Tuesday 30 September 2008

How Clean is Your Toilet?

I apologise for the lack of pictures but I am still having computer problems. Anyway, I think this is one post that will benefit from a lack of images!

Generally I consider myself to be a clean and hygienic person but (I will let you into a secret here) I have never really known how to properly clean a toilet! There are many sites on the Internet advising on how to clean the toilet but they don't cover everything I need to know. For example there is a video clip of a woman using colour coded gloves (used specifically for cleaning the toilet) and then she turns the taps on whilst wearing them. Yuk! After she has cleaned the toilet she changes into another pair of gloves to clean the rest of the bathroom touching the same taps that she has touched with the 'toilet' gloves! Could somebody explain to me what you are supposed to do with the 'toilet' gloves after the cleaning session? Where do you store them?

Some sites advise you to wear eye protection whilst carrying out the toilet cleaning procedure. The reader is advised to clean all surrounding objects, bins etc as 'men don't always aim correctly' and items get sprayed! After reading all this I am feeling even more inadequate with my toilet cleaning as I never imagined that things surrounding the toilet were likely to be covered in pee!

I threw out my toilet brush many months ago as I didn't like the thought of the brush sitting in a soup of germs. How do you keep the brush clean? How often are you supposed to clean it?

Armed with eye protection, rubber gloves, paper towels, a sponge (although some people advise against this) cleaning powder, disinfectant, lime scale remover and bleach spray I am now equipped to clean the toilet. Surely I don't need all this paraphernalia to clean the toilet. Do I need to wear special clothes too? Maybe I should set aside some toilet cleaning overalls and put plastic bags over my shoes. Wearing a dust mask might be a good plan of action too, to protect me from breathing in undesirable chemicals!

This post is written tongue in cheek but I would seriously like to know how you clean your toilet, what you use and how you store the 'toilet' rubber gloves! There must be a simpler way to keep the lavvy clean!

7 comments:

  1. this is so funny! I never knew there were sites with toilet cleaning advise! don't forget about the reams of disposable products too, one use wipes etc, and even single used chemical warfare style overalls! we mostly rely on just bleach in our household..........

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  2. Hehehe I too didn't know there were sites out there showing how to clean the toilet. Personally I don't bother with gloves - if I'm using a toilet brush other than my own I always use toilet paper to grip the handle and protect my hands but when cleaning the bathroom I just put on some clothes I know I am about to wash, clean the toilet with ecover products and the brush then wipe all the surfaces with more eco friendly products and then throw away the cloth I used for cleaning around the toilet. Then when everything is clean I jump in the shower to make sure I am clean! Does that make sense? I'm naturally a worrier about germs so I tend to try and keep the toilet brush clean just by using it only when necessary and doing a proper clean of the toilet as regularly as possible.

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  3. I do it at the weekend before I get in the shower. I just use a general bathroom cleaner and get stuck in with my hands and give them a good scrub afterwards. That way, you haven't got to worry about where to keep the gloves or what clothes to wear. Then I usually throw a bit of bleach down too for good measure!!

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  4. Oh, you really have educated me (and made me giggle) I had no idea you could get toilet cleaning tutorials (Ha!) on the internet. I might go and look at them but then I'll probably find out I'm doing it all wrong and feel inadequate like you!
    I just make sure I have one set of cleaning things for the loo and nothing else. The cloth is blue, so I have a little mantra - 'blue for loo, pink for sink'. That way nobody gets mixed up! Or that's the theory anyway...
    Deb x

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  5. Like Deb, I have a set of cleaning things just for the bathroom - mine too, is blue for the loo:) Like Julia I get stuck in with my hands, loo brush and old toothbrush for under the rim. I always use Ecover products too. I usually try to make it the last thing I clean, in clothes that are ready for the wash, so that I can put them in the laundry bin afterwards.

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  6. I put on my mask.... curse the blasted men that used the loo why cant they just pee out the front garden where my dogs go? they only need to hide in the corner like a naughty boy...I have rubber gloves just for the loos and gallons of the bleach.

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  7. This is a funny post!
    I know what you mean about brushes..but how else can you do it properly. I put my brush down into clean water and then squeeze lots of bleech or toilet cleaner all around and on the brush - Ecover is my favorite - and then brush away hard - at long arms length and mouth tightly closed. So the brush is immersed in a cleaner as it does its job and goes back in its pot with a little cleaner squirted on the top of the brush as I put it away.
    I was in hospital once and saw the cleaner cleaning the toilet brush that she had just cleaned the toilet with - in the hand sink! YUK
    Carol x

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