How to Clean Bathroom Floors
In this D.I.Y. I will show you how to clean bathroom floors. When it comes to cleaning bathroom floors, it is surprising that we don’t give the task the importance it deserves. Cleaning bathroom floors thoroughly and regularly not only keeps you safe from germs & bacteria, but it also keeps you free from accidents (that usually cause due to slippery floors). Sweeping the water off the bathroom floors doesn’t classify as cleaning it. It involves a list of steps right from the prepping to the finishing stages that we have explained here in detail.
Cleaning bathroom floors thoroughly
What do you need?
- Small broom or Vacuum Cleaner
- Damp Paper Towels
- Bucket
- Warm Water
- Floor cleaner (use the one that’s exclusively manufactured for bathroom floors)
- White Vinegar (optional)
- Mop
- 1 or 2 Dry Towels
- Sponge or wet wipes (optional)
Process
How to sweep the floor
- The first step in cleaning bathroom floors is to sweep them thoroughly. Get rid of all the items on the bathroom floors (mats, rugs, trash bins, buckets and the like), so that you can operate in an uninterrupted space.
- Use a small broom and sweep the bathroom floors thoroughly. Bring all the dust to the center of the bathroom so that it becomes easy to gather them into the dust pan.
- If you don’t have a broom, you can use a small vacuum cleaner to get rid of the dust and debris on the floor.
- Whether you use a vacuum cleaner or a broom, always remember to clean all the areas of your bathroom (at the sides and at the back of the toilet as well).
- Use a damp towel or a dustpan to gather all the dust that has accumulated in the center of the bathroom. Discard the dust in a garbage bin.
How to clean and mop the floor
- You have to proceed with these steps only if you are sure that your bathrooms are clean and free of dust. Else, you will be circulating the dust particles inside the bathroom when you mop the floors.
- Open the windows in your bathrooms to allow for air circulation before you start to mop the floors.
- You can buy any commercial floor cleaner to mop bathroom floors. However, make sure that they are designed for bathrooms only.
- Fill ¾th of a bucket with warm water ( about 1 gallon). Mix the right quantity of floor cleaner with this. Always read the instructions carefully on the label before adding the cleaner to the water. Instead of a store-bought floor cleaner, you can add about 1 cup of white vinegar to a bucket of warm water to make an effective DIY floor cleaner.
- Dip a sponge or spring mop in this bucket and wring it out well before using it to mop the floors. This is an important step because using too much cleaner on the floors will leave behind soapy residues and make the floor slippery.
- Choose mopping from the side that is the most distant from the bathroom door. Mop in thorough side-to-side and backward movements until you reach the door.
- When mopping at the corners of the bathroom floors, make sure to rotate the mop head in such a way that it cleans any dust and grime particles accumulated there.
- After mopping twice or thrice, check the clarity of water in the bucket before dipping the mop in it. If the color has changed a lot, you have to replace the water and add fresh cleaner to it.
- Place a dry towel near your bathroom doors. Using your feet, move the towel forward in side-to-side movements so that you can wipe over the floors that you have just mopped.
- When the towel gets very wet, remember to replace it with a dry towel. This step helps in drying your bathroom floors faster than you expected.
- Make sure to dry the floors as soon as you mop them. This will prevent mildew and mold from settling on the floors. Also, this step is important to prevent accidents due to slippery floors.
- If some areas are still wet after wiping them over with dry towels, you can use a paper towel or soft sponge to get rid of those damp spots.
Getting rid of bathroom tile grouts
Once you have swept and mopped the bathroom floors in the exact way we have mentioned in the above steps, you will notice that the floors become sparkling clean. That’s when the grouts on the tiles become more obvious than before! Getting rid of these grouts is the icing on the cake, when the task is about cleaning bathroom floors.
What do you need?
- Baking soda
- Water or hydrogen peroxide
- Old toothbrush (preferably with stiff bristles)
- Wet rags
Process
- Make a paste by mixing baking soda and hydrogen peroxide (or water) in a ratio of 2:1.
- Using your fingers, apply this paste over the tile grouts and let it remain there for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Use a stiff-bristled toothbrush to scrub the paste over the grout lines to get rid of the dirt accumulated there.
- Dip a soft rag in water and wring it out thoroughly before using it to wipe over the grout lines. Wipe well to get rid of the baking soda residues and dirt completely.
Additional Tips and Advice
- When making a DIY paste for cleaning tile grouts, always stick to the safe combinations of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. You can use vinegar instead of hydrogen peroxide, but only if your floors are not made of natural stone.
- Before using oxidized bleach and commercial tile-cleaning products, please check if they are suitable for the floors in your bathrooms.
- Always sweep and mop the floors thoroughly at least once a week. Cleaning the grout tiles can be done once a month.
- If your bathroom floors have stains from mold & mildew, or other bacterial infestations, you have to clean them first before mopping the floors. Using steam cleaners at high pressure is a good idea, in that case.
- Always use a thin and small broom to sweep the floors, as this is easy to navigate around small spaces behind the toilets, cabinets and other appliances that you may have inside the bathroom.
