Here’s a list of basic supplies you should have on hand for cleaning a bathroom.
- All-purpose cleaner: something powerful to cut through soap scum, mildew and other buildup.
- Stain remover: preferably with muriatic acid.
- Scrubbing brushes: small for grout lines, big for the toilet bowl, and extendable for the shower and bath. Don’t mix them up!
- Glass cleaner for the mirror and bath door, if you have one.
- Disinfecting wipes and/or spray to remove all those nasty germs.
- Rubber gloves to protect your hands from strong chemicals.
- Cloths and towels for wiping down the various surfaces.
The bathroom is one of the most important rooms in your house. It’s also one of the hardest to keep clean! The many nooks and crannies from grout, tight spacing behind plumbing, and high-touch surfaces make a clean bathroom a struggle to maintain.
Cleaning a bathroom gets a lot easier when you have the right supplies, and Sani-Chem can help!
Sanitation vs. Disinfection
Because of their intended function and the high amounts of moisture, bathrooms are easy harbors for germs. They’re your number one target for cleaning, and the only way to truly get rid of these germs is to use a disinfectant.
Though they’re often used interchangeably, sanitizing and disinfecting are very different things. Both involve removing germs in some way; the difference is the degree to which germs are removed.
- Sanitizing removes germs in any way, either by killing them or mechanically removing them, to reduce the total number of germs on a surface to a safe level.
- Disinfecting uses chemicals to actively kill germs on a surface.
In a bathroom, it’s not enough to merely sanitize a surface. You need a chemical that disinfects to kill all those germs in your toilet and sink, and to remove bacteria from high touch surfaces like knobs and handles.
There are chemicals available that both clean and disinfect, but if you don’t have access to one, you should always remove surface dirt and grime first. Which brings us to…
Surface Cleaning
Most bathroom surfaces – porcelain, quartz, metal – can be thoroughly cleaned with any all-purpose cleaner. There are a few exceptions.
Soap scum, especially in grout lines or on complex surfaces, can be very stubborn. You need an acid-based disinfectant, such as Foamy Q&A, to get rid of it. Toilets can also benefit from a muriatic acid-based cleaner. Because of the corrosive nature of these acids, make sure the surfaces are thoroughly rinsed before people use them again.
High Touch Surfaces
Something a lot of people overlook is disinfecting high-touch surfaces. Knobs, handles, and similar objects are magnets for germs because they’re manipulated by hands…hands that sometimes aren’t washed properly before using them. Always disinfect these surfaces during your regular bathroom cleanings.