Tips To Maintain Cleanliness and Hygiene in Your Home Tips To Maintain Cleanliness and Hygiene in Your H | Page 14

Whether you divvy up your antibacterial blitz into small sessions or complete it in one fell
swoop, implementing these habits every couple of months will be like flushing your worries
down the…well, you know.
How to clean the Shower
What to do: Take it from the top: Pour an ample amount of white vinegar into a plastic grocery
bag (enough to fully submerge the shower head nozzle) and tie it in place for an overnight
soaking. Remove it in the morning and run the water to rinse. Give plastic shower curtains and
liners a spin in the washing machine with your regular detergent and a few old towels, which
act as scrubbers to help get rid of soap scum and mildew. Rehang to dry. For shower doors,
make a paste by adding a few drops of distilled white vinegar to a cup of baking soda; apply it
directly to the door (it’s nice and thick, so it will stick). Let sit for an hour, then rub with a
microfiber cloth. Rinse and buff dry with a fresh, dry microfiber cloth. The tub is less of an
issue—a weekly scrubbing is usually enough. But for extra gleam, fill it with hot water, then
drain. Apply a bathroom cleaner and let sit for 15 minutes before scrubbing.
Why: Besides the soap-scum issue, there’s the shower head, which can harbor Mycobacterium
avium, a pathogen linked to pulmonary disease. Gerba says that turning on a neglected shower
can send millions of germs straight into your lungs.
How to Refresh Dingy Grout
What to do: Dip a grout brush in straight bleach and scrub any discolored areas; rinse well. Be
sure to ventilate the room. Why: Grout is porous and highly susceptible to bacteria growth.
Cleaning Tile, Walls, and Ceilings
What to do: Spray tile, countertops, walls, and the ceiling with all-purpose cleaner and turn on
the shower, cranking the hot water until steam builds (about five minutes). Turn off the water,
shut the door on your way out, and let the steam and the cleaner mix for 20 minutes. Then
wipe down all surfaces with a clean cloth. To reach high spots, use a clean, dry microfiber mop.
Wipe the tile floor, too, but only after you’ve finished the rest of the dirty work. Why: Soaps,
along with the dirt and the skin cells they slough off, leave behind a microscopic film.
How to Get the Toilet Sparkly clean
What to do: Start by pouring a cup of baking soda into the bowl. Let sit for a few minutes; brush
and flush. Still seeing spots? A damp pumice stone is abrasive enough to remove stains caused
by mineral deposits and lime scale but gentle enough not to damage surfaces. Then tackle the
toilet brush itself, which you should be cleaning after every use. Here’s how: Secure the brush
handle between the already-cleaned seat and the basin so that it hovers over the bowl; pour