came when the water was softened by natural means. The water was very hard and was causing the mineral deposits.
We dug a small trench within the grounds of the building to capture all water such as rain water,water from washing the houses (except sewage water). These trenches improved the ground water and actually reduced the salt and mineral deposits.
If you live in India approach your local panchayat for guidance. They provide assistance including money to dig the trench.
In the place I live now, we have a lot of humidity so to handle the black mold I take a lot of precautions.
My rental house had black mold and that was because of
- excess humidity
- poor air circulation
- water accumulation because the flooring was uneven
- Dripping faucets and toilet bowl
- no direct sunlight
The only solution I had was to apply bathroom acids and bleaches to the affected areas. Read the instructions on the bottles and make sure the windows are open. Also ensure pets and kids do not have access to the toilet atleast for 24 hours.
Basically I washed the bathroom with acid. I also applied bleach another day in the toilet bowl and the floor, left it for a few hours and washed it off thoroughly.
Tips
- Ventilation is a must. The fumes are terrible, even though I took precautions I ended up with rashes on my skin and breathing difficulty. If you have eczema like me, be extra careful.
- Rinse out the product thoroughly.
- Dry out the area and keep it dry henceforth
- Install an exhaust fan to prevent this from happening again
- Keep bathroom aerated. I always left the doors open. This was a must because we had little to no air circulation
Best Homemade Bathroom Cleaner
After having many side effects from commercial cleaners I found some homemade natural cleaners which are more effective and useful.
Baking Soda and Vinegar
Sprinkle baking soda, wait 1 hour then spray vinegar. Apply some baking soda on the Toilet brush and scrub under the rim and inside the toilet bowl.
This is highly effective, it deodorizes the toilet, kills all germs and keeps the air smelling fresh
Vinegar
Spray vinegar on bathroom tiles and the commode or toilet bowl. Spray vinegar in and around the toilet bowl. Vinegar removes mineral deposits, kills germs, kills molds and disinfects.
Be careful about using vinegar near metal faucets, they can corrode or rust.
Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda
I love using hydrogen peroxide. Sometimes I also use rubbing alcohol. These sanitize and clean very well. When you apply hydrogen peroxide to any surface you can literally see the dirt being pulled up.
When it was particularly dirty I had made a paste of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda and applied it on the grout and on the toilet seat
Leave it for
Dish washing Liquid Plus Vinegar
If you are lazy you will just love this diy cleaner. Boil some water and vinegar ( 50:50). Add a few drops of dishwashing liquid.
Now apply this to the tiles, toilet bowl, the toilet seat,toilet tank, the base of the commode. I used to spray it ( it is easy to spray), but now since the spray is not working I just pour it on or apply with a scrub.
Leave it for 1 hour and just rinse off. I scrub a bit and rinse off. The grime just comes off. This solution is also useful on grout and I have used it and love the result.
Monthly Toilet Cleaning Checklist
Every month perform all the deep cleaning tasks. These tasks are those which take a lot of time. Identify all tasks which you know need to be done but you have pushed aside just because you have no time or are not really interested in.
I would make a list of these tasks and ensure these are taken care of once a month.
My monthly cleaning checklist includes
- Deep cleaning the Toilet bowl – Use natural cleaners and really scrub the toilet bowl
- Deep clean the toilet tank – Add vinegar and clean out
- Bacteria – I use good bacteria to clean out the toilet bowl. You can check the Recommended Cleaning Products for the product I use. I mix it with water and add it to the drains and toilet bowl. You must leave it for 6 hours, so do this at night. This is an eco-friendly product and will not corrode your metal drain pipes.
- Scrub the commode – I use a toothbrush and clean the sides of the commode, the connection to the floor and get to all corners.
- Tiles – I clean the floor tiles and grout using the natural cleaner products I mentioned above. This keeps them sparkling clean and kills all bacteria.
Related Questions
Are you supposed to clean your Toilet Tank?
Yes we are supposed to clean the toilet tank. After it stores all the water and might be harbouring a lotof germs. Especially in the Indian climate you are dealing with heat,humidity and dust. This is the perfect mix for growing germs.
Just empty the tank, cover any metal parts in te tank with tape. Tape off the toilet metal handle and faucets. Anything metal needs to be covered.
Pour in white vinegar and let it sit for a few hours ( a minimum of one hour). Give a quick scrub inside to remove any grime, and lime buildup.
Vinegar does a very good job of removing all kinds of stuff and killing bacteria. Now
After all vinegar is an acid and can rust the metal parts. Do this process as often as required. Once a month should be enough. In my house I do this once in a couple of months.
How to keep the Bathroom Floor Clean?
Cleaning the bathroom floor is very easy if you do it regularly. I am speaking from experience. I would leave the bathroom floor for cleaning it later when I had time.
I never seemed to have time. Who will make time for a task which is not so exciting? There are better things to do like binge-watching YouTube videos.
Here is my cheatsheet for keeping my bathroom floor neat and tricking the guests to think I am a neat freak 🙂
Pick up after yourself – Do not leave anything on the floor. I force myself to pick up after myself. No papers, no hair which falls from combing, nothing is left on the bathroom floor. Just this one task keeps the bathroom looking so well maintained.
Declutter – Remove all stuff from the floor. We have big bathrooms in my house. Not one but three of them. Since they are almost like mini rooms, they tend to accumulate stuff.
The last time I had the urge to take my life back in order, I just decluttered like crazy. I just kept the bare essentials on the floor ( the dustbin and a bucket and mug). This one step will make your toilet look cleaner, organised. It also eliminates all spaces where dust can hide.
Since we wash our floors of the bathroom, water tends to be stuck under the buckets and objects lying in the bathroom. This attracts dirt, insects and germs. I ensure that the buckets are always dry and have elevated them on stools.
Mop Daily – I mop the master bathroom daily. The other two I try to ensure that they are spot cleaned and that the floor remains dry. Damp and wet floors attract dirt which sticks and once dirt dries in it is hard to clean.
So always keep a mop handy and use it dry the bathroom floors.
Also maintain a bathroom floor cleaning schedule. Clean the bathroom floor tiles and get to the grout, just cleaning them will make our bathroom look spotless.
