Now, I know you may not think that deserves high fives and a round of applause, but I do. I try to keep my main bathroom presentable, in case a piano student needs to use the bathroom, but the bathroom in my bedroom is hidden. And there are enough things to do around here that cleaning my bathroom gets thrown to the bottom of the barrel. (When did I clean it last? Hmmm...when was Kaitlyn born?)
Now, I don't want people thinking I'm disgusting. Heaven forbid I look anything less than perfect (!) online. (For one of the best discussions on perfectionism I have ever read, please click here. You won't be sorry.) (I'm just kidding about the perfect thing. I don't want to look perfect. But I am embarrassed to tell you how rarely I clean the bathroom in my bedroom.)
Aaaanyway, I realized I have a few questions about cleaning that I really need help with. I have a couple of polls in my sidebar for general type questions, but I have two specific questions I need answers to.
- How do you clean your toilet? Using a toilet bowl scrubber/wand? A washcloth? What brand of cleaner do you use? How do you get rid of the hard water stains? How do you keep it smelling nice (particularly if you have little boys who are still learning how to aim)?
- Do any of you have a washing machine that smells? How do you clean it? We put ours in storage for a year, about two years ago, and there must have been a little bit of water in the bottom or something because it has smelled funny ever since. I have tried stuff made to specifically clean washing machines (tried it numerous times, in fact), and it didn't work. Does anyone have any suggestions?
P.S. I wrote a guest post over here today. (It's about music.) Go check it out!
29 people wanted to leave a comment:
Avidly waiting for intelligent responses, myself. . . my washing machine started smelling about a day after we bought it and used it. I usually just leave the door open when it isn't actually runnning--that seems to help. As for the toilet thing, I wish I knew.
Well, cleaning the toilet is Adam's job, as is the bathtub. I clean the sink and the vanity, etc.
I have no idea what he uses. We are excellent communicators.
Same questions here! And I hear you on the master bathroom:).
I use those disposable clorox wands for my toilet, but they don't get rid of the hard water stains. Then I discovered Lime Away toilet bowl cleaner. It worked wonders. My toilet is now the cleanest thing in my house.
I use a toilet wand and under the rim cleaner. Though, for the record, I have yet to clean the toilet in the new house, and we've been here 6 weeks. I clean it when it starts to look really dirty. For the most part my boys sit to potty (that's what you get when mom does the potty-training!) so I don't have to scrub around it very much. I know of some moms that make the boys clean it. Clorox/lysol wipes.
I discovered just the other day that my fabric softener dispenser in the middle of my washer actually comes off! I stuck it in the dishwasher and my washer no longer smells like mildew! I've also heard some women run a cycle with just bleach water.
Also, I voted on your poll. Though I'm not sure how fair my answers are, because it's a lot easier to keep a nice house clean than a ghetto one. My votes would've been in the 4-5 range before.
I don't clean my bathrooms as often as I should either. I usually wipe the outsides down with disinfectant wipes that can be thrown away.
On cleaning the inside of the bowl I take a large bucket of water and pour it into the bowl so that it forces the bowl to drain without refilling so that the water is then at the lowest level possible in the bowl. Then I take a toilet bowl cleaner called "The Works" found at Wal-Mart. It's cheap and it Works HA! Squirt it around the bowl and leave it sit while I get to cleaning the rest of the bathroom. Once it's sat I then take a brush and scrub the bowl down good and flush.
Then! Then I take those tablets that you put in the tank? Not the blue ones. Clorox has some that are white and use bleach. I put those in the tank and it REALLY helps lengthen the amount of time between bowl scrubs.
If you have pets that drink out of the toilet or kids that like to play in the toilet this may not be the route you want to take but it's one that's saved my sanity. That and when you flush it actually smells clean.
As for little boys just keep a package of the disinfectant wipes and wipe down around the rim every couple of days...if you can remember. I don't alway remember to do that.
And for the washing machine have you tried running a small cycle with some vinegar in it? That might do the trick. Good luck.
(This comment in no way reflects my knowledge of keeping a clean house. As I type my sink is chock full of dirty dishes awaiting me to wash them and put them away.)
