How to Clean a Bathroom: How Professionals Do It (Updated for 2025)

Here is all the advice and tools you need to clean a bathroom like a professional house cleaner. Learning to clean a bathroom correctly is empowering and reduces the risk of spreading disease from soiled toilets or sinks. Sparkling mirrors and porcelain may be the first signs of a neat and clean washroom, but a really clean bathroom goes beyond the surface level. Here’s how to clean like a pro.  

Changing Your Mindset

A recent survey found that only 27% of Americans clean their bathroom sink and toilet daily, while 51% clean their toilets weekly. Cleaning the washroom isn’t a popular habit, and with good reason. When you think of a dirty bathroom, you probably think of soapy scum, hair, wet towels and moldy rugs — not exactly appetizing. The secret is that you never need to deep clean your bath, shower, sink, or toilet if you clean regularly and correctly. If you live alone, you may get away with a weekly clean, but a daily clean is a lifesaver in a household with kids, partners and pets. 

With just 5-10 minutes daily, you can quickly clean this important and often neglected area for a whole-house clean feel. All you need is a checklist and the right tools. 

Tools You Will Need

We will separate this into two categories. First, let’s discuss the tools you should always have:

• 50% Vinegar-water spray
• General-purpose disinfectant
• Cleaning towels, including microfiber cloths
• Reusable silicone gloves
• Baking soda for scrubbing stains 
• Optional: bucket

You can clean the bathroom with only these items. You can make DIY cleaners with Castille soap, baking soda, vinegar and rubbing alcohol. These cleaners are also appropriate for a deep clean, taking a little more time to scrub. Many choose to use spray-on cleaners, but most professional cleaners will tell you that you get more bang for your buck if you pour a small amount of disinfectant into a bucket of hot water and rinse your towels. All you have to do is periodically replace the water when it gets cool or dirty. Not all of these are required, but they will make your life easier. Additionally, depending on your height, you might need a step stool. 

If you’re going for a deep clean, these additional items will save you some sweat labor:

• A scouring pad
• Stiff bristled brush
• Heavy-duty cleaner
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Dish soap 
• An extendable duster
• Mop
• Toilet bowl brush
• An old toothbrush or similar utensil
• Cup or small jug
• Squeegee
• Optional: protective eyewear for dust and water splashes

The Twin Rules of Cleaning

Clean top to bottom and wipe dry before you wipe wet. It sounds simple, but if you don’t follow these rules, you’ll end up with a mess. These two tips apply to every room in your house, and they apply to the bathroom as well. 

Cleaning top to bottom prevents dust particles from falling onto a clean floor. You should dry wipe before you wash. Even though it appears you got rid of the dirt and dust with a damp wipe, a wet cloth only clumps bathroom nasties. A wet towel may not pick up all the dirt, so work with a damp towel in one hand and a dry one in the other. Start with the dry and finish with a wet one for the best results.

And a note on your choice of cleaning liquids, whether commercial or homemade — always check if they are suitable for the surface that you are cleaning. Bleach and vinegar will damage granite tops, so caution against using just any cleaner or abrasive on an unsealed surface like marble, natural stone or wood. Ceramic surfaces are usually pretty forgiving to most cleaning solutions.    

How to Clean a Bathroom Step-By-Step

Here’s your bathroom cheat sheet for glistening surfaces in a flash:

Glass

Bathrooms tend to have loads of glass or reflective surfaces — a streak show waiting to happen. Get rid of water spots and prevent streaking by using a vinegar-water spray. One or two sprays are usually enough, followed by a steady wipe using a non-streaking microfiber cloth or sponge. Finish up with a dry towel wiped in a figure-eight motion. 

Sinks

The U.S. has hard water in certain areas, essentially when tap water contains minerals like calcium and magnesium. This results in white spots and a dull finish on faucets and other fixtures for your bathroom. If your tap leaks, you’ll also notice an orange stain where the water drips or pools. 

Removing these is a simple bit of science and a little scrubbing. Spraying the tapware with the vinegar and soap solution can dissolve the mineral deposits and restore luster. For old or ingrained stains, you can apply baking soda and water paste, letting it fizz for a few minutes before wiping with a wet cloth.  

You can apply baking soda, water, and hydrogen peroxide in tough areas like bathtub corners or drains. The peroxide naturally strips organic particles like mold or gray film of hygiene product chemicals and hard water — commonly known as soap scum — from bathrooms but take care if the surfaces include unsealed ones like wood cabinets or marble.  

Bathtubs and Showers

If you have an all-in-one shower-tub combo, spray the area with a general-purpose cleaner or a solution of vinegar, water and dish soap. Let the product sit for a few minutes to activate and begin eating away at the soap scum as one of the ways how to clean the bath. 

