How to Clean a Bathroom: 5 Eco-Conscious Tips
7 minute read
Have you ever taken a second to stand in a perfectly clean bathroom and admire the shine reflecting off the surfaces?
A sparkling clean bathroom can be a wonderful sight. The best part is, you can achieve this little haven in your house without using harsh chemicals or toxic cleaning products.
Cleaning your bathroom in an eco-conscious way is much easier than you might think. This guide will walk you through our top tips describing how to clean a bathroom in a way that’s good for you and the environment.
What Is Eco-Conscious Bathroom Cleaning?
Before we get into the specifics of scrubbing your bathroom, let’s talk a little bit about what eco-conscious means in terms of bathroom cleaning products.
As we clean, the products we use can come in contact with our skin and the air we breathe, which means it’s important to avoid ingredients that may harm our health. To keep our cleaning eco-conscious, it’s equally important to ensure that the products we send down the drain won’t harm our planet.
According to the Environmental Working Group, there are clues you can look for when you shop for cleaning products, such as:1
- Organic or plant-based ingredients
- No harmful, harsh chemicals
- Fragrance-free or naturally fragranced products
- Recyclable or biodegradable packaging
- Readily biodegradable cleaning solutions
Another clue to look for is the Safer Choice logo.2 This symbol was designed by the U.S. EPA to help people identify products without harmful ingredients like bleach, ammonia, and dyes. By keeping an eye out for this logo on plant-powered cleaning products like ECOS cleaners, you can achieve a clean bathroom without unwanted, harmful chemicals.
Tip #1: Scrub Your Sink and Shower With a Plant-Powered Bathroom Cleaner
A few simple strategies can help you maximize your eco-conscious cleaning power and save time. Start with the areas that encounter the most buildup—namely, your sink and shower.
Beginning with these areas is always a wise step, as you may need to let products sit on these surfaces for a little while before wiping them off. In the meantime, you can start shining the other parts of your bathroom.
The key areas you’ll want to target include:
- Soak the shower walls and tub – Begin by coating your shower walls and your tub with a plant-powered bathroom cleaner like ECOS Bathroom Cleaner. If your shower features any buildup of soap scum or other products, let this product sit for a few minutes.
- Spritz your sink – You can use the same cleaner to remove any toothpaste and soap residue from your bathroom sink. Spray on your cleaning product and let it sit to melt away tough spots.
- Don’t neglect your shower curtain liners or shower door – Your shower curtain liners need regular attention, too. A weekly spray with ECOS One-Step Disinfectant and wipe-down can help keep soap scum, mold, and mildew at bay. If you don’t have a shower curtain but instead a shower door, treat it as you would the shower walls. Allow the product to sit on the liner for 10 minutes and then wipe it (and any mildew) away with a cleaning cloth.
Once you’ve let your cleaner sink in, use a reusable cleaning cloth, like a microfiber cloth, to wipe it away. Sticking with fabric towels instead of paper options can help you to minimize waste with each cleaning.
An Extra Tip for Effortless Daily Shower Cleaning
How often should you clean your bathroom shower? You can double the power of your water usage to maintain your shower’s cleanliness daily. All it takes is a plant-powered bathroom cleaner that doesn’t need to be rinsed away after use.
Simply mist the cleaner onto the wet shower tiles and fixtures after you’ve finished showering. Then, you can let it sit until the next time the shower runs. This step allows you and your shower to become sparkling clean at the same time. By skipping the additional rinse, you can also lower your water usage and save resources.
Tip #2: Give Your Toilet the TLC it Needs
Let’s face it—many of the toilet cleaning products out there are full of harsh chemicals that you don’t want to touch or send down the drain. Luckily, you can use safer cleaners without sacrificing quality and safety.
When it comes to how to clean a toilet, try using:
- ECOS Toilet Bowl Cleaner to clean the bowl, lift stains, and fight odors
- ECOS One-Step Disinfectant Cleaner to clean and disinfect the lid and seat
Once you have your earth-friendly supplies, it’s time to start scrubbing. There are three key areas of the toilet to make sure you target:
- Toilet bowl – Be sure to clean the parts you can and cannot see thoroughly. This means making sure you spray and scrub under the rim of the bowl where germs and bacteria like to congregate.
