Bright and breezy

Bathrooms, those little rooms that can cause us to go into a panic when an unexpected friend turns up and ‘just’ needs to use it! But it needn’t be like that. Below are some simple steps to take so that you may never be caught out again.

First let’s assume here, since you are reading Kids Friendly, that you have at least one little munchkin who puts more toothpaste in the basin than on the toothbrush and if you’re lucky a little lad who is just getting the hang of aiming into the water bowl and not the toilet seat. With the family unit complete now, the reality is that it’s a lot harder to keep the bathroom clean than it was when there were only grown-ups around.

Live tidily. Make it a habit to put away anything that doesn’t belong in the bathroom. Your daughter’s hairbrush goes back into her room and those extra toys from bath-time, back into the toy box they go. Oh, and those dirty clothes on the bathroom floor; laundry baskets were designed to have clothes in them!

Tidying up after ourselves is a skill and habit that most of us should learn at some time in our lives, and childhood is a good time to get practice in. By making the children put their things back in the right place when they have finished with them, it means that next time they are looking for those things, they know where to find them. But, more importantly, for the person whose job it is to clean the bathroom, they are dealing with only the items that should be there. And although it is easier sometimes to leave things until later, don’t – because they will stay there tens times longer than if you spent a minute or two putting them away.

Think ahead. When cleaning the bathroom, if you notice items like toilet paper, soaps etc are running low, take a minute out to add these to your shopping list.

Daily Tasks

Make sure you clean all surfaces and taps daily, as this will help scum from building up on shower cubicles or baths. Hang up any wet towels to dry. If you don’t have a heated towel rail make sure there is room on the towel rail to allow them to dry. If towels are really wet, wash them as soon as possible to avoid them damping other items in the laundry basket and causing them to smell. Facecloths should be changed daily and bath towels twice a week.

Open bathroom windows after showers and baths to help prevent the build-up of mildew and wipe around window ledges if condensation is a problem. Rubbish bins should be emptied each day, for hygiene reasons.

Toilets should be cleaned daily if in a high use area. Use a clean cloth and anti-bacterial spray to wipe around the rim of the bowl and the toilet seat. Clean the toilet bowl with a toilet brush and disinfectant or toilet cleaner.

Weekly

The bathroom, including toilet, basin, bath, taps, floor, wall tiles, toothbrush holders, door handles and light switches, should all be cleaned at least once a week. Clean mirror weekly or as needed.

Cleaning basics

Bathrooms are full of germs and bacteria and therefore when cleaning you should work from the least contaminated area, such as door handles, to the worst contaminated area – the toilet! Use different cleaning cloths and tools for each area. Toilet cloths should only be used for toilet areas; don’t continue cleaning other areas of a bathroom once a cloth has been around the toilet – bacteria just love it.

Air fresheners

Although useful, fresh air from an open window is very effective as well!

Toothbrushes and toothpaste

Get the children in the habit of replacing the top back on the toothpaste tube after it is used and make sure all children have a clean toothbrush. As children will undoubtedly leave evidence of their teeth cleaning in the basin, make it a rule that the last one to clean their teeth (out of the children, that is) wipes down the basin. You might just find that teeth cleaning gets done a lot quicker in your household.

If you follow these simple steps throughout the week, then whenever you have a friend over you won’t have to worry. It won’t stop the misses and general work that children make, but it will mean you will be on top of it.