10 Bathroom Items You Should Clean or Replace ASAP
Banish germs and bacteria by refreshing these everyday bathroom items.
It's obvious you should be wiping down your toilet, tub, and sink, but there are plenty of bathroom areas and items that you're probably neglecting. Be honest: When's the last time you looked at your exhaust fan? And how often should you replace bathroom rugs? Also, consider the items you should be getting rid of altogether, like rusted razor blades and expired medications. Our list of most-forgotten cleaning tasks will have your space sparkling from top to bottom.
1. Hairbrushes and Combs
Your hairbrush harbors a lot more than just hair. It also holds onto dust, dirt, oils, hair products, and even dust mites—not the kind of buildup you want on your clean hair. Pull excess hair out of your brushes daily, and shampoo your hairbrush at least once a month.
To clean, add a few drops of shampoo to warm water and swirl the mixture until suds form. Submerge the bristles in the water. Use a clean toothbrush to scrub near the base of the bristles. Rinse with fresh water, and leave your hairbrush out to dry, bristle-side down, on a clean towel overnight. You can use the same method for cleaning combs.
2. Bath Mats
Bath mats have serious mildew potential, thanks to their humid environments, so be sure to wash them regularly. First, check your mat's care label, since some, especially ones made of plastic or with rubber backing, may require a gentle cycle or hand-washing. If it's machine-washable, toss your mat in with some bath towels and follow the manufacturer's instructions. If your mat's lost its tag, follow our guide to cleaning every type of bath mat.
Since these floor coverings get lots of traffic in a room devoted to grooming activities, it's a good idea to clean your rugs and bath mats at least every three to four weeks. How often you replace a bathroom rug will depend on its condition: Any bath mat or rug with damage or significant wear should be replaced as soon as possible.
3. Loofahs
Whether they're made of natural or manmade materials, loofahs are a breeding ground for bacteria, mold, and yeast, and a host to all the dead skin cells you've scrubbed off in prior washes. Most experts recommend you permanently remove loofahs from your bathroom routine, but replacing natural sponges once every three to four weeks, and the plastic variety every two months, is a good alternative. To keep them (and yourself) as clean and bacteria-free as possible, dry them between uses, don't use them right after you shave, and clean them weekly by soaking in a diluted bleach solution for five minutes before rinsing thoroughly.
4. Toilet Brushes
Toilet brushes have one of the dirtiest jobs of all, and they often go uncleaned. Remove bacteria, grime, and fecal matter by soaking your toilet brush in a bucket filled with hot water and a few capfuls of bleach. After an hour, remove and rinse with hot water. Once it's dry, you can return it to its holder, but we recommend you clean that, too. Putting a clean toilet brush into a grimy holder will defeat your hard work.
5. Toilet Handle
Most of us clean the toilet bowl regularly, but the actual flusher—which everyone touches before they stop at the sink—often gets skipped in the process. To prevent the spread of germs, give your toilet handle a good wipe-down every time you clean the bowl. If you're cleaning your toilet with a diluted bleach solution, you can use the same solution on the handle. Alternatively, you can use a disinfecting wipe to easily clean toilet handles and seats.
6. Makeup Brushes
That occasional blemish might have less to do with stress or hormones, and more to do with dirty makeup brushes. About every two weeks, or when your brush bristles are no longer soft and your coverage starts to look cakey or streaky, wash makeup brushes with unscented bar soap, baby soap, or a dedicated brush cleanser. Once they're dry, store the brushes away from splashes, in a cabinet or drawer, to keep them clean as long as possible.
7. Bathroom Exhaust Fan
Surfaces are an obvious choice for daily or weekly bathroom cleaning, but what about your ceiling? Bathroom exhaust fans remove moisture from the air, making them a prime target for mold and mildew growth, as well as dust buildup. To spot-clean, an all-purpose cleaner sprayed onto a microfiber cloth can help remove visible grime on the fan's cover. For a deeper clean—once or twice yearly, depending on the amount of use—you'll need to remove the cover to vacuum the fan blades and vent.
:Our Step-by-Step Guide to Cleaning a Bathroom Fan
8. Soap Dispenser
You use it every day to keep your hands clean, but when's the last time you gave your soap dispenser a good scrub? If you decant your hand soap into a pump dispenser, include the container in your weekly bathroom cleaning routine. First, remove the lid. If there's still soap in the container, temporarily pour the contents into another container. Mix warm water and a few drops of dish soap to wash a glass or plastic soap dispenser. For built-up residue, scrub using a clean toothbrush. If your soap dispenser is glass, you can also place it in the top rack of your dishwasher, which will sanitize it. Hand-wash the pump with warm, soapy water, using a toothpick to remove clogs if necessary. For quick wipe-downs between deep cleans, simply grab a disinfecting wipe.
9. Expired Medication
That ibuprofen that's been sitting in the back of your medicine cabinet for five years needs to go. It typically has a shelf life of 24 to 36 months. After that, it starts losing potency, so there's no reason for you to hold onto it. Check the expiration dates on all of your medications yearly, and get rid of them if you see they've gone bad. Be sure to read the labels for the safest methods of disposal.
10. Razor Blades
If you're using your disposable razor into obvious signs of rust and wear, it's time to throw it out. To keep a new razor clean, be sure you rinse it thoroughly after each use and get rid of any hair or shaving cream that might be lingering between the blades. Wipe it down with a cotton ball covered in isopropyl alcohol, and make sure it's stored somewhere dry between shaves.
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