How Often Should You Clean Toilets?

Even though they receive a lot of everyday use, toilets are easy to overlook when cleaning time arrives. Cleaning the toilet is an unglamorous but neccesary task. Clean your toilet once a week to keep it hygienic and avoid a more difficult cleaning job later on.

Toilets should be cleaned once a week. This includes the exterior surface as well as inside the bowl. Spray disinfectant and wipe the bowl surface with a sponge. Spray the sides of the bowl interior, above the water line, with a cleanser. Allow this cleanser to sit for approximately 10 minutes so that it has time to work on the dirt and germs inside the bowl. Scrub the bowl interior with a toilet brush, then flush the toilet.

A major reason to clean the toilet is for appearance reasons. This type of cleaning should be done on an as-needed basis, such as immediately before and after times of high traffic, like when you have visitors. This cleaning is not a deep, comprehensive cleaning, but rather focuses on wiping the surface clean. You'll need a disinfectant and a sponge. Wear gloves to protect your hands, and make sure that the room is well ventilated with an open door or window.

To protect the toilet bowl from possible mineral deposit buildup, scrub around the bowl interior using a toilet brush on a daily basis. This task will take you a minimal amount of time. Concentrate on the area just below the lip of the bowl, moving over the rim holes, through which water enters the bowl from the tank. For this daily cleaning, you don't need any chemical cleaners, just dip the brush in the toilet bowl water and scrub. Also scrub the top of the bowl rim clean.

If you clean a toilet properly, at least once a week, it should never get to the point of being too unmanageable. However, sometimes a deeper cleaning is necessary. To deep clean the toilet, first shut off the water to the toilet and flush the toilet. Remove the remaining bowl water with a paper cup, or force it down the drain with a plunger. Spray cleanser around the dry bowl interior, allow it to set for 10 minutes, then scrub it clean. A pumice stone is effective for scrubbing away tough stains.