Hearing the name of toilet cleaning can make you feverish. But is it that tough? Not at all. Learning the proper method makes your task simple, quick, and effective.
So, how to clean a toilet bowl?
First, get a good toilet brush, scrub your toilet bowl with a commercial or homemade toilet cleaner, and finish off by rinsing the bowl thoroughly.
It’s just a summary of the whole process. You have to get further knowledge to achieve the best result. That’s why I will go deep down on each component.
Want to learn something new? Let’s begin.
Table of Contents
How Long Will It Take to Clean The Toilet Bowl?
How long it takes to clean a toilet depends on the type of toilet cleaner you use. Some toilet cleaners recommend letting the solution sit for 10-15 minutes. I prefer Lysol fresh cling gel as it only requires 30 sec to sit and do its job.
Not only does it work fast, but also it amazingly kills bacteria, removes stains, and leaves a refreshing scent in the toilet. However, you can complete your whole toilet bowl cleaning task within 20 minutes.
How To Clean A Toilet Bowl? – Here’s The Solution!
Check out below 7 easy steps to clean your toilet bowl. Before going into the process, let’s know what tools you need to gather first.
Things You Need To Clean A Toilet Bowl
Cleaning a toilet bowl requires some essential tools, including
- A toilet brush
- Wipes
- Toilet bowl cleaner
- A bucket
- Surface disinfectant
Steps For Cleaning Toilet Bowl
Step 1. Get A Good Toilet Brush
Having a good toilet brush is most important for cleaning a toilet bowl. Choose a stiff, bristled nylon toilet brush with a head that can reach every corner of your toilet bowl.
Ensure the bristles are firm enough to scrub but not flick the toilet water everywhere. Plus, a long-handled brush will help you go over the toilet’s wall and bottom.
Step 2. Drain The Toilet Bowl Water
If you have water in your toilet bowl, the cleaner will get mixed into it after applying and won’t do its job effectively. So first, drain the water from the toilet bowl to make it empty. You can do it in a few ways.
Either turn off the water supply and flush the remaining water in the tank. But the easiest and quickest way I have found is to fill a bucket with a half gallon of water and pour it quickly, aiming toward the back into the toilet. This trick helps the water leave the bowl without filling in new water from the tank.
Step 3. Apply Toilet Cleaner Inside The Toilet Bowl
Start applying a toilet cleaner at the top of the bowl under the rim and liberally apply it around the toilet bowl interior. For best results, use a chemical cleaner to disinfect and remove difficult stains on ceramic surfaces.
Let the cleaner drain down the sides. Make sure the cleaner is applied evenly all over your toilet. Let the cleaner rest for 5 to 10 minutes if your toilet bowl has stubborn stains.
Heavy and stubborn stains don’t want to be removed easily. In that case, you should leave the cleaner for an hour or even overnight.
Tips: To keep your bathroom well-ventilated and whisk away the chemical flumes, open your bathroom window or switch on the overhead fan.
Step 4. Scrub Thoroughly
Start scrubbing the toilet bowl firmly using your brush. Make sure you scrub well over the stubborn stains and where any bits of gunk is stuck in the bowl. To avoid splatter, keep the brush head inside the toilet bowl. Don’t forget to scrub under the lid and down the drain.
Tips: Scrubbing in tight circles will help to release more grime than using a back-and-forth motion.
Step 5. Rinse With Water
Now flush your toilet and thoroughly rinse off your toilet bowl with water. Flush several times to make sure the loose debris and cleaners are drained completely. To avoid a “toilet plume,” try to close the lid beforehand. Afterward, the bowl should be sparkling like a new toilet bowl.
Step 6. Wipe Down The Exterior
While cleaning your toilet bowl, the cleaner, water, and germs can split out in the exterior of the toilet. That’s why you should disinfect the exterior too.
You can either wipe the exterior with some disinfecting wipes. Or apply a surface disinfecting spray and wipe it down with a rag sponge or paper towel (those you use only for toilet cleaning).
Step 7. Disinfect Brush and Brush Holder
Finally, the last step is disinfecting your toilet brush and brush holder. Spritz the head of the brush with disinfecting spray. Leave it there for 1 minute, and then rinse it off with hot water. Also, spray the toilet brush basin with disinfectant, leaving nothing there.
How To Clean Toilet Bowl Ring With Vinegar?
If you’re looking for a homemade option for cleaning the toilet bowl, vinegar is amazing. Cleaning your toilet bowl or surfaces with vinegar is an old trick but an effective formula.
Distilled white vinegar works as a disinfectant, fungicide, and natural cleaner. Also, baking soda will work best with vinegar if you want to make your toilet bowl white and remove the foul odor.
They are safe to use, eco-friendly, and the best chemical cleaners and disinfectants. That’s why these everyday household products are very popular.
Following the steps below, you can clean the toilet bowl ring with vinegar.
- Sprinkle baking soda liberally around your toilet bowl ring. Focus on the hard stains.
- Using your toilet brush, scrub the stains thoroughly and evenly spread the soda all over the inside of the bowl.
