Do you think that your bathroom looks pretty good? Well look again… with a microscope. According to University of Arizona professor of microbiology, our bathroom surfaces are actually pretty gross. Here are 5 ways to clean your bathroom like a pro!

1. The Toilet

Why?
When you flush a toilet, there are many harmful germs that are present in the water. When the water enters the toilet to flush, there is a micro amount of splashing going on, which coats large areas of your toilet and surrounding areas. This means that germs such as E.Coli are coating your toilet every time you flush!

What should you do?
Whenever you flush the toilet, the lid should ALWAYS be closed, this quarantines the germs to the bowl and insides of the toilet, making them easier to kill and control.

When cleaning the bowl, use a cup of baking soda, and pour it straight into the bowl. Let this soak in for about 5 minutes. Scrub the bowl out, and flush (with the toilet seat down of course!).  Next you want to clean the toilet brush, hold this over the bowl of the toilet, and pour bleach over the bristles. Let this soak in for a few minutes, and then rinse with clean water. Next clean the holder by filling the holder with hot soapy water, let sit, and then rinse.

If there are particularly bad spots in your toilet, you may want to invest in a small electric pressure cleaner, in order to blast off some deep stains.

2. Tiles and walls

Why?
Shower spray and soaps leave a thin film on your walls. This catches dead skin cells which create a breeding ground for bacteria.

What should you do?
Spray all your surfaces with an all purpose cleaner VERY thoroughly. Once  you have sufficiently coated the entirety of your walls, including inside the shower, make sure your fan is turned off. Then turn on your shower and bath to the hottest setting, making sure that they are steaming. Let the steam fill the bathroom, until it mixes with the cleaner. Once the room has steamed up, take a microfibre cloth and wipe down all surfaces, making sure to intermittently rinse the cloth.

3. Sink

Why?
Would you rather drink from the sink, or the toilet? If you said the sink, you are far more likely to get infected than if you drank from the toilet. There is a higher bacteria count in the sink and drain than on a board that is used to slice raw meet. Also, you grab the handles of the tap BEFORE you have washed your hands, gross.

What should you do?
 In order to effectively clean your sink, you need to pour baking soda or vinegar down the drain and around the bowl in conjunction with steaming hot water. This will help to disinfect the area, and kill any germs that may have been colonising there. In order to clean your faucet, use a hospital grade disinfectant regularly to kill germs that are left behind by your hands.

 4. Grout

Why?
Group has thousands of microscopic holes in it, which increases its surface area, making it highly porous, which can lead to high bacteria growth.

What should you do?
Dip an old electric toothbrush in bleach, and scrub out all grout. Make sure that the bathroom is properly ventilated and you have thick rubber gloves on in order to avoid irritation. (Also use eye protection)

5. Hand Towels

Why?
Hand towels soak up water and scrub off dead skin cells. This leads to a bacteria cooking pot.

What should you do?
To effectively clean hand towels, use the sanitise setting on your washing machine. If you don’t have this setting, then just put it on the hottest temperature available. Also make sure that you do not hang towels from hooks where folds can form.

So there you have it, tell us about neat tips and tricks that you have discovered for cleaning your toilet!