How to Clean Your Toilet the Right Way
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Cleaning the toilet might not be your favorite thing to do when it comes to refreshing the bathroom, but it's necessary.
As time goes on, your toilet can start to accumulate high amounts of mold, yeast and germs. Charles Gerba, Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the Department of Environmental Science at the University of Arizona, says that viruses, in general, can live on your toilet's surface anywhere from a few hours to a few days. "Most cold and flu viruses survive from a few hours to up to nine days, [depending] on temperature and relative humidity," he says. This only adds to your toilet's icky factor and the consistent need to clean it throughout the week.
That's why it's important to know the best toilet bowl cleaning tips and products to rid every part of your toilet —including the lid, exterior and tank — of viruses and germs.
But where to start? According to Carolyn Forté, the executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Home Care & Cleaning Lab, many people neglect to read the instructions on their cleaning products. "Yes, a product can claim that it kills 99% of germs and bacteria," she says. "But it needs to stay wet to be effective, and if you're using it for a matter of seconds, it's not going to be effective."
Here, in our step-by-step guide to properly cleaning a toilet, you'll find expert-approved cleaning products and DIY solutions to keep your toilet sparkly clean on a regular basis.
What You'll Need to Clean Your Toilet
Before you get started, you need to be well-equipped for the job. Forté recommends keeping a separate set of cleaning supplies in your bathroom for the job (that aren't used on other surfaces across your house).
Disinfecting wipes
How to Clean Your Toilet the Right Way
Clean the Toilet Bowl:
When you clean your toilet, start with the bowl first so you can give the cleaner time to work while you tackle the remaining surfaces.
Put on your rubber gloves.
Coat the toilet bowl's entire interior, starting underneath the bowl's rim, with a product formulated to clean and disinfect, like Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Bleach.
Use your toilet brush to scrub away stains and deposits. "Be sure to scrub well, with the cleaner, around the inside of your bowl, the toilet bend if possible and underneath the rim of the bowl," Forté explains.
Let everything sit for five minutes, then flush it away.
If you run out of toilet bowl cleaner, the next best thing to use is actual bleach, Forté says. Simply measure out half a cup's worth of bleach and pour it into your toilet bowl. Use your brush to scrub the sides and beneath the bowl's rim, also allowing five minutes to pass before you flush it all away.
Clean the Outside of the Toilet:
To clean the outside of the toilet, Forté recommends using an all-purpose bathroom disinfecting spray, like Lysol Power Bathroom Foamer, which sanitizes hard surfaces in 30 seconds and disinfects them in 10 minutes.
Tackling one area at a time, spray the cleaner on the tank, outside of the bowl and the sides, and let it sit for 10 minutes.
Wipe each area thoroughly with a sponge or cloth, then rinse well before moving on to the next area, Forté says.
Don’t forget to clean the small area between the toilet seat and the tank.
Remember, surfaces need pre-cleaning before they can be disinfected and need to stay wet for the recommended time on the label to effectively kill germs. If you don’t want to leave the cleaner on for as long as recommended to disinfect — 10 minutes in some cases — after the toilet is clean and dry, go over all the surfaces again with a disinfecting wipe or apply a disinfecting spray, like GH Seal star Microban 24 Hour Sanitizing Spray, making sure they stay wet for the required time to kill bacteria and viruses.
Clean the Toilet Seat:
Finally, don't forget to clean the seat, then give your toilet one final flush.
Use the bathroom cleaner to clean both sides of the lid and toilet seat thoroughly, as you did with the tank and outer surfaces.
Lower the seat back on top of the bowl once you've finished.
Give the toilet flush handle — a high-touch spot — an extra pass with a disinfecting wipe and allow it to air dry.
In between cleaning sessions, it’s also a good idea to use a disinfectant wipe to rub the handle down.
How Do I Clean My Toilet With Vinegar and Baking Soda?
Give your toilet a simple yet effective refresh using a white vinegar and baking soda mixture. According to Forté, vinegar is best for removing hard water stains.
First, drain the water out of your toilet bowl.
Pour enough cups of white vinegar into the bowl to cover the entire rim and the water line, "so the vinegar dissolves the minerals that build up there," Forté notes.
Close the seat and let the vinegar sit overnight.
Then, pour one cup of baking soda into the bowl and add more vinegar, if needed, to create a fizzier solution.
Throw on a pair of gloves, then start scrubbing inside the bowl.
When done, flush and repeat the process, if needed, until the stains are gone.
You can also quickly clean the toilet bowl without scrubbing by simply stirring the vinegar and baking soda solution with your toilet brush. Flush to rinse everything out.
How Often Should I Clean My Toilet?
Disinfecting your toilet can help reduce the risk of coming into contact with threatening germs in your home. But it's important to understand that even after just one use, the toilet could once again play host to bacteria and viruses on its surfaces.
Forté says you should try to clean your toilet as often as possible, but that you should fully disinfect it every two to three days if someone is sick in your home. Outside of flu season, once a week — or biweekly, depending on how frequently the toilet is used — should suffice.
Forté also recommends factoring in time to actually disinfect your cleaning supplies. A toilet scrubbing brush can grow mold on its own if it's left in a watery holder. Forté says you should periodically clean the brush after you've finished scrubbing the toilet bowl and surfaces. To do so, spray it thoroughly with a disinfectant spray, and let it air dry by placing it between your toilet seat and the bowl itself (allowing the scrubbing head to hang above the water in the bowl).
For gloves, sponges or any other plastic cleaning supplies, you can make sure they're germ-free by soaking them for five minutes in a solution of three tablespoons of bleach mixed in one quart of water. Air-dry afterward.
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