I need bathroom help. It is a job I hate...and with all the boys around...well you know. I like "the works" toilet cleaner...it's cheap and works very well.
I use vinegar a lot for cleaning and found a post once about running it through the washing machine. I did it once but can't remember now what I did. I'm sure you could google it. good luck
As far as bathrooms go, I can always tell when they need to be cleaned because I get so many other things done. :) I avoid the bathrooms and do anything else before having to clean them. I'll be back for some great ideas in the comments!
1. Toto: I use a scrubber and either Lysol or Clorox brand cleaner (whatever I find at Costco). We don't have water stains so I don't know about that one.
Smelling nice: well, from the first time Carter sat on the toilet I've taught him that part of going to the bathroom is wiping up any tinkle that gets on the toilet. So, he wipes it up. I think it's ridiculous and disgusting that boys and men, even, have a hard time getting their pee into the toilet. I'm usually quite mild about things, but I will not stand for peeing on or outside of the toilet. They must wipe it up! Luckily for me, the men in my life (my brothers and husband) are great aimers! ;)
2. Washing machine: do a wash cycle with nothing in the washer but a gallon of white distilled vinegar. It should help! Good luck!
I vote for the vinegar idea. I've done it and it worked. Lately, though, something else is going on (with our pipes, I think), and the vinegar trick isn't even working. I've heard you can get the stuff people use to clean out jetted tubs and use that in the washing machine. (I've also heard many bad reviews on the stuff they sell that is specifically for cleaning washing machines, so you're not alone).
I also make my boys wipe up after themselves. Louie and Milo are the best at it. Calvin blows me off about half the time. Grrr.
I also join the club of people who avoid cleaning the bathroom. It's my least favorite chore.
I don't have much in the way of advice on this one. Since I'm single, my master bathroom stays pretty clean. However, I have an aversion to touching toilets (who doesn't?) and so I use a lot of cleaner and a wand to clean inside the toilet bowl.
My best secret for a clean toilet: make your husband do it. Not kidding.
Are you seriously going to try to convince me that I am the one who peed down the side? I don't think so. You clean it.
And he does, it was in our marriage contract.
My washer smells too, and I too just leave the lid open. I've taken the whole thing apart and cleaned it inside and out, nothing helps.
Good luck.
For the bathroom...our big problem was our over the toilet cabinet thing. If it's wood it will absorb any pee that gets on the floor. I finally made my husband cut the legs off of both of our and mount them to the wall and I've seen a HUGE improvement. Also, if you take the lid of the bowl once in a while and soak it and all the little parts in bleach you'll find a huge improvement. Lastly I find that sometimes I just have to strip EVERYTHING down and wash it...towels, shower curtain, etc. I run a daycare so I have more to deal with than my little boy, whose is actually pretty good most of the time. I figured I better start washing the shower curtain more often when I found poop on it. I think one of the kiddos must have not wiped very well and then sat on the side of the tub, leaving poop on the curtain. A little TMI probably...sorry...
As to the washer...is it a front loading machine? We had major problems with our front loader. We had some success cleaning it when it first started to smell, but it simply got worse and worse until it was no use. I was ready to chuck it when it finally broke, thank goodness! Just type in front loader and mildew in your search engine and you'll get a bunch of info and some really helpful tips....
Hey there! :)
I pretty much do the wand/toilet bowl cleaner thing for inside the bowl, then use Lysol scrubbing wipes on the seat and rim. I also put a clear Clorox tablet in the tank every so often, and it cuts down on how often you have to whip out the wand -- so that is a huge plus for me!
As far as the washing machine thing, I think that EXPENSIVE washing machines are the smelly culprits. When we built our house, we had to fanagle things so that our laundry room would be upstairs, which made it really tight in the laundry room. So we had to get a stackable, and the only one available that fit right was like $400. So we were thinking if it died, at least we didn't spend as much as my sisters all did on the fancy expensive ones (like a couple thousand bucks!). So guess who has never had a smelly washer? That's right. Me. The one who still has a cheap stackable that is going strong 6 years later! And each of my 3 sisters have had prob after smelly prob with theirs!
