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What Are The First Steps In Cleaning A Bathroom? Essential Initial Tasks

If you’re looking to clean a bathroom, you might be wondering just where to get started. Bathroom cleaning is no easy feat given all the areas where dirt, grime, and even mold can accumulate. Depending on the scope of the project, this can complicate things too. 

The good news? Every major journey starts with a single step. Let’s take a look at the first steps to take when cleaning a bathroom and how you can effectively clean your bathroom regardless of how dirty it may be. 

Step 1. Identify the Problem Areas

Whether you’re interested in getting your bathroom cleaner now or you’re looking to establish a cleaning checklist for weekly cleanings that you can rely on as you tackle major cleaning projects in the future, the first step is always to identify the problem areas. 

For example, is the grout on your counters or in between the tiles of your shower dirty? Are you starting to notice a ring around the toilet bowl that simply won’t go away? Are you seeing spots of black mold growing around your shower and ceiling or soap scum that refuses to leave? 

Understand what you’re trying to target when you clean the bathroom. This will make it easier to address everything that needs to be thoroughly cleaned so that you properly reach every nook and cranny.

Step 2. Gather All the Necessary Cleaning Materials

Bathroom Cleaning Product Checklist
What Are The First Steps In Cleaning A Bathroom? Essential Initial Tasks 4

Not every mess in your bathroom is going to be tackled with the same cleaning products. That’s why it’s important to create a list of everything that you’re going to need to tackle the project. This might include bathroom cleaning products like:

  • Sponges
  • Microfiber cloths and larger towels
  • Mops
  • Scrubs (for more durable areas like your sink or even the bathtub)
  • Sprays (disinfectant, stain removers, all-purpose cleaner, etc.)
  • Glass cleaner (for mirrors and glass shower doors)
  • Toilet brush
  • And so on…

Keep in mind not only what you need to clean but which problems you need to address. For example, if you have mold growth and grime in your grout, you might not be able to clear this residue with a quick rinse or any old spray. Look for products that will cut through the residue to provide you with a deeper clean. This goes for everything from the baseboard to the tub. If you want a clean bathroom, it’ll take the right tools!

Step 3. Create a Plan of Action

Everyone approaches cleaning differently. If you have a bathroom that’s relatively small and doesn’t need a ton of work, you might be able to tackle it all in a day. If, however, you have much bigger projects, you’ll have to pace yourself. 

One day, you might decide to clean the bathroom floor, taking care to scrub deeply around your tub and shower, mop the floor, and make sure that the baseboard looks clean. Another day, you might decide to scrub the toilet, use toilet bowl cleaner, clean around the rim, and get everything off of the toilet seat. 

Set goals when you decide to deep clean a bathroom so that you know what you need to do and how you’re going to deep clean your bathroom. A bathroom cleaning checklist is an excellent start, but a plan of action and a to-do/goal list is even better. 

Step 4. Dust and Declutter Before Getting Started

There’s not one way to clean a bathroom, but there are general rules of thumb. Before you start pulling out clean cloths and cleaning solutions, the best way to clean is to begin by dusting and decluttering. Deep cleaning the bathroom is made much harder if you are constantly encountering dirt that’s just getting spread everywhere. When you dust, it’s much easier to clean your bathroom. You should also vacuum the bathroom or sweep to get rid of any loose dirt or trash on the floor. 

The next step to clean the bathroom the right way is to declutter. Your bathroom cleaning routine is nearly impossible when you’re trying to get rid of dirt and grime around loose shampoo bottles and other toiletries. One of the top cleaning tips is to get everything out of your way before you get started. 

Step 5. Tackle One Area At a Time, Working Your Way Down

When you clean the bathroom, it’s best to clean from top to bottom. You’re likely going to start with mirrors, which are the highest in your bathroom and will require you to use cleaning agents that will cascade down onto the bathroom sink and the bathroom floor. Take care of this first to avoid making a mess. 

Clean Top To Bottom For Best Results
What Are The First Steps In Cleaning A Bathroom? Essential Initial Tasks 5

Then, clean the sink and any surfaces. This includes the faucet, tile and grout, the sink bowl, and so on. After this, you can start to clean the toilet. You can keep the bathroom clean by doing this regularly, using a damp cloth to wipe around the toilet (you should use disinfectant spray too), using a toilet bowl cleaner to get rid of any rings or residue that’s not coming off, and cleaning around the toilet as dirt can accumulate there. If you want to make your regular cleaning easier, you can use a toilet cleaner that sits in the toilet bowl or the toilet tank and cleans the bowl every time you flush. 

Finally, you’ll want to clean the floor. The floor will get all of the cleaners on it, which is why we save the bathroom floor for last. Mopping does a great job of clearing any dirt, and you shouldn’t have to spend too much time to get the bathroom floor clean. 

But when do you clean the shower? Because the shower is isolated, you won’t have to worry about cleaning and maintaining the shower and accidentally affecting other areas of your bathroom (even if you have a shower curtain rather than doors). Here, you’ll need to scrub the tub, clean the doors or clear any residue off shower curtains, scrub around the drain, and wipe down your handles to keep them sparkling clean. 

Clean your bathroom regularly with a weekly cleaning, and everything will be much easier!

Step 6. Start With the Deep Cleaning and End With the Finer Details

If you do have larger projects to tackle, it’s crucial that you start with the deep cleaning and then focus on the finer details. Why? It’s important to clean the problem areas first because this will likely be a messy endeavor. You don’t want to polish the faucet handles in your bathroom, only to get them dirty when you end up scrubbing out a ton of dirt and grime. Start with the deep cleaning, then move on to making sure that the less problematic areas look spotless. 

Deep Clean First Then Finer Details
What Are The First Steps In Cleaning A Bathroom? Essential Initial Tasks 6

Cleaning your bathroom can be tricky, but it’s not impossible. If there’s a bathroom cleaning project on the horizon for you, the step-by-step guide above provides you with everything you need to know to tackle your bathroom cleaning project with ease! 

Picture of Michael F

Michael F

Owner, Elevated Cleaning Services

Michael started Elevated Cleaning Services to help fill a gap in the Florida cleaning market. With a focus on quality, and a passion for giving back to the community, Elevated Cleaning Services continues to serve hundreds of happy homeowners each month.

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Picture of Michael F.

Michael F.

Owner, Elevated Cleaning Services

Michael started Elevated Cleaning Services to help fill a gap in the Florida cleaning market. With a focus on quality, and a passion for giving back to the community, Elevated Cleaning Services continues to serve hundreds of happy homeowners each month.

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