(bathroom ) cleaning 101..tips.support?

[angelica]

I feel so overwhelmed with cleaning, I feel like it seriously never ends and I am so burnt out! After 6+ years as a sahm I thought I would have mastered this aspect of my "job" but nope, not even close. I am very natural and organically minded so I feel like maybe that prevents me from buying things to clean with in general.

 

I'd rather wipe down the baseboards/blinds/walls/doors with a wet cotton towel and spray down the stone counters with water/vinegar/eo. We use cloth in the kitchen 99% of the time and paper towels are only used for bathroom cleaning and bacon...

 

There are a few natural brands that I have tried but I am not happy or convinced that they are less toxic. Well...my MIL arrives tonight from out of state and my boys bathroom REEKS of pee or something! I was sick and so for the last week or 2 I have not tended to it as usual and now I am panicked because there is visible yellowness around the toilet edges and on the tile floor around it.

 

I just want to scream and though I could be in there cleaning right now but I am like frozen in fear because I simply HATE cleaning the bathroom....especially when it's overly gross. If I could have someone come and clean for me right now despite it not being a green cleaner I would be game but that is not happening on such late notice. I don't want it to smell like I just got done cleaning, but of course that will likely be inevitable.

 

Please help !!

[Arcadia]

My hubby use bleach and a rag for those kind of stains. The bleach smell is gone in less than an hour.

 

Baking soda helps too, just that bleach is faster.

 

Yellowed grout is what we have problem with but we would have to regrout anyway.

 

:grouphug:

[UCF612]

I found a recipe on pinterest for removing the "boy bathroom smell." Worked well for us. I think it was mostly vinegar and baking soda...maybe lemon. I do that periodically but use Green Works batheism cleaner for maintenance cleanings.

[sarasue7272]

My boys bathroom stunk even after cleaning. Until I removed the seat and cleaned up in the hinge area. It has a removable seat, I didn't need a screw driver or anything. I also spray all over with kidsnpets.

Also someone posted a blog that showed hydrogen peroxide cleaned almost as well as bleach.

[PeachyDoodle]

I typically use a mix of vinegar and Dawn dish soap for most all of our cleaning. My grandmother always cleaned her bathrooms with Dawn, and the vinegar is antiseptic and kills smells. It will take dried pee off, but if those are stains you're seeing on the tile, you might need something stronger.

 

But my real secret to clean bathrooms was to teach dd10 how to do it. Now it's part of her weekly chore routine. She does a MUCH better job than I ever did!

[Guest]

I stick to natural and organic materials for cleaning most of the time. I use cloth cleaning wipes for everything. In the bathroom, I just use an individual cloth for each facet of a bathroom and launder them after that use.

 

To clean around the toilet (and I hear ya on the boy's bathroom, because my boys' bathroom is SO disgusting sometimes...), I use a dilute solution of Dr. bronner's Citrus soap. I have a toothbrush tool I use to scrub that nasty area around the toilet base, and also where the hinges for the seat lid meet the bowl. (Those are so gross!) To clean out the actual toilet bowl, I first use a toilet brush to force some of the water back into the throat of the bowl so the water level is lower. I do use standard bowl cleaner usually, but I have used the baking soda/vinegar volcano also. Scrub that around and get up the rim wherever possible. Flush to rinse.

 

I use my Dr. Bronner's solution for most general cleaning and I use this for the counters and bathroom floor as well. If we had a bout with the flu or something, I would use some Hydrogen Peroxide, but generally, I don't like to aim for super-sterile. A little limited exposure to bacteria is not to be avoided unless there are medically fragile people present. :)

[bibiche]

This is why all males in my house must sit and not stand. Seriously, it solves the problem.

[EmseB]

My boys are required to wipe the floor and toilet of their bathroom as a morning chore. It does keep some of the pee smell away, and at least things look nice until I get to a thorough cleaning. They use Clorox wipes and I've shown them how to wipe so that the mess doesn't build up.

[happypamama]

I use a spray bottle of half vinegar, half water with some essential oil added to it. Sometimes sweet orange for the smell, but usually tea tree oil or Plant Therapy's germ fighter blend, which smells Christmassy and pretty. Old toothbrush for scrubbing around the seat hinges. I spray liberally, including under the edge of the toilet itself, and that seems to get rid of the smell.

[Katy]

Use bleach around the toilet and on the kitchen counter after handling raw meat or fresh produce.  When properly diluted to 10% in cold water, it breaks down to salt and water after use.  It's harmless when properly diluted. It's also the ONLY thing that kills things like stomach flu viruses.