- Next, leave the soda for up to 10 minutes to work on the stains and whiten the porcelain.
- Pour 2 cups of white vinegar all over the toilet ring.
- Now close the lid and wait 30 minutes to let the concoction do its job.
- Afterward, scrub the whole toilet bowl using a firm bristle nylon brush.
- After finishing scrubbing, flush your toilet a couple of times.
- Finally, you’ll get a sparkling clean toilet bowl ring with vinegar. Repeat the process if any stubborn stains are left behind, or you can rest the vinegar and baking soda mixture in the toilet bowl overnight.
How To Clean Toilet Bowl Stains?
Toilet bowl stains irritate you, and your family and also humiliate you in front of your guests. However, no matter what kind of stain you’re battling or what’s the reason behind it, you can clean the stain successfully by following the steps below.
- Take a commercial stain remover and wear protective eyewear, gloves, and a mask. They’ll protect you from harsh chemicals, bacteria, odor, and mold splits.
- Turn off the water flow to lower the toilet bowl water level.
- Apply the stain remover over the stains and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Using a toilet scrubber, loose the buildup and stains. Especially pay attention to the mold stains.
- Lastly, turn on the water supply and flush your toilet several times.
How To Clean Toilet Bowl Stains With Coke?
Let’s learn below the amazing way to clean your toilet bowl stains with coke. The carbonation soda is a host in itself to remove stubborn stains. Just follow the instructions step by step.
- Pour a one-liter bottle of coca cola along with the toilet bowl’s edges to cover the bowl’s inner surface as much as possible.
- Leave it in the toilet overnight.
- The next morning, flush off the cola, and you’ll discover a brand-new toilet without any elbow grease.
Note: Though coke is efficient enough to remove stubborn stains, remember it can’t disinfect your toilet bowl. So after using coke, you can use a disinfectant spray or gel to kill the bacteria and keep your toilet germ-free.
How To Clean Toilet Bowl Stains Without Scrubbing?
Thus, scrubbing is quite a hassle and time-consuming; you might be looking for an easy way to clean your toilet bowl without scrubbing.
Using natural cleaners like vinegar or baking soda or automatic cleaners, including gels, tablets, and cartridges can help you to clean the toilet bowl without scrubbing.
Even the gels, tablets, and cartridges are also effective to get rid of toilet bowl sediment. To know the whole process, you can check out another article on toilet bowl sediment.
There I describe everything.
Here I describe a method of cleaning toilet bowl stains without scrubbing using Hydrogen peroxide.
- Turn off the water supply and drain the water from your toilet bowl.
- Pour a half cup of hydrogen peroxide all over the toilet bowl
- Let it rest there for 30 minutes
- Finally, turn on the supply and flush the toilet to rinse off.
Tips to Maintain Clean Toilet Bowl
- Deep clean your toilet bowl at least once a week. If your toilet is used frequently, then cleaning should be more frequent.
- It’s not wise to use tank additives to keep the toilet clean because, over time, those cleaning tablets damage your toilet components.
- For easy cleaning, you can use DIY grime-busting toilet bowls that you can leave in your toilet bowl every night and get a refreshing clean toilet every morning.
- To prevent stains on your toilet bowl, sprinkle some baking soda every night after everyone sleeps. Swish it with a toilet brush to get above the water line and leave it overnight.
Related Questions
How to make toilet bowl cleaner at home?
You can make a homemade toilet bowl cleaner using kitchen ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, or borax.
How to clean toilet bowl brushes?
Toilet bowl brush itself becomes dirty after cleaning your toilet bowl. So, you should also clean the brush before storing it. Here is how you can clean a toilet bowl brush
- First, apply a disinfecting spray all over the brush, including the brush head and handle.
- Take one gallon of hot water into a large cleaning bucket. Place the bucket in a shower stall, bathtub, or a large sink to avoid damage from sudden splash-out.
- Add one cup of liquid chlorine bleach into the hot water and slowly put the brush into the mixture.
- Allow the item to soak in bleach for one hour.
- Afterward, wearing hand gloves, remove the brush and rinse it under hot water for at least 30 seconds.
- Dry the brush with a microfiber cloth or air dry them before storing.
How do I get my toilet bowl to shine again?
Sprinkle one cup of borax around your toilet bowl, then spray half a cup of white vinegar over it. Let the solution stand there for a couple of hours or overnight if you want the best result. Next morning, scrub the bowl thoroughly with a toilet brush and rinse off with clean water.
Does vinegar damage toilet bowls?
No. Vinegar doesn’t damage your toilet bowl, tank, or other bathroom components. It’s a very effective cleaning ingredient that is safe for any cleaning and works as the best alternative to commercial bathroom cleaners.
In Conclusion
That was all I had to say about how to clean a toilet bowl. I believe you have now realized cleaning the toilet is not a tough job. It just requires a little bit of time and patience.
However, regular cleaning of your toilet bowl can greatly reduce your trouble.
Best of luck!
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