Um I will have to defer that bathroom question to my husband...I am spoiled like that.
Chlorox disposable scrubber thingies. I also use Lysol TB cleaner with them. Every other day, I add 1/4 cup of bleach and let it sit for a few minutes and flush!
Bathrooms aren't really my specialty...neither are washers. :)
But I did enjoy your guest post!
My life changed with the arrival of Clorox wipes. Best. Invention. Ever.
I usually clean the bathrooms once a week and just use Comet scouring powder in the sinks and toilet bowls. If the hard water gets bad I like CLR or Lime Away or a pumice stone. It makes a horrible noise against the porcelain, but it definitely does the job!
Oh yeah...and our washer reeks, too, but only when it's actively going through a cycle. Haven't figured it out yet.
Mr. Clean and a toilet brush (which I clean every month or so with hot soapy water).
And vinegar can be a good washing machine cleaner I've heard - but I've never tried it.
Mr. Clean and a toilet brush (which I clean every month or so with hot soapy water).
And vinegar can be a good washing machine cleaner I've heard - but I've never tried it.
My mother in law uses coke to get the hard water stains off of her toilet. Sounds crazy but that is what she does and I have never noticed her toilets looking yucky.
I use clorox toilet cleaner and a scrubbing wand for basic cleaning. When we moved into our house, the toilet in my bathroom had a permanent ring that wouldn't go away with scrubbing (even when I used the rough side of a sponge and with gloved hands, scrubbed it hard!) Know what worked to get rid of it? Mr Clean Magic Eraser!! I love those things! For wiping the seat, I keep clorox disposable wipes. Those things are great, like other people have said.
Washing machine? No idea, but I would try vinegar like others suggested. Or maybe call the manufacturer and ask them what they suggest.
I have a bathroom I would die of embarrassment if anyone saw...it doesn't get cleaned often enough. It's my one personal bathroom, so I battle my long hair and hair spray. When I do bother to clean, I use a bowl scrub brush, there is no way you would get my hand in that bowl with a wash rag. I use whatever cleaner was on sale for the bowl and a bleach/water solution for the outside.
As for the washer...I periodcally run an empty load, hot water with bleach..just to kill the cooties. I have a top loader, stainless steel tub, however. I've heard many people complain about smelly front loaders.
I use a toilet wand to get most of the crud off...then a pumice stone to get off the hard water stains...and when I say "I", I mean my husband :o)
How do I clean my bathroom? I kindly hand all the cleaners to my hubby and he does it. Aren't I mean? I haven't cleaned the bathroom in---wow, since we've been married. But that's okay, it's his deal so he never has to do laundry. :)
I love Don Aslett cleaners - love his toilet stuff and he has good hard water ring removers, too... he has stores in Utah - check him out. He may even have a solution for the washer (though you really might try vinegar for both hard water and the washer first- vinegar is basic and works wonders.)
(How are you? =-) I was thinking about you today.)
When cleaning the bathroom (ours that is - the boys have to keep theirs clean themselves because I refuse to clean up their pee)... For the toilet I use a toilet bowl gel (I think it's made by clorox) that sticks to the sides and flows all the way down into the bowels of the toilet and let it sit while I use 409 to clean around the toilet, the seat and back of toilet w/a wash cloth - then I get another cloth and clean the bath tub & sinks - once that's done then I take my toilet brush and scrub the inside of the bowl and then flush and then mop the floor...
For your washing machine you might want to unhook it and take it to the back yard or front yard and unhook all the hoses and then tip it on it's side to get out ALL the water then run bleach thru it and that should get rid of the smell...it's what we had to do to get rid of that icky smell of mildew.
Lots of really good advice here! Thanks!! For our toilet, I like using the Kaboom packs that go in the tank. They seem to work pretty OK. And for cleaning inside the bowl (every once in a while, since the Kaboom packs keep it pretty clean), I use the disposable Clorox wand. No advice on the smelly washer. We try to keep ours open after loads to air out. It's worked so far, but it's only a year old.
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