How do I clean a bathroom quickly?

A bathroom takes about fifteen minutes if you use the waiting time and don't work against gravity. Most people spend twice that because they spray and immediately wipe, and because they clean the floor before the surfaces that drip onto it.

What you'll need

• Bathroom cleaner or a general spray
• Toilet cleaner
• Two cloths
• Squeegee
• Old toothbrush (optional)

Step by step

1. Apply toilet cleaner under the rim and spray the shower and sink.Everything gets its product first, then you leave it. This is the whole time-saving principle.
2. While that sits, clear surfaces and take out the bin and any laundry.Using the dwell time rather than standing waiting is where the fifteen minutes comes from.
3. Clean the mirror first, with a dry microfibre finish.Top of the room, and it splashes nothing below it.
4. Wipe surfaces, shelves and the outside of cupboards.Working downward so anything that falls lands on something not yet cleaned.
5. Wipe down the shower and screen, then rinse and squeegee.The product has been working for several minutes by now and should wipe rather than need scrubbing.
6. Clean the sink and taps, using a brush around the base of the taps.The tap base is where limescale and grime accumulate and where a cloth can't reach.
7. Do the toilet: brush the bowl, then wipe the seat, lid, cistern and — importantly — the base and behind.Behind and around the base is the part usually missed and the source of most bathroom smells.
8. Do the floor last, working backwards out of the room.So you never walk on what you've just cleaned.

Tips

• A squeegee kept in the shower, used for thirty seconds after each use, prevents almost all limescale and soap scum. It's the single highest-value bathroom habit.
• Keep a cloth and spray in the bathroom itself. A two-minute wipe when you notice something beats a scheduled deep clean.
• Run the extractor during and for fifteen minutes after showering — it prevents mould, which is the hardest bathroom problem to fix.
• An old toothbrush handles taps, plugholes and grout lines that nothing else reaches.

Common mistakes

• Spraying and immediately wiping — The product hasn't had time to work, so you scrub instead of wipe.
• Cleaning the floor first — Everything above drips onto it and you do it twice.
• Forgetting behind and around the toilet base — It's the most common source of persistent bathroom smell.
• Using an acidic limescale cleaner on natural stone — It permanently etches marble, limestone and travertine.

Questions people ask