We all have bathrooms and shower rooms in our homes. All of these generally get used a considerable amount during the course of a single day especially if there are children in the household. Consequently they can become very quickly devastated areas. Clearing up and cleaning them is often one chore that we hate but it should still be done on a daily basis. Deep cleaning the shower or bathroom should be an activity that we undertake at least once in each and every month. If the bathroom is used heavily in for example a household containing a number of young adults then this deep cleaning should be carried out more frequently.
If the deep cleaning is performed on a regular monthly basis then the easier it is to prevent the build up of the dirt, limescale and mould that bathrooms tend to suffer from. Also the easier and quicker the process of cleaning becomes until it becomes incorporated into normal practice. If you can keep on top of these problems by this regular deep cleaning routine then you will consistently have a clean shiny bathroom that welcomes visitors rather than be in the situation where you hate the arrival of an unexpected visitor who would like to make use of your facilities!
We all have a routine we follow when it comes to the daily cleaning of the bathroom and normally just consists of the sink, bath or shower and toilet. This of course suffices for the daily or regular cleaning which you want to get over as quickly as possible. In the following paragraphs are some useful tips on how to go about achieving successful results as quickly and easily as possible in the deep cleaning process.
Many of us live in locations where our water supply consists of very hard water. Hard water produces two problems. One is that more soap has to be used to produce the lather which then generates more scum deposits and the second is the problem of limescale. The calcium carbonate will quickly settle out of the water wherever it becomes stationary even for a second or two consequently it is found covering shower screens, the bases of taps, the ends of the taps and shower heads, streaking the wall tiles and quickly building up as a ring in the toilet bowl at the interface of the water and air. All of this build up makes your bathroom look uncared for and slightly dirty. To remove it you require an acid based cleaner. The general bathroom and shower cleaners will not shift it. You require a dedicated limescale remover product of which there are some on the market for the consumer. Do not use a multi-purpose cleaner which also happens to remove limescale it will take much longer and require more effort on your part to get it off. Purchase one where that is its sole function as cleaning will be much easier and quicker.
All ceramic sanitary fittings, tiled surfaces and glass should be de-scaled; baths, shower screens, basins, and toilets, paying particular attention to areas where lime scale builds up, such as where water drips from a tap to the plughole and shower heads. The acid solution will also cut through greasy body fat deposits and soap-scum and will save you the cost of any other products. When de-scaling the toilet bowl it is a good idea to empty the water first and this can be done in most toilet units by using the toilet brush in a pushing motion toward the u-bend. Be particularly careful when using acid de-scaling products with metallic elements such as taps as modern chrome fittings as quite often only chrome plated and acid can strip plating and can corrode other metal surfaces. You should also avoid these products with cast-iron units as they can dull enamel.
The majority of bathrooms eventually succumb to the problem of dirty and discoloured grout lines. Whenever we wipe the tiles we leave tiny dirt deposits within these grooves and over time this will become visible. No matter how hard you scrub at these you cannot get them clean. The only sure way of getting rid of the dirt is to remove and replace the grout which is time consuming and expensive. The alternative is to cover it up or disguise it. There are specialised paint pens for colouring grout now available on the market but again this is a laborious and tedious process. A much faster and easier method is to bleach the dirt. Using undiluted bleach and a toothbrush rub in copious amounts of the bleach into the grout lines. As long as the tiles are ceramic you do not need to be too careful as to where the bleach actually goes so long as it is not over yourself. Consequently wear protective gloves and goggles to afford you adequate protection from accidental splashes. Leave this in place for several minutes so that it can bleach the dirt and then wash off using plenty of water. You should now have lovely white grout once again.
A major problem that many bathrooms have, especially those which suffer from excessive condensation is the growth of mould or mildew along the grout lines and sealant areas. Supermarkets sell a variety of products which will do the job quite effectively and if you choose this method then simply follow the instructions on the bottle. However if you wish to save some money then you can very easily make up your own mixture. All you need is a clean and empty spray bottle and some bleach. Mix the bleach with water in the ratio of three parts hot water to one part bleach. This is then sprayed onto the affected areas until they are thoroughly soaked and then go and have a cup of coffee whilst it does its work. After about 20 minutes wash off with plenty of water and dry the area using clean dry cloths. Some stubborn areas may require you to agitate your mixture. Again you can use the old toothbrush to do this but do be careful of splashes so protect yourself appropriately.
For those of us who do not have a separate shower unit but have the shower over the bath then invariably we have some sort of shower curtain. More often than not this is of a plastic material which will over time discolour and maybe subject to some mildew growth also. To remedy these problems you can simply spray the curtain thoroughly soaking it with your bleach mixture and leaving it before rinsing it off using the shower unit. Alternatively put some water and bleach into the bath and immerse the shower curtain in this. This is a more effective method if the curtain is in need of more serious attention. 30 minutes soaking should be long enough to restore it to like new. Don’t forget to thoroughly rinse the curtain before rehanging.
Under no circumstances use anything abrasive in your bathroom as these can cause scratching to anything made of glass, acrylics, plastic or metal. Also carry out none of these techniques if your bathroom contains marble, limestone or granite. If your bathroom contains any natural stone then you will need to bring in the specialists.
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