9 Tips for Easier Toilet Cleaning

You knew it was coming sometime...you've been putting it off. Hey, we all do that! There's nothing quite as well, HUMBLING, as cleaning the toilet. It's a great equalizer - no matter how fantastic you think you are, scrubbing the throne quickly reminds you that you're just one more humble little human.

:) But, no fear! Toilet cleaning needn't take all that long to do and it needn't be as grim as you may think. Here are my fave tips to make it easier:

1. Do it often - This seems terribly obvious, but it's SO true. If you quickly clean the toilet a few times a week (rather than once a week or less) it makes the job a whole lot less gruesome! I tend to just do a quick wipe down everyday, as part of one of my cleaning BURSTS. (For more on what on earth a cleaning burst is click here: http://www.happyslob.com/3step.html). Now I don't dread cleaning the toilet at all, because it never has a chance to get too nasty. (Ah ha, take that toilet! I'm in charge after all!)

2. Denture tabs - A handy trick to try is to dump (haha, unintended pun there folks) one or two denture tablets into the toilet to let it work wonders for you. Don't you love it when a cleaner does all the work? Then all you need to do is scrub the mess away. This can be the 1st thing you do when doing the bathroom cleaning, and then when everything else is done, just scrub with a toilet brush, wipe down the toilet and you're done.

3. Baking soda gives the bowl a good scrub. For general cleaning, I usually just sprinkle baking soda in the bowl, let it sit while I do the rest of the bathroom cleaning, and then use the toilet brush to give a quick scrub. I know I rely on baking soda an awful lot - but the stuff is AMAZING.

4. You don't need fancy toilet cleaners - You SO do not need fancy toilet cleaning wands and special toilet cleaning solutions if your toilet is fairly new and/or not heavily stained. :) Just the regular old Happy Slob standbys of baking soda and vinegar cleaner will do a good job of it. If you really WANT that fancy toilet cleaning wand thing-a-ma-bob, then by all means indulge. But you don't need to.

5. Shine and santize the outside - Our basic vinegar cleaner works great to clean and sanitize the outside of the toilet. Spray it down generously with vinegar spray, and then wipe down with paper towels or a clean cloth. (Remember, if you use a cloth to ONLY use it on the toilet and then throw it in the wash. I personally prefer paper towels for toilet cleaning. More on that later...)

6. Heavy duty cleaning tip - If your toilet is REALLY old and/or REALLY stained, then you may need to shut off the water so that the cleaner isn't diluted by as much water in the toilet bowl. Denture tabs left overnight in the bowl will help, as will a combination of baking soda and vinegar OR I heard one strange idea about using cola to clean the toilet. I haven't tried it - but apparently if you pour a generous amount of cola in the bowl and leave it overnight,a lot of the worst stains will be easily scrubbed away the next morning. (Please tell me if you try it and it works!)

7. Germ killers - The toilet seat is probably one place where you want to use a germ killing cleaner. I believe in vinegar spray for this too, but if you want something stronger - then by all means go for it. (For lots of cleaning recipes visit my site at http://www.happyslob.com/cleaningrecipes.html ) Something like tea tree oil cleaner is a great natural germ killer.

8. Replace the toilet brush - once in a while. If yours looks like it's ready to walk away in protest, then it's likely time to replace that sucker. Let's not even THINK of the nasty germ colonies that live on there...(say it with me) EEWWWWWW!!!

9. Be careful using a cloth - use only one sponge or cloth to clean the toilet - in fact, use one for the toilet seat and anything inside the toilet and another one entirely for the exterior of the toilet. It's a bit nasty to think of spreading THOSE particular germs around to other areas of the bathroom, isn't it? For this reason, I generally use paper towels on the toilet, which I can then happily throw away. Die germies, die!