July 5, 2023

How to Properly Clean a Toilet in 6 Easy Steps

Cleaning the bathroom is no one’s favorite chore, but it’s one of the most important. Keeping a clean bathroom is vital to your family’s health. Consider this: the average toilet bowl contains 3.2 million bacteria per square inch! To get rid of all those bacteria, you should know how to clean your toilet properly. We’re here to explain the tools and steps necessary to keep your porcelain throne sparkling.

1) Gather Your Supplies

Before you can start cleaning, you’ve got to get your supplies together. Luckily, cleaning your toilet properly doesn’t involve many supplies, and you likely already have many at home.

Of course, you’ll need an effective cleaning solution. You can clean your toilet with a store-bought toilet cleaner (preferably one with bleach) or an all-purpose disinfectant spray. Vinegar can be an effective and low-cost alternative if you want to avoid chemical cleaners.

As far as your tools, you’ll need a toilet brush, a scrub sponge, a pumice stone, a bucket, and a cloth or towel. It may also be handy to keep a roll of paper towels around. Finally, get a pair of waterproof rubber gloves to protect your hands, especially if you are working with chemical cleaners.

A quick note: You probably already have a toilet brush, but it won’t do its job effectively if it’s too old. It is best to throw out your toilet brush every few months or when you notice the bristles starting to bend. You can extend the life of your toilet brush by regularly spraying it and its holder with a simple disinfectant. At a minimum, invest in a new brush every six months.

It’s important to note that your toilet cleaning supplies should be kept separately from other cleaning supplies. You wouldn’t want to clean your sink with the same sponge or gloves that you used to clean your toilet! To keep everything organized, you can easily store your supplies in a bucket or small tote under the bathroom sink.

2) Reduce the Water Level

Don’t start scrubbing right away! First, you should reduce the bowl’s water level, allowing you to properly clean every inch of the toilet’s interior. (If the toilet bowl still has water in it while you’re scrubbing, your cleaning solution can become diluted and won’t get the job done).

Fill a bucket with water (approximately a half-gallon) and quickly pour the entire bucket into the toilet bowl, aiming toward the back. The toilet will automatically flush and drain the water out of the bowl without adding any new water from the tank.

3) Apply Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Lift the toilet seat, apply toilet cleaner to the bowl, and let it soak. If you’re using vinegar, add a cup to the bowl and swirl it around the bowl with a toilet brush. Make sure to get under the rim where germs and bacteria can hide. Store-bought cleaners often have angled tips to make this process easier; alternatively, you can invest in an aerosol spray that can cover the entire surface of the toilet bowl with a quick spritz or two.

It’s recommended to let your cleaning solution sit in the bowl for a few minutes before scrubbing. If you’ve got more stubborn stains, let your solution sit for up to ten minutes. Ultimately, consult the manufacturer’s instructions if you are unsure of how long to leave your cleaner.

4) Clean the Toilet’s Exterior

You’re not quite done after cleaning the bowl. You want the outside of your toilet to look and feel as clean as the inside! Let the cleaner soak into the bowl while you use an all-purpose disinfectant to clean the outside of the toilet. You can use paper towels or rags for this step.

Don’t forget to clean the base and floor around the toilet, as well as the handle and the top of the water tank. Some newer toilets may have quick-disconnect toilet seats; if yours does, you’ll want to remove the seat and clean it on its own.

If your toilet is particularly dirty, it may be helpful to do an initial wipe-down with some paper towels before applying your disinfectant. You can also use an old toothbrush to scrub in those hard-to-reach spaces like the hinges.

5) Clean the Toilet’s Interior

Now that your cleaners have soaked for a bit, it’s time to get back to the interior of the toilet. Grab your toilet brush and finish cleaning the bowl. A pumice stone is effective at removing hard water stains without the added elbow grease you’d need from tackling them with a sponge or rag alone.

If you notice that your toilet has brown or red rust stains, baking soda is incredibly effective at removing them. You can also purchase a store-bought cleaner like Lime-Away. If you choose to use either of these cleaning methods, do your disinfecting first and then flush the toilet before adding your baking soda or Lime-Away.

Be sure to clean the rim of the toilet bowl where water pours out, as this area is often forgotten.

Put the seat down before flushing the solution away. You may also need to go back and wipe the seat, lid, and hinges one more time.

6) Check Out the Water Tank

You’ve got one last spot to clean: the water tank. Many people forget to clean this critical part of the toilet (besides throwing in the occasional toilet cleaning tablet). But if your water tank is dirty, the water going into your toilet is also bound to be dirty.

Remove the lid of your water tank and look inside. Any mineral buildup you see can be removed with vinegar. Pour four cups of vinegar into the tank and let soak for up to an hour. Turn off the water running to your toilet and flush to drain the tank.

While the tank is empty, use a sponge or brush to scrub the walls of the tank. Turn the water on, let the tank fill up, and flush the toilet a few times to rinse the tank. You may not need to fully clean your water tank every time you clean the toilet, but you should make the effort to clean the tank as soon as you spot any mineral buildup.

Working with White Glove Cleaner

Cleaning the toilet is just one part of having a clean bathroom. But with so much to see and do in New York City, you don’t want to spend all your time cleaning! That’s where White Glove Cleaner comes in.

White Glove Cleaner is proud to be one of the most trusted cleaning services in NYC. We serve both residential and commercial clients with cleaning jobs of all sizes. Whether you’d like someone to clean your property every week or perform a one-time deep clean for a special occasion, we’ve got you covered. We even offer specialty services like green organic cleaning, move-in/move-out cleaning, and more. All of our cleaning staff is dedicated to your health and safety, using only the most effective cleaners that are safe around kids and pets. Our team has been fully vetted and background-checked, so you know you’re only working with the best. Get in touch with White Glove Cleaner today to learn more about our services and to book your cleaning!