When it comes to cleaning rooms, no task is dreaded as much as cleaning toilet bowls in the bathroom. Because of this, people often wait until the bowl is visibly dirty before tackling the grimy issues.

Clean Stubborn Toilet Rings

Rings often appear at the water line of the toilet. These rings are from a build-up of various deposits, like rust, calcium and lime. Cleaning them with regular commercial products or house cleaning remedies may not work on stubborn stains.

To eliminate stubborn rings, turn off the water flow. Rings cannot be eliminated if the bowl is still full of water. After turning the water off, empty the bowl by flushing once. Then, fill the bowl above the ring line with white vinegar or a mixture of bleach and water. Chlorine is another substance that is often used successfully. Be sure to open windows to avoid fume buildup and wear protective gloves. Let this sit overnight. The next day, try scrubbing the ring with a scrubber.

If stubborn toilet rings persist after the overnight soak, it may be necessary to scrape the rings off. This is a delicate process, as it may scratch the toilet bowl. Use a small straight edge razor or natural pumice stone. Carefully and lightly scrub the ring off, adding more pressure as needed. Do small areas at a time, so any resulting scratches are small.

Cleaning Toilet Bowls Tips

Unless the toilet bowl has deep and dark rings, cleaning toilet bowls can be quick and easy. Follow these steps to clean a toilet bowl:

1. Open windows and put on protective rubber or latex gloves.
2. Flip the toilet lid and seat up.
3. Squirt a commercial or homemade cleaning product under the toilet bowl rim.
4. Spray or sprinkle some cleaning product in the rest of the bowl.
5. Let the products sit for five to fifteen minutes, or as recommended on the product label.
6. Take a scrub brush and scrub down the sides and bottom of the toilet bowl until it is clean.
7. Flush the products down the toilet.

Do not use the scrub brush to clean the rest of the toilet, as it may spread germs that were present in the bowl to the handle or seat. To save money, find a multi-purpose product that works well inside the toilet bowl, outside the toilet bowl and on other bathroom fixtures.

How to Clean a Toilet

After cleaning the toilet bowl, continue cleaning the rest of the toilet fixture. Spray the top and sides of the tank, handle, lid and seat. Wipe them down using a damp rag, following with a dry rag. Wait to clean the bottom of the toilet until after mopping the floor, as grime can be transferred from the floor to the base of the toilet when the mop brushes against the toilet. Finish up by wiping down the base of the toilet.

Toilet Bowl Cleaning Products

A number of products are on the market for cleaning bathrooms and toilets. Commercial brands of cleaning products that include toilet bowl cleaners include:

• Clorox
• Lysol
• Scrubbing Bubbles
• The Works
• Comet
• Mr. Clean

Commercial chemical cleansers are not always environmentally safe cleaning products. Make a homemade toilet bowl cleanser using household products or look for companies that offer earth friendly cleaners.

Toilet Bowl Maintenance

The more often a toilet bowl is cleaned, the easier the job becomes. Add cleaning the toilet bowl to the daily schedule for cleaning house. Maintaining the toilet bowl by doing a quick spray and scrub each day will keep stains, rings and germs out of the toilet and the bathroom.

People who have pets should take care when using tablets or other cleaning items that stay in the toilet for weeks or months at a time. These can harm animals that may drink from the toilet bowl. Even if the dog is trained to stay away from the toilet, he may get into it while owners are away.

No one likes cleaning bathrooms. It has got to be the worst job in the whole house/apartment. Having a clean bathroom is an important part of having a clean and healthy home. House cleaning professionals know some great secrets to get the bathrooms they clean sparkly clean and germ free. Here are some of the best tips for cleaning bathrooms quickly and efficiently from house cleaning professionals

Windows, glass and mirrors can be cleaned well with a mixture of 1/3 cup of white vinegar mixed with 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol with water in a 32 ounce bottle. This simple inexpensive spray is made of ingredients that you have around the house, and is one of the best glass cleaning solutions around.

To keep alkaline spots from forming on your glass shower doors and bathtub walls, apply a coating of car wax. Glass shower doors and bathtub walls are porous, and the car wax coats those pores, making cleaning these areas easier. Don’t coat the tub itself with car wax, however. The coating will make the bathtub slippery and dangerous. Car wax will need to be applied twice a year to be effective.

Once a week, clean your showers with an orange type of cleaner. To make this cleaning a bit easier, spray the orange spray on the shower and let it set for ten minutes. The orange cleaner will have time to dissolve the grime and eliminate some of the work for you. Using liquid soap, natural soap, and Dove also eliminates some of the soap scum and build up that can occur, making your bathroom cleaning job easier, as well.

For really nasty soap scum build up, you may need to take more drastic measures. Spray down the shower areas you want to clean with undiluted orange cleaner and let it sit on the surface. Or wipe the surface area down with concentrated orange cleaner and an old rag. Let the solution sit of the surface for a while. When you can scratch the soap scum off with a fingernail, the crud is starting to loosen, and your scum problem will soon be solved.

White scrubbing pads help make your bathroom surface cleaning go faster. Only use the white bristle scrubbing pads, and be sure to check to see if your scrubbing pad scratches too much before you use it extensively. Keeping the scrubbing pad moist will also make your scrubbing job go more quickly for you.

If you have a plastic shower curtain, you can wash it in the wash machine. Let the curtain hang to dry. Or by a cheap plastic curtain from the dollar store near you and throw it away when it gets dirty. Of course, don’t put your plastic shower curtain in the drier. Or you can spray your plastic shower curtain with orange cleaner and let the cleaner set for 10 minutes before wiping it clean.

Alkaline deposits can cause some disgusting rings around your toilet bowel even if you clean it regularly. If you pour a cup or two of white vinegar in your toilet tank once a month, you can eliminate this problem. The amount of vinegar needed depends on the hardness of your water. a while. When you can scratch the soap scum off with a fingernail, the crud is starting to loosen, and your scum problem will soon be solved.

White scrubbing pads help make your bathroom surface cleaning go faster. Only use the white bristle scrubbing pads, and be sure to check to see if your scrubbing pad scratches too much before you use it extensively. Keeping the scrubbing pad moist will also make your scrubbing job go more quickly for you.

If you have a plastic shower curtain, you can wash it in the wash machine. Let the curtain hang to dry. Or by a cheap plastic curtain from the dollar store near you and throw it away when it gets dirty. Of course, don’t put your plastic shower curtain in the drier. Or you can spray your plastic shower curtain with orange cleaner and let the cleaner set for 10 minutes before wiping it clean.

Alkaline deposits can cause some disgusting rings around your toilet bowel even if you clean it regularly. If you pour a cup or two of white vinegar in your toilet tank once a month, you can eliminate this problem. The amount of vinegar needed depends on the hardness of your water.

Additional notes:

• If your shower curtain sticks on the rod, wipe the rod with a coat of furniture polish to create an easy glide. You could also try a set of rolling shower curtain rings.
• Use baby oil to break up tough soap scum on glass. Fabric softener sheets are another secret weapon when you're scrubbing a cloudy shower door.
• Leave a couple of fabric softener sheets inside the bathroom wastebasket to keep it smelling fresh.
• If your bathroom mirror fogs up a lot, cover it with a thin coat of shaving cream, then clean as usual. It should keep the glass from developing water spots for a couple of weeks.
• To fill the bathroom with your favorite scent, dab a little bit of perfume on a cold light bulb. As the bulb heats up, the fragrance will diffuse into the room.