Treat the shower and tub the same way as the sink. Use an old toothbrush to clean the shower tracks, and if it’s very grimey, dust it with bicarb, spray with the vinegar-soap mix and give it a few minutes to work. 

Check all the shower surfaces, including the showerhead, the top ledge if your shower isn’t floor to ceiling and the “dreaded” shower soap dish. Unscrew the showerhead and clean the nozzles with the bicarb and vinegar to remove any hard water buildup. Use a squeegee to wipe down the tiles. If you notice a buildup in the grouting grooves, spray this with your magic solution and some bicarb. Rinse thoroughly to avoid a soapy shower that could cause slipping. 

Use bleach with care. When mixed with other household cleaners, bleach can release toxic chlorine gas, which is dangerous to anyone, especially someone with asthma. There are other, safer ways to disinfect your bathroom. 

Toilets

Frequently cleaning your toilet will help prevent stains and “hard-to-remove deposits.” With a spray-on cleaner, you shouldn’t have to scrub often, and in-bowl blocks may also keep it fresh and disinfected. Spray the bowl daily to get under the seat and rim for hidden soiling. 

Scrub with the toilet brush, rinsing it in a bucket with clean water and a general-purpose cleaner before returning it to the brush stand. Pay attention to the waterline in the bowl, which often stains if you have hard water in your area. A quick squirt with peroxide can remove any yellowing.  

For extremely stained toilets, you can flush and close the intake valve, and once it’s emptied, apply a spray of vinegar and soap, topping it off with baking soda. Leave it a few minutes, spray with more vinegar and soap, then scrub before restoring the water flow and flushing the toilet again. 

It may sound extra, but cleaning the bowl is a quick morning chore once you’re in the routine. Ensure you get to all the areas, including: 

• Top and sides of the tank
• Top and bottom of the lid
• Lid hinges
• Handle
• Top and bottom of the seat
• Inside the bowl
• The bowl rim
• The base and floor around it

Floors, Walls and Miscellaneous

The bathroom walls, floors and miscellaneous items like rugs and towel rails also require cleaning, and you’ll use a similar approach to how you deep cleaned the bathroom. Start dry by shaking rugs and placing soiled ones in the wash or hanging damp ones outside to air and dry. 

Use cleaning time to check for expired products and empty containers to throw away, as cluttered shelves and surfaces always look dirty and tend to stain more easily.  

Here is a bonus checklist to ensure you don’t miss any areas that need cleaning:

• Check baseboards for grimy dust and use an extendable duster to whack dust bunnies in ceiling corners.
• Wipe down vents for dust and check for mold, which loves damp places like ducts and airflow spaces. If you notice mold, especially black mold, contact a professional.
• Wipe cabinetry doors, shelves and ledges. Clean the door, frame and doorknob.
• Clean the light switch cover and other areas where fingers may leave oily marks.
• Check any wall art or decor for dust and grime and wipe down bathroom plants.
• Flush the drains with an appropriate drain solution. Alternatively, use half a cup of baking soda and half a cup of vinegar. Leave it for half an hour before pouring a gallon of hot water. Rinse well. 
• Take down and wash the window and shower curtains, which can hide 60 times more germs than a toilet seat can. 
• Empty and clean the trash bin.

Daily, Weekly and Monthly Bathroom Cleaning Schedules

If you like reminders, you can grab your phone and set some. These are all your bathroom tasks, and when you should perform them, though this depends on your family situation. Clean more often for a full house with a large family or when you have visitors. 

Daily	Weekly	Monthly
– Wipe surfaces and rinse the bath after use – Use an after-shower spray to stay ahead of hard water spots – Tidy surfaces to prevent stain-collection points  – Hang rugs to dry and place wet towels in the dryer to avoid mold  – Clean incidental spots in the toilet with the brush  – Open the window to air and to prevent moisture buildup or use the extractor fan	– Clean the bath, shower, sink and toilet with spray solution and appropriate activation time – Sweep or vacuum the floors and mop – Change towels and loose rugs if you haven’t already – Wipe mirrors, ceiling corners, doors and surfaces	– Wipe walls with a squeegee – Rinse bathroom plants to remove dust from leaves  – Wash or change the shower and window curtains – Clean the extractor fan filter and cover – Deep clean the drains

How to Clean a Bathroom Perfectly Every Time

Now, you can clean a bathroom like a professional. Level up your speed and efficiency without any special cleaners. Share your helpful tips with us on our social channels for a daily sparkling bathroom. To get the job done, but if you want to level up your speed and efficiency, this is how. Share other helpful tips with us so everyone everywhere can have a sparkling bathroom all day, every day.

Original Publish Date 12/10/2023 — Updated 05/02/2025