 

I also use disposable wipes in the bathrooms for the sinks and counters.  The last person to brush their teeth each morningin each bathroom is responsible for wiping down the sinks.  You could keep a spray bottle of vinegar & a box of cleaning rags under the sinks if you'd rather do the environmentally correct thing though.

 

For the rest of the house, vinegar, vodka, or club soda mixes work great for cleaning.

[ErinE]

Bleach. It's the only thing that kills norovirus and keeps toilets from getting nasty. I only use it on toilets but there are some places, for sanitation, that need to be clean.

[Laurie4b]

My boys bathroom stunk even after cleaning. Until I removed the seat and cleaned up in the hinge area. It has a removable seat, I didn't need a screw driver or anything. I also spray all over with kidsnpets.

 

Nope, equal to bleach. ;) And it comes in handy spray bottles!

[PrairieSong]

This is why all males in my house must sit and not stand. Seriously, it solves the problem.

Same rule at our house. Dh's dad taught dh and his brothers to do that, and he taught our boys when they were little. If you are standing and peeing into a toilet, not a urinal, it's going to splash around. I know guys think it's "not manly" to sit down, but if you are at home in the privacy of your own bathroom, who's going to know or care?

 

I have never had a pee-smelling bathroom.

[mommymonster]

You've had great advice on getting it clean. If you're concerned about it smelling "just cleaned," throw the fan on and close the door. It is what it is. 

 

For keeping it smelling less nasty, I put baking soda and some essential oil in a jelly jar, cover it with cotton and a canning ring. I shake the thing every time I use the rest room, and it helps with the smells. I have stinky children...

 

If it still smells after cleaning, do you have a shower curtain? I once found my then-three year old peeing on the shower curtain in the middle of the night (he was completely asleep). Of course it was a yellow curtain... Freaking horrifying.  :w00t:

[Guest]

I purchase phenomenal products from the company I market for that are safe and natural, but effective. Their main disinfectant is thyme oil based and works great on gross toilet bases (we have a few here!).

 

Also, gloves. I will clan anything up with elbow high rubber gloves and a good cleaner.

[nd293]

My boys bathroom stunk even after cleaning. Until I removed the seat and cleaned up in the hinge area. It has a removable seat, I didn't need a screw driver or anything.

Yes, this is the secret. The screws (nuts and bolts type) are easy to loosen. Otherwise there's no reason water and soap should do the trick. I'd be generous with both. I don't think there's any need to disinfect, just dilute and clean :-)

[Ausmumof3]

Yes take the seat off. You can even soak it in bleach if you have a trough somewhere you can use for dirty jobs.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I hate cleaning bathrooms too.  I got myself disposable gloves, but not like the dishwashing kind, more like the medical kind.  I have small hands and I find even the size small dish gloves to be more hindering than helpful.  With the medical style gloves, I'm ok though.  

 

Your post inspired me to go clean my bathrooms.  My household thanks you.  :-)  

[Acadie]

95% of my cleaning is with natural products, but for something like that I might pull out Target's Up & Up All-Purpose Cleaner with Bleach. It comes in a spray bottle, super easy to use, and I use a cloth rag that gets washed with other rags. It has a light orange scent and the post-clean smell actually appeals to me after the bleach wears off (maybe half an hour after cleaning). Although I rarely use it, I do like to have an easy way to pull out the big guns when one of us gets a GI bug. I'll clean bathroom doorknobs, switch plates, sinks and toilets with it then.

 

Amy

 

 

[DesertBlossom]

I broke down and bought the lysol wipes and it's someone's chore each day to wipe the swat down. I have 3 potty-trained boys, so it's gross sometimes.

 

A while back I could NOT get the pee smell out. We figured out that the plastic screws that hold the seat on were saturated with pee and un-cleanable. We replaced the entire seat with the screws and it was much better. Later, we got a 1-piece toilet for that bathroom. Not having places for the pee to go has helped considerably.

Edited January 16, 2016 by DesertBlossom

[Tammyla]

:grouphug: Boys bathrooms can be a challenge to all of us.

 

Windex,  disinfectant or baby wipes spritzed w/windex are what I go to in a pinch.  Windex smells clean to be and most people comment on how clean my home looks and smells :lol: ;  I want to laugh as most visitor arrive after I've run around like a crazy women with my Windex.  (For some reason, I don't think of Windex as very toxic.)

 

Oh, and I use disposable gloves (huge box from Sam's) so I don't smell like the cleaner.  Find a way that makes it easy for you.  I used to need a shower after I cleaned the bathroom, and that just wasn't always possible with little kids.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Tammyla