- Seat – The toilet seat comes into direct contact with your skin when you sit on the toilet, so don’t forget to give it a good scrub.
- Lid – Even the lid of your toilet can collect bacteria from the water spray when you flush. Make sure to wipe it down with your safer disinfectant.
Tip #3: Make Your Mirrors and Glass Sparkle
Our bathroom mirrors do an excellent job of reflecting our amazing hair days and the glowing results of our skincare routines, but they also take a beating. Water, toothpaste, and even hairspray can mar their shiny surfaces over time.
If you have the correct tools for the job, cleaning your mirror and other glass surfaces in an eco-conscious way can be pretty simple.
There are two things to keep in mind when cleaning glass surfaces:
- Vinegar is your best friend – Nothing gives glass its shine back quite like vinegar. There’s a reason your grandmother kept old newspapers and a spray bottle of vinegar around for window cleaning. Look for a plant-powered glass cleaner that uses vinegar instead of toxic ammonia, like ECOS Window Cleaner.
- Avoid lint – Don’t use regular paper towels or cloths that leave behind little bits of lint. This will keep you from getting that nice, clean mirror you want. Instead, opt for a reusable lint-free cloth that also avoids paper towel waste.
With these strategies and the right supplies, making your glass surfaces shine is as easy as a spray and a wipe.
Tip #4: Freshen Up Your Floor
Our bathroom floors see everything—first our dirty feet and dirty clothes, then our clean feet and soapy water from the shower. That list only begins to cover it, but luckily the list of products you need to keep your bathroom floor spotless isn’t nearly as long.
To clean your bathroom tiles the eco-conscious way, you’ll need a few key tools:
- A damp cloth
- A plant-powered all-purpose cleaner
- A grout and tile cleaner, like ECOS Surface Scrub
- An old toothbrush
Next, follow these steps for an easy clean:
- Begin by applying a layer of cream cleanser to the floor tile and grout.
- Allow the cleanser to sit for a few minutes.
- Next, wipe the cream cleanser away with a damp cloth.
- If you find some areas resistant to cleaning, an old toothbrush can help get into those tough-to-reach spots.
- Finish your floors by spraying them with your all-purpose cleaner and wiping them down once more.
And voila! Squeaky clean bathroom tiles.
Tip #5: Remove Water Spots and Stains
Lastly, you want to make sure to remove any water spots from your metal fixtures. The minerals in your water can leave behind spotty residue that can sully the appearance of your faucet, showerhead, and even the toilet. If left unchecked, these water spots can set up permanent residence in your bathroom.3
Fortunately, they too can be removed with the right safer cleaning products:
- For stainless steel surfaces – If your bathroom comes equipped with stainless steel fixtures, you can use a solution formulated specifically to polish and clean steel. ECOS Stainless Steel Cleaner fights water spots and stains with plant-based ingredients such as soy.
- For other surfaces – An eco-conscious bathroom cleaner can also help fight water spots and soap buildup on metal fixtures.
Regardless of what earth-friendly products you choose, you can clean your metal fixtures with a few simple steps:
- Spray the stainless steel cleaning solution on a damp cloth. In most cases, 2–3 spritzes should suffice.
- Rub the cleaning solution onto the metal fixture. Be sure to reach areas around the edges and contours.
- Use your cloth to continue wiping and polishing the surface until it appears clean and spot-free.
- For an extra shine, you can buff the metal fixtures with a dry, clean cloth.
ECOS: Your Trusted Bathroom Cleaning Assistant
With safer cleaning solutions, you can keep your bathroom spotless while feeling confident about your cleaning power and your impact on the environment. But with so many options out there, how do you know which ones to trust?
At ECOS, we’re dedicated to making safer, plant-powered home cleaning solutions for every room in your home. Our climate-positive facilities create products with readily biodegradable formulas, so you get the clean you want without the harsh chemicals you don’t.
Of course, you can use our plant-powered cleaners far beyond your bathroom. Whether you’re doing a load of laundry, cleaning baby toys, or making your dishes shine, we have a safer cleaning solution that works for you and the planet.
For a more sustainable clean every time, choose ECOS.