Over my years of cleaning, I've come to realize that normal household items can be life savers when it comes to cleaning. For many, toothbrushes may just be used for brushing ones teeth. But for a cleaner its almost like a surgical tool, and its a "must have" in our cleaning supply bags. Not just one but 2 or 3, colour quoted for different purposes in a home.
FOR the sake of todays blog, and to not overwelm everyone with my extreme OCD mind, we will just start with one room.
The room where toothbrushes are most commonly used to brush ones teeth. The Bathroom.
Here are at least 7 different ways to use a toothbrush to conquer hard spots in your bathroom that you may or may not know about.
1. Grout.
Depending on what kind of water you are on there are a few different issues you need to look for when it comes to the grout in your tiles, most commonly seen in the shower. Even if you are on city water many things can factor into your grout getting dirty. The soap you use, the shampoo and so on. Since many don't usually completely dry their shower out it gives time for things to build up and "grow" causing discolouration of the grout, mold and mildew.
If you are on a Well other things may come into play, like hard water, iron and so on. This is when you start to see a reddish buildup which commonly forms where water could be sitting stagnant for periods of time. Corners of the shower/bath around the drain, around the faucet and of course in the grout.
The best way to scrub these places is of course with a toothbrush. What I enjoy putting most on the toothbrush to help scrub the grout is the one and only Mothers Choice Scrub but that will be for another post.
2. Jets & Drains/Shower Faucets
Still referring to the shower area in your bathroom a few more places you need to look for buildup, especially if you have kids bathing on a regular, would be the jets in your bathtub. These jet are a sitting pool for bacteria/mold/mildew and buildup. But don't be alarmed its 100% preventable, and treatable!
So if your like most of the community these days, you do have a jet bathtub that you probably don't use. Most would think that since you don't use the jet feature very often you don't need to be alarmed, but its actually quite the opposite, the less you use your jets the more you should actually be cleaning them. So the thing is, when the jets are in use they are constantly sucking from the filter and pushing the water back out, giving them time to move and clean themselves. In the cases where you aren't using your jets, the bathtub is filling up and the water is staying stagnant inside the jets which is when it become and ideal place for bacteria to create and build.
TO prevent this from happening all you need to do is use your handy dandy toothbrush and a spray bottle or if you have a shower head you can take off and directly spray into the jets make sure you scrub around the casing, and then inside the jet and use your toothbrush to scrub around, this will loosen anything up and the water will wash it out. (SEE BELOW)
Also depending on the water you are on, and how your bathub is leveled, you may also notice a little bit of buildup around your drain, this is an easy fix the toothbrush is the perfect size to get around the drain.
Another place stuff may build in the shower that may be a little harder to notice is around the faucets themselves, since there are little spaces where the faucets were put in, it gives the water the chance to also sit stagnant there, again the toothbrush can get around these groves no problem!
3. Standup showers with, glass doors or sliding doors.
Everyone knows how nice a glass shower is, and loves the idea, but if you've cleaned as many houses I have or own a shower like this you will realize how much more work it actually is. Not only do you have to clean yourself in the shower but you need to worry about cleaning the shower and all its little nooks and crannies.
So the hole process of the doors is to keep the water contained in the shower, well to be able to keep the water in the shower and not on the floor there a plastic or rubber pieces that are puts on the sides of the glass and at the bottom. These get very dirty over time, with the water itself and from the shampoo and soap ect. This is where you will find the red buildup and yellow buildup. The nice thing about the bottom parts of the shower is that they slide out and you can wash them, the slots are usually pretty small but the toothbrush is a perfect fit.
Another part to look for is where the door actually opens and closes, this is where water usually sits and where stuff gets pretty icky, Best remedy for this is a spray bottle and a toothbrush of course.
4. Sinks
Finally moving out of the shower, I know this may all seem like a lot but its actually a no brainer and extremely quick to do. The next thing you need to look for in the bathroom is the sink, a few places around the sink that can be hard to get to with just a rag alone. Usually you only wash your hands and brush your teeth around the sink, but washing your hands can be a little messy and soap and scum can build up behind the back of the faucet along with the front of the faucet. Along with the overflow hole in the sink usually also gets built up, and if your like me your finger is just to big to get into that hole.
Another place that i've realized gets ridiculous buildup and it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I figured out you can use a toothbrush to get out the grime. I find that the old style taps (the ones that are kinda transparent,) as you open and close the tap it gives space between the knob and the inside part of the knob, where buildup happens, again all you need is your HANDY DANDY TOOTHBRUSH. and perhaps a spray bottle. (Of course you maybe half wondering now, that all I clean a bathroom with is water and a toothbrush, of course for the purpose of this blog, i'm only explaining specifics, we do use cleaners.
5. Toilets
Probably one of the last places you'd think about putting a toothbrush, but remarkably enough, toothbrushes are the only thing that will get in the corners. Toilet buildup can remain hidden very easily and its something you need to be aware of. The knobs that attach the seat to the toilet itself get dirty and a rag just wont cut it. Also the circle knobs on the bottom of the toilet on both sides get grimmy those can also be cleaned with a toothbrush.
6. Fans/Cupboards
It's funny because its not often that you look up at the ceiling while your in your bathroom, so I challenge you to look up! you will find that there is a fan there, and they get dusty. There are many ways you can clean this fan, you can get a ladder and take it off and clean it under running water. You can also take a toothbrush and they fit perfectly between the groves to get all the dust.
Another great use would be for the corners of the cupboards especially if the kids like to have toothpaste wars. Baseboards also.
7. Windows
Windows are probably the biggest thing in a household that get overlooked, have you ever noticed black build up in the spring or in the fall when you take your screens on or off. Well all that black stuff is a mixture of dirt leaves and mildew, and I have yet to see a window frame invented that you can just wipe off and be done with. Theres always extra lips and corners and groves, well the solution....Toothbursh, it gets into all those spaces without damaging the window.
If anyone has any questions or comments please feel free to email me ! I'm also going to be looking to block atleast once a week so reach out with questions that i can answer for ya !