The bathroom can often be our haven from the busyness of the day. The one place where we can get mere minutes of some much-needed alone time.

But, when it becomes overrun with dirty mirrors from toothpaste splashes, rings appear in the tub and sink, and you find yourself in a hover over the toilet seat for fear of what’s on it, your haven can quickly feel like a horror movie!

Below are nine easy bathroom tricks to help you keep your bathroom a sanctuary of calm, not a space to fear.

Hack: Hardwater Removal

In Calgary, hard water builds up very quickly. When we first clean a new client’s home, this is often one of the main things we find in the bathroom that we use some extra elbow grease to remove. However, once it’s cleaned properly (and regularly), removing any hard water spots is a breeze. All that’s needed is a bit of dish soap and vinegar on a wet SOS pad to clean water stains - especially those on glass shower doors. 

Once you’ve removed the hard water stains, simply wipe down the surface with a damp microfibre cloth, then dry with a dry microfibre cloth.

Items needed:

• SOS pad

• Dish soap

• Vinegar

• Water

• Two microfibre cloths

 Hack: Sparkling Faucets and Area

It can be common to have a brown or pink ring build up around your faucet. Because this often looks daunting, many people tend to use a lot of product to remove the ring. In reality, all that’s needed is a little dish soap and possibly a blade. The blade - similar to a blade you would use on a flat-top glass stove - will not damage your faucet or counter. Rather, it removes hard water build-up in tight spaces and flat surfaces. One note of warning - be sure to use the blade on the counter only and not the faucet itself.

For the faucet, simply use a bit of dish soap and water to remove any water stains. Then, polish it up with a glass cleaning cloth for extra sparkle.

Items needed:

• Dish soap

• Small blade

• Glass cleaning cloth

 Hack: Toilet Tutorial

Like it or not, this is the most used seat in the house. At Clean Club Calgary, we recommend that this home throne should be cleaned at a minimum of once per week. The good news is you don’t need fancy cleaning products to make it shine. All you need is a toilet brush, a bucket of clean, hot water with a dollop of dish soap and a splash of bleach, and two microfibre cloths - one damp and one dry. If you prefer, we recommend you wear rubber gloves here, especially if you add bleach to your water/soap solution. For full details of a deep cleaning of your toilet, read here.

For maintenance rather than a deep clean, a simple swish of the cleaning solution with your toilet brush in the bowl (including under the lip) and a wipe down of the exterior with the damp and dry cloths will suffice.

Items needed:

• Toilet brush

• Bucket of clean, hot water

• Dish soap and bleach

• Two microfibre cloths

Hack: Bathtubs and Showers

The bathtub and shower often see a build-up of soap scum due to, well, soap and shampoo and conditioner. When there is a build-up of soap scum, we need to test if the dish soap will be enough on its own to remove it. The reason is that soap scum build-up is very greasy and oily and the best product to break it down is, funnily enough, dish soap. If it doesn’t work, then some good ol’ fashion elbow grease and an SOS pad add the little extra oomph needed to remove the scum.

Items needed:

• Dish soap

• Water

• SOS pad

 Hack: Tiles and Grout Goodness

Grout can be the bane of your existence when trying to relax in a quiet bubble bath. Seeing once-white grout with a tint of grey can turn relaxation into an all-consuming thought. To avoid this unsightly distraction while you’re trying to find your peace, we recommend using a toothbrush to scrub the grout. Before you scrub, though, pre-treat it with either dish soap or Kitchen and Bath CRL. CRL tends to require dwell time to activate it. The specific dwell time is indicated on the label of the product. Once it’s pretreated, scrub with your brush, and rinse with water.

Items needed:

• Toothbrush (unused…not your own toothbrush!)

• Dish soap

• Kitchen and Bath CLR

• Water

Hack: Light Fixtures and Vents

We can sometimes forget about our lights and vents, particularly vents that are on the ceiling. From time to time, take the light cover off and remove any dead bugs and dirt that have landed there, then simply wash the fixture with dish soap and water. Dry it with a microfibre cloth and put it back. If you want to give your light fixture a little extra shine, we recommend polishing it with one of our glass cleaning cloths.

For vents, if able, remove the vent and vacuum off any dust that became stuck in it. Once you’ve removed all dust particles (sometimes big clumps), wash with dish soap and water, dry with a microfiber cloth, and then put it back.

Items needed:

• Dish soap

• Water

• Vacuum

• Microfibre cloth

 Hack: Baseboards Below

Baseboards can collect dust and dirt, along with random bathroom splashes. Before you wipe them down, simply give them a quick vacuum to remove any dirt. If you don’t do this, then you’ll spread the dirt when wiping it “clean” with a cloth.

Once you’ve vacuumed, wipe the baseboards down with a damp cloth. If they are dirty - simply use water and dish soap to remove any spots, then dry them with a dry microfibre cloth. Note that baseboards typically only need to be cleaned once per month.

Items needed:

• Vacuum (or duster)

• Dish soap

• Water

• Two microfibre cloths

Hack: Bathroom Door and Cabinet Fronts

Much like other aspects of the bathroom, the door and cabinets tend to collect dust and grease build-up. While these don’t need to be cleaned every week, we do recommend once a month. All you need is a bit of dish soap in water on a microfibre cloth, then wipe down the door and cabinet fronts, removing any spots. Then, dry with another microfibre cloth.

Items needed:

• Dish soap

• Water

• Two microfibre cloths 

 Hack: Floors that Shine

Floors quickly become dirty from bath splashes, toilet splashes, sink splashes, all the splashes! To avoid having perpetually sticky, splashy floors, mopping the floor once a week with soap and water is your best bet. The best type of mop to use is one that you can attach a microfibre cloth to, not the type that you insert into a pail and strain the water out of the mop head.

Note that different flooring materials can require different products. Depending on your bathroom floor, you may require different materials - which can be found in this post.

Items needed:

• Bucket of clean, hot water

• Dish soap

• Mop with velcro mop head

• Microfibre cloth

Bonus Hack: Counter Space and Storage

There is nothing we love more than storage baskets under the sink. As much as having all our products out on the counter lets us know what we have, they add clutter and increase cleaning time because we have to remove all the products and then put them back when done. All you need to do is purchase a storage basket - the dollar store has excellent ones - put your items in the basket and hide the basket under the sink, pulling it out when you need it. This will help to keep your counters free of clutter.

Items needed:

• Storage basket

These quick cleaning hacks for your bathroom will help to keep your bathroom a place for you to enjoy, not fear!

If you’re looking for support in deep cleaning your bathroom so you can get started with your easy maintenance, simply connect with us for a quote to take care of the really tough scum.