Clean a Bathroom in 15 Minutes: Our Minute-by-Minute Guide

T-Minus 15 minutes to the cleanest bathroom ever. Get your supplies, your elbow grease and set the timer.

If there were a contest to determine the worst room at home to clean, there's no doubt which one would win. Although the kitchen can be a tough one to tackle, nothing compares to the utter grossness of a dirty bathroom. We won't go into details, but we will mention a few things -- mildew, soap scum, tight spaces around the toilet, mold -- that put the bathroom at the bottom of the chores list.

With all of those roadblocks to cleanliness, one might think that doing the job in a timely fashion is an impossible task. Luckily for all of us, that assumption is incorrect. It is possible! After getting advice from Mary Findley -- veteran cleaning expert, owner of Mary Moppins and author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Cleaning" -- we were able to transform our dirty bathroom into a sparkling, clean, ooh-la-la loo.

Before getting started, gather up the following supplies:
(You'll notice we're using pretty green products in this guide, but of course feel free to swap out your trusted favorites.)

-White Vinegar (Make sure the bottle says food-grade or made from grain)
-Baking Soda
-Nature's Miracle (Available at Pet Stores)
-All Purpose Bathroom Cleaner (Mary prefers Bio-Kleen, or any other product that has the EPA or Green Seal of Approval.)
-Window/Glass Cleaner
-Sink Brush
-Stiff-Bristled Toothbrush
-Sponge Mop
-Two Lint-Free Towels (Old Cotton T-Shirt Rags or Microfiber Cloths)
-Six Light Colored Terrycloth Hand Towels (This is the eco-friendly choice. You can always use paper towels for convenience.)
-Double Sided Tote Tray
-Dirty Rag Bag
-Bonus: A print-out of this article for reference!




First things first. The night before cleaning, pour a half cup of distilled white vinegar in the toilet. "Vinegar is a mild acid. What this does is neutralize and break down the water rings in the toilet," says Findley.

Now you are really ready to go.

Get everything out of the way -- 1 minute
While brushing your teeth in the morning, put whatever you have on your counter tops in a drawer or cabinet for the time being.

Prep the toilet and sink -- 30 seconds
Raise the toilet lid, sprinkle in some baking soda, then sprinkle a little around the sink. This serves as a scrub. Then grab your all purpose cleaner and spray the rim, seat, tops and sides of the toilet. Next, spray the sink and counter tops.

Clean the mirror -- 1 minute
Spray the mirror from the bottom to the top. "If you start at the top, little streaks of cleaner run down the surface, which wastes cleaner and is less efficient," says Findley. If the mirror is large, use both hands -- with a lint-free towel in each hand -- to clean in using circular strokes. "The right hand circles counter-clockwise, and the left hand circles clockwise. Make a figure eight pattern with your hands going up and down," says Findley. "This way you are cleaning and drying at the same time."

If the mirror is small, spray it with your dominant hand starting from the bottom, and use your other hand to wipe down the cleaner in a circular motion. When finished, place your glass cleaner back in the double sides tote tray, and put your dirty rags in the dirty rag bag.

Clean the toilet bowl -- 1 minute
Grab your toilet bowl cleaning brush and clean the inside of the toilet. Since you've already poured vinegar in the night before, cleaning should be easy. "Vinegar is a better disinfectant than bleach," says Findley. "It breaks down the hard water stains."


Clean the Sink and Countertops -- 2 Minutes, 30 Seconds
Grab your sink brush and dampen it with a bit of water. Clean the sink bowls, then rinse the brush. Pick up the toothbrush, dampen with some water and then scrub around the faucet. Then, with two hands, grab two terrycloth towels and wipe across the back of the sink, then across the counter using both hands. Then use a dry part of the towel to dry the sink bowl. If you have dual sinks, use two hands to clean in a circular motion, one sink at a time.


The toilet tank, lid and sides -- 2 minutes
Using the same towels, wipe down the toilet lid. Using both hands, wipe down the top of the tank, then drag both hands down either side of the toilet, then back across the top. Raise the lid and wipe around the toilet seat. Lift that up, wipe around the back side of the seat, then around the rim, and back around the seat to dry. Grab your Nature's Miracle and spray some on the floor around the toilet, then use the unused side of one towel to wipe the area down. "Never, ever, ever use bathroom cleaner on tile or granite floors. The chemicals will destroy the surface," says Findley. "I only use water, but if you want to disinfect, the Nature's Miracle contains enzymes that eat up bacteria." Throw the dirty rags in the dirty rag bag.

Clean the shower/tub walls -- 2 minutes
Grab your all-purpose cleaner, and start spraying the shower/tub walls, starting on the bottom left side. "Whenever you're spraying cleaner, move from left to right, bottom to top, to prevent streaks," says Findley. Now, pick up two clean terrycloth towels or paper towels, one per hand. This time, start from the top and wipe the walls with a circular motion. You'll want your hands to overlap a bit, so you don't miss any areas. Circle top to bottom, left to right, and you've just cleaned your shower walls in two minutes.

Clean the shower/tub floor and prep the floor towel -- 2 minutes
Spray down the bottom of the shower or tub with your all-purpose cleaner. Let it set. In the meantime, use water to dampen a towel for your floors -- two, if you are cleaning the floor on your hands and knees. If you'd like to disinfect, add a little Nature's Miracle to the cloth. If you have linoleum floors, it's okay to dampen the towel with all purpose cleaner. When you're done prepping your cleaning cloth, go back and wipe down the shower/tub floor.

Clean the floor -- 3 minutes
In a small space, it's okay to get down on your hands and knees to clean the floor, using your dampened rags. For a larger space, wrap a towel around a sponge mop. "Sponges are magnets for bacteria, and cannot be properly cleaned," says Findley. "I recommend avoiding them whenever possible." Clean the rest of your floor, and viola! You're done.

A few extra tips from Mary...
Many people have soap residue problems that can make cleaning extra difficult. To solve this problem -- buy new soap. "Soap residue problems come from the animal fat and lye that is in most bar soap. Switch to a glycerin-based bar soap, and you'll take even more time out of cleaning the bathroom."

For more advice or tips from Mary Findley, aka, Mary Moppins, check out her website!

We also love these 5 easy things to make your bathroom feel new from our sister site, DIY Life!