Here’s how to do the whole bathroom quickly — without shortchanging cleanliness. It looks like a lot of steps, but with practice you’ll really move:

Opening Exercises

1. Start by wearing clothes you don’t mind bleaching in spots. Open a window and/or turn on the fan.

 

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2. Dust. Start by dusting high places, shelves, over-the-vanity lights, picture frames, the shower curtain rod or top of the glass shower door frame, etc. Intricate glass vanity-light shades will periodically need a trip to the kitchen sink for a gentle cleansing. Because moisture regularly hangs in the air of this room, plastering dust to many surfaces, a feather duster may be inadequate. Use a slightly dampened cloth (such as microfiber) on the lights, while they are turned off.

3. Otherwise, instead of working top-down as you would in other rooms, sweep or vacuum the floor next, before it gets wet. Put any throw rugs outside the door, to be vacuumed or whisked to the laundry room.

4. Place a caddy or bucket of all your needed cleaning supplies, including plenty of cleaning cloths, down on the same patch of floor each time you clean. Habits will make you a speedy cleaner.

5. Next, apply bowl cleaner to the toilet bowl. There's a secret to this, so click here for the full details. The chemical needs to sit for a few minutes to do its job. Think of it as an extra person, taking the toilet to task while you make quick work of something else.

Sink and Vanity

1. So while the toilet bowl soaks, engage the sink and vanity area. For a streak-free shine, squeegee large bathroom mirrors like you would your household windows. If your mirror does not collect a lot of toothpaste, hair spray or drip marks, just spot clean with a fresh, dry cloth (microfiber works well) and a little water or window cleaner as needed. Note: don’t use window cleaner — or any other cleaners — containing ammonia if you are going to use products containing bleach in this area. Most of us know the combination is toxic, but it’s easy to forget these ingredients may be added to various cleaners.

2. Because water tends to puddle here, the sink is a favorite hangout for germs — even more so than the toilet! Excess dirt makes disinfectants useless, so remove dirt and any make-up droplets before disinfecting, using an all-purpose cleaner. Take an old toothbrush or other small bristle-brush to the edges of the sink, the knobs and all the corners and crannies surrounding the faucet and drain.

3. Rinse the sink and faucet, and wipe with the same cloth you used on the mirror, along with any surrounding counter area. Remember to clean the light switch and frequently touched spots like cupboard knobs.

4. Now disinfect. Follow the directions for your chosen disinfectant. For example, dilute bleach with specified measurements of water, and allow it to stand on the surface five minutes. (Another option: disinfect with a steam cleaner made for this purpose.)

Shower and Tub

While letting disinfectant work on the sink, turn to the next section: the tub and shower.

If you value time and convenience, clean the shower walls, shower head and tub with a wash cloth and shampoo every day — while you are in there for your shower! Use only liquid soap for showers (lessens buildup and soap scum). Squeegee walls and glass afterwards, and teach your family to do the same. Go a quick step further and station a towel near the shower to dry up the excess after squeegeeing. It is a good idea to run the bathroom fan for a couple of hours after showers are done. Install a timer if necessary.

By keeping this daily regimen, you deprive mold of the moisture it needs in order to grow, you prevent hard water deposits on all surfaces and of course, you keep dirt and soap scum from building up — all in about three minutes a day! You’ll likely get a better quality of clean than if you wait till Saturday morning. And it is much more pleasant than scrubbing and sweating for 30 minutes in wet socks and a cloud of cleaning chemicals.

1. If you clean the shower area daily, then during your all-bathroom cleaning just wipe down or spot clean the outside of any glass doors and the outside of the tub. If you have a vinyl shower curtain, take it down and send it for a trip through the washing machine every so often. Hang it back in the shower to dry.

2. Disinfect the faucet and inside of the tub the same way you did the sink.

Do a Full Reverse

When finished with the shower and tub, go back to the sink and give the disinfectant a final rinse. Allow the surface to air dry.

The Toilet

1. Move once again to the toilet. Give the bowl a hearty rub with your bowl brush — careful not to splatter the chemical onto your skin or into your eyes.

2. Using a dedicated toothbrush, scrub the hinges and any other creases that are difficult to catch with a cloth.

3. Quickly wipe down the whole toilet, from the cleanest sections to the dirtiest, paying attention to the top of the tank, the gap behind the seat, the outside of the bowl, underneath the bolt caps at the base of the toilet, and even the metal water knob and tube that attach to the wall. While you are hugging the commode, carefully clean the floor surrounding the base, all the way back to the wall. Give yourself permission to use as many cloths as you need for the job.

4. Follow by disinfecting, particularly the areas most touched by human hands, like the flusher and the tops and bottoms of the seat and lid.

Finish Strong!

Rinse all chemicals that are left standing and mop the floor. Sanitize your tools in a diluted bleach mixture.

As a grand finale, toss yourself into the shower. This has been dirty work!