How to Clean a Toilet, and Exactly What You'll Need to Get the Job Done Right, According to Experts
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Let’s be honest, cleaning the toilet isn’t exactly a glamorous task. If you’ve ever found yourself staring into that grimy porcelain throne, wondering how it’s ever going to look shiny again, then you’re not alone. But it’s more important than ever to clean your toilet effectively and often to avoid any bacterial or viral infections.
“Intestinal and waterborne germs are what we would most likely be exposed to in our bathrooms,” explains Benjamin D. Galvan, a nationally certified infection preventionist with Tampa General Hospital and a member of the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology communications committee. “While waterborne germs tend to affect those that are at risk for rare diseases, like immunocompromised people, we are generally all susceptible to infectious intestinal germs.”
Be sure to wash your hands often with soap and water after touching dirty surfaces (like using a bathroom) to avoid spreading disease and germs, and ensure that high-touch surfaces in your home (like your toilet) are cleaned appropriately and often, Galvan says.
Now that you know how important it is to clean your toilet, you may be wondering how exactly to clean your commode. We chatted with industry experts to break down how to clean yours the right way.
What you’ll need to clean a toilet
Before you grab your toilet-cleaning brush and get to it, but sure to stock up on all the appropriate materials and supplies our experts say are necessary to get the job done right.
✔️ Bowl brush. Choose a bristle option over cotton, as this cleans much better and is more sanitary, says Joel Craddock, International Sanitary Supply Association Cleaning Management Institute Master Trainer. We love the ZY Toilet Brush with Holder Set.
✔️ Microfiber cloth. Paper towels are also an option, but Craddock likes that microfiber is laundreable for multiple uses. Try MR.SIGA Microfiber Cleaning Cloths.
✔️ Bowl cleaner. Read the label to ensure your bowl cleaner has some kind of disinfectant or hypochlorite (like a household bleach) in the ingredients, Craddock says. “Hypochlorite-containing products are best for cleaning and disinfecting bathrooms as it has a wide range of germicidal activity, and is often necessary for killing certain germs,” Galvan agrees. Just be sure to check your bowl cleaner and any other chemicals you’re using to make sure they don’t interact in a negative way. We like to use Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner to get the job done.
✔️ Neutral all-purpose cleaner. Pick a product that cleans quickly and has a shorter wet contact time (the amount of time the product needs to be on the surface to effectively kill germs), Galvan says. You’ll also want something that kills a wide spectrum of germs and is the least toxic, he adds. We love Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner Spray or try our healthy home awards winner 9 Elements All Purpose Cleaner.
✔️Acid cleaner. If your toilet is stained from mineral deposits or has rust stains, a quick acid clean will usually do the trick. This happens in areas where people have hard water issues, Craddock says. Genuine Joe Acid Bowl Cleaner is a great pick.
✔️ Gloves. Either disposable one-time use or reusable gloves that you clean well after each use will do the trick, Craddock says.
✔️ Optional: N95 mask and eye protection. If you’re in an enclosed space, using a spray trigger, or using a lot of chemicals, opt for goggles or safety glasses that cover the whole eye and a mask to avoid breathing in the vapors, Craddock says.
How to properly clean a toilet
By using cleaning supplies that already have disinfectants in them, there’s really no difference between cleaning and disinfecting your toilet. You just need to get down to do the (dirty) work, and you’ll be left with a sparkly toilet bowl that’s squeaky clean.
“Cleaning physically removes organic material, and some germs, from a surface. Disinfection actually kills the germs,” Galvan says. “It’s important to understand the difference as proper disinfection cannot occur unless the disinfectant can reach the surface where the germs are located. Proper cleaning is vital to proper disinfection.”
Craddock breaks down exactly how to clean a toilet, using step-by-step instructions from the training book itself.
Flush
In order to work with the cleanest toilet water possible, be sure to close the lid (thousands of particles can come out four to five feet and stay airborne for hours, he warns) and flush the toilet before beginning. This is a great opportunity to open your window before starting with any chemicals to help ventilate.
Inspect
Lift the lid and seat separately and check for any residue, or stuck on bodily fluids that need extra care. Start out with a neutral cleaner to remove the soil. Once you’ve loosened the material with an all-purpose cleaner, use a microfiber or paper towel to wipe it clean. Be sure to dispose of this in a lined trash receptacle.
Clean the outside
Now it’s time to spray the entire outside of your toilet with disinfectant. Be sure to read the label, and check the “wet contact time” to ensure you leave the disinfectant on long enough for it to do its job. This means the product must saturate the surface for the full amount of time listed on the bottle. The wet contact time can vary by product, but anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes is typical. “It’s very important to make sure the product sits long enough on the surface to provide proper disinfection. Always check the product label for how long the surface must remain wet,” Galvan agrees.
Check for stains
Next, take your bowl brush and push down into the trap of the toilet to lower the water level. If you see any staining, you may have mineral deposits or rust stains. You can use acid cleaner at this point to remove those stains by following the container’s instructions.
Clean the inside
Apply toilet bowl cleaner under the rim and into the bowl itself. With a bristle toilet brush, give the toilet a good scrub. Put the toilet seat and cover down, and give it a flush. Finally, open the lid and add a touch more toilet bowl cleaner to sit until the next use to continue working as a disinfectant.
Wipe clean
Using a new paper towel or microfiber cloth for each part of the toilet, wipe the entirety of the lid, seat, and underside of the toilet dry. Pay extra attention to where the seat and cover attach to the bowl, and you can use an old toothbrush to scrub those hard to reach areas.
How often you should clean a toilet
There’s unfortunately no magic number for how often you should clean your toilet, explains Galvan. Your cleaning schedule should depend on how often your toilet is used, and how good your overall hygiene and hand-washing habits are.
The average person living in a single person household will clean their toilet once a month, but that’s likely not enough, Craddock says.
“It comes down to, the average person uses the bathroom eight times a day. Multiply that by the people in the house, and a family of four can use it as many as 64 times a day,” he says. Craddock cleans his home toilet three times a week and before and after guests leave. He also cleans it more often during cold and flu season to ensure germs are killed properly, but this is truly up to the family itself and how healthy the individuals are.
“If someone in the household has an intestinal infection, like norovirus or salmonella, cleaning after each use would be appropriate to reduce the likelihood of transmitting to others in the home,” Galvan adds.
Additionally, it’s important to clean and replace your materials and supplies often. If using single-use gloves, remove them without touching the outside of the gloves and dispose of them in a lined trash receptacle. Reusable gloves can be kept up to three months, as long as they are properly washed after each use like you would wash your hands. Your bowl brush should be replaced every three months, and can be set in disinfectant in between uses to keep it extra germ-free, Craddock says.
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