We’ll admit it — the bathroom is the least enjoyable room to clean even on the best of days. How much less when you’re in the midst of tackling Spring Cleaning!
Thankfully, spring cleaning your bathroom is actually pretty simple. Much of your task list will look pretty ordinary, with a few extra jobs that are often overlooked or only needed once per year.
Follow our bathroom cleaning checklist to help you organize your cleaning ritual. It’ll run you through all the basics and all the extras. But before you get going, you’ve got a few tools to collect!
Before You Get Started, Get Your Gear!
Chances are good that most of the things you’ll need for deep-cleaning your bathroom are already right at your fingertips! Just in case, here’s a complete list:
- All Purpose Natural Cleaner
- Oxygen Whitener or Sink SCRUB™
- Glass Cleaner (Combine equal parts water and white vinegar with lemon essential oil in a spray bottle.)
- A stack of clean flour sack towels or microfiber cloths
- Paper towels
- A scrub brush
- Rubber gloves
- Vacuum
- Mop and mop bucket
Cleaning the Bathroom Without Harsh Chemicals
For obvious reasons, many people tend to reach for their most intense cleaners when approaching their bathrooms. Our bathrooms are a hub for all sorts of potential microbes, germs, and mold.
Despite this, you really don’t need a bucket of bleach to get your bathroom sparklingly clean. You can use natural cleaning options that are just as effective, but safer for your family and the planet. Here are some suggested natural cleaning alternatives.
- General cleaning: All Purpose Natural Cleaner and hot, soapy water can take on most cleaning tasks in the bathroom.
- Mildew-removal: If you’re worried about mold, mix equal parts white vinegar and water. Add 10 drops of an anti-fungal essential oil (just make sure it’s an oil safe for use around children and pets).
- Stains and whitening: Oxygen Whitener is perfect for getting rid of hard water stains in the tub, sink, and toilet. Sprinkle Oxygen Whitener over the area and use your scrub brush or toilet brush to work it in. Allow it to sit for an hour or two before rinsing away and enjoy a whiter, brighter surface!
Spring Cleaning The Bathroom Checklist:
When cleaning, remember to work from the top down. Otherwise, all the dust, debris and trash will otherwise fall onto newly cleaned surfaces and you’ll have to start over.
- Take out all clothing, towels, and linens from the bathroom. Place in the laundry room.
- Remove clutter. Collect all miscellaneous items that have collected in the bathroom but don’t belong. Put them in a bin outside the bathroom door. You can put them away later.
- Move mobile storage cabinets, tables, or other bathroom furniture out of the bathroom. This allows you to more easily clean every nook and cranny. Wipe down each piece of furniture with All Purpose Natural Cleaner as you remove it from the bathroom.
- Clean your bathroom air exhaust fan. (see below for further instructions)
- Remove dust and cobwebs from the ceiling walls, light fixtures, doors, and baseboards. Wipe these surfaces down using a cloth dampened with All Purpose Natural Cleaner. Pay special attention to the light fixtures.
- Clean out cabinets and reorganize. Use this opportunity to update and restock your cabinet, throwing away empty bottles, trash, and expired medicines.
- If you have kids’ bath toys in the shower, remove them. Place them in the dishwasher for a deep clean. (This is recommended only for hard plastic toys.)
- Scrub the shower walls and tub using All Purpose Natural Cleaner. Wipe down all taps, handles, caddies, etc.
- Launder your shower curtain and plastic liner. Use Oxygen Whitener on your shower curtain to restore vibrancy. The plastic liner can be scrubbed clean in the tub using All Purpose Natural Cleaner, or by soaking it in a bucket full of hot water, a generous splash of white vinegar, and a sprinkle of Super Powder. If it’s too grimy to save, replace it.
- Scrub the toilet. Clean the full exterior using All Purpose Natural Cleaner. Clean the inside using a toilet brush and Oxygen Whitener to restore white surfaces and really scrape away gunk.
- Wipe down the mirror.
- Wipe down the sink and counter area with a washcloth and disinfectant. If there are stains in the sink, use Oxygen Whitener to remove them. Don’t forget the handles and crevices.
- Vacuum or sweep the bathroom floor.
- Mop the floor.
- Wipe the baseboards.
- Remove trash. Don’t forget to clean the trash can.
- Launder bathroom rugs.
- Restore rugs, linens, and toiletries after all surfaces have been cleaned.
- Take a well-earned break by running yourself a hot bath in your freshly cleaned bathtub!
Master Tip: How to Clean The Bathroom Air Exhaust Vent
The most commonly overlooked part of bathroom cleaning is the exhaust vent. The exhaust vent in your bathroom helps to draw moisture out of the room to reduce humidity in the bathroom so that you can avoid mildew and mold growth. Taking good care of it is definitely worth the effort.
Over time, these fans accumulate a heavy layer of dust and debris. Keeping them cleaned ensures that they function optimally. This job is likely to be messy, so do it BEFORE cleaning the rest of the bathroom.
Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on what to do:
- Pull the fan cover down gently. It is likely held in place with metal prongs which can be squeezed together to release the cover from the ceiling.
- Place the cover in a bucket or sink filled with warm soapy water. Allow it to soak while you move on to step 3.
- UNPLUG THE FAN. Do not forget this important safety step.
- Remove the screws holding the fan and motor assembly in place and remove them from the ceiling.
- Clean the fan blades and motor assembly using a damp microfiber cloth.
- Vacuum excess dust from the cavity or wipe clean with a rag.
- Allow all parts of the device to dry COMPLETELY before reassembling.
More Questions on the Best Bathroom Cleaners?
If you’d like to learn more about the impact that harsh chemicals can have on our bodies, we’d encourage you to read our founder’s story of why she started Molly’s Suds in the first place. You’ll learn a lot about how dangerous and even deadly harsh chemicals can be to our families’ health.
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