How to Clean a Bathroom: Checklist For Success

Even though you use the same areas of your home every day, it’s easy to forget to clean them. You might leave dishes in the sink for a few days or forget to vacuum. It’s also easy to use your bathroom for weeks on end without remembering that it needs your attention too.

During your next free afternoon or evening, give your bathroom a makeover. Use this checklist for success so you remember how to clean a bathroom and keep it that way. You won’t need to worry about cleaning it after you use this list to do a thorough job the next time you’re ready to tackle the dirt and grime.

1. Remove All Clutter

When you’re wondering how to clean a bathroom, don’t get caught up in your planning. Start with something simple, like removing all the clutter. Put any rugs and dirty laundry laying around in another room. Collect the decor and personal hygiene items from your countertop and place them somewhere else.

Once everything’s out of the way, you’ll have direct access to the grime so you can focus on what you need to clean.

2. Start the Laundry

Do yourself a favor and improve your multitasking skills by starting the laundry before you clean. When was the last time you washed your bathroom rugs? Fluff them up and give them a sanitizing wash in the laundry. Add your shower curtain liner too if it’s pink with mildew.

3. Soak the Shower

Grab your preferred cleaning solution and spray it all over your shower. There’s likely pink or black mold growing around the drain, on the shelves or in between the tiles. Give the product a few minutes to soak in so it’s easier to scrub every surface clean.

Don’t forget about spots like the underside of built-in shelving, behind the suction cups that hold your showerhead shelves in place or underneath your shower mat. It’s also smart to move products like shampoo and body wash out so you can clean the rings of grime that form under the bottles.

4. Spray the Toilet

The same cleaning solution that works in your shower will likely work in your toilet too. Lift the seat and spray over any midden mold and whatever’s growing around the rim of the toilet water. It’s a gross but necessary part of making sure your toilet doesn’t spray bacteria and viruses around your bathroom every time you flush. After you finish spraying, let the cleaning solution soak in the toilet as long as it soaks in the shower. 

5. Wipe Down the Sink

Take a look in your sink. You might find mildew, globs of unused toothpaste and strands of hair. Wipe down your sink with an antibacterial wipe or bottled solution and a paper towel. The handles, spout and basin should shine when you finish.

After you clean the sink, give the countertop and mirror some attention too. They collect every splash of face wash and all the toothpaste spittle that doesn’t make it down the drain.

6. Sanitize All Handles

Next, it’s time to sanitize all the things people touch in your bathroom. The National Science Foundation (NSF) found that handles are the sixth highest household surface containing germs in a given home. Wipe down the handles on the bathroom door and cabinets, plus the light switches too.

7. Scrub Soaked Solutions

It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to clean your sink, countertop, mirror and all the bathroom handles. When you finish, you can return to scrub your shower and toilet.

The cleaning solution should have loosened any grime so it’s easy to scrub or wipe away. Make sure to flush and rinse the shower down once you’ve banished all the mold.

8. Mop the Floor

If you want to go the extra mile, you can mop the floor as your last bathroom checklist item. The rugs will likely still be in the washing machine and at this point, you’re done with any cleaning that could result in a rogue splash or two. Mop or clean the floor so you have a germ-free surface to walk on.

How to Clean a Bathroom From Top to Bottom

Give yourself a pat on the back for your new clean bathroom, then tie up the remaining loose ends. Put your personal hygiene and decor products back where they belong. Restore your shower items to their shelves and hang clean towels on the racks.

Remember to replace the rugs after they complete a cycle in the dryer and you’re good to go. Learning how to clean a bathroom isn’t difficult when you use a simple checklist to get the job done.