Monday 9 May 2016

Cleaning The Toilet

Having a clean home is something most of us like to have. If you believe TV advertising, cleaning products can perform miracles. Showers are clean with one wipe and toilets are sparkling with one fragrant little disc. All is not what it seems to be.

Toilet cleaning products are so expensive and can easily increase your food budget by about $10 a month. It doesn't have to be that way. I've been a domestic cleaner for about 17 years and on average cleaned more than 10 toilets a week. I've used every toilet cleaning product on the market. This is what I've learnt over the years -

* Toilet cleaners do not keep mould from growing under the rim.
* Disinfectant wipes are too thin to do a good job. At approximately 8cents a cloth often you need to use two.
* Toilet brushes do NOT get into all the crevices.
* The stick on toilet discs get in the way of cleaning the bowl
* Toilet blocks without the cage disintegrate when you move them to clean the bowl.
* Cheap liquid toilet blocks do not last very long.
* Blu loo ends up splashed all over the walls.

Here's how I keep my toilets sparkling clean on a budget.  I use no name chux type cloths. If they are big I cut them in half.  I spray a couple of squirts of Miracle Spray or disinfectant into the toilet bowl and onto the cloth. I wipe the outside of the toilet first, folding over the cloth when it gets dirty so that I  get a clean surface. I then wipe the inside of the lid,  then the seat,  then the underneath of the seat then the top of the toilet bowl where the seat rests.   Using your rubber gloves and cloth, wipe over the toilet bowl digging down as far as you can go into the pipe. Then wedge the cloth up under the rim ( if your toilet has one ) to get out the grime.

Flush

I throw the cloths into a bucket with disinfectant to soak until my next wash day.   The cloths are put into a linen bag and thrown in the washing machine with the towels. These cloths are so durable they can last up to six months. All for about 10 cents per cloth. Combine that with the budget friendly Miracle Spray which costs about $1 per litre.   Cheap and easy as.

If you keep your toilets clean, then you'll find that toilet blocks and other products are not that necessary after all.



10 comments:

  1. Hi Wendy,

    Can I ask a silly question? Do you bother to use a toilet brush in your toilet? I use it to get into the rim but I'll give it a go with the cloth. When going on holidays, I sometimes leave citric acid in the bowl with a little water and just flush when we get home.
    Thanks, great post.
    Maureen

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    Replies
    1. I gave up on toilet brushes years ago. They are laden with germs. We do have them next to the toilet if someone needs to use it. Using a cloth to jam up under the rim works much better than the brush.

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  2. Thanks for the tips! Can you do a follow up on how you clean your showers, would love to hear your process.
    -Y

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  3. Hi what are chux type cloths please? Blessings page

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    Replies
    1. Page, they are the blue and white ( or green and white ) super thin cloths. You can buy them in packs or on a roll. Some people use them in the kitchen too.

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  4. Thanks for this Wendy. I would love to read any tips you might have on cleaning the bathroom or kitchen as well. Lisa x

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  5. I also clean the toilet this way, like you i find that brushes don't get into places as good as a cloth. In winter I put some warm water in the toilet bowl first so that my hands don't get too cold hehe.

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  6. When I worked as a hotel chambermaid we had to use 'pink for sink' and 'blue for loo' (Rose UK x)

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