In this section I am going to try out a few different cleaning products both popular and alternative. in the popular corner I will be using Windex to clean the mirror and Comet and Mr.Clean for other bathroom surfaces. In the unconventional corner I will be trying the ubiquitous sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) also I will be trying the evenly popular vinegar. the wild card cleaning product I will be trying is Borax. It is a product I have never used so we will see how it works.
Product Stats:
Comet:
Comet is a dry powder cleaner and is recomended as an all pourpuse cleaner. it has one active ingrediante : Sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione dihydrate which is in the mixture with a concentration on 1.2%. the cleaner is toxic and can irritate the eyes. it recomends that the product not be used on silver, painted surfaces, walls, soft plastic, aluminum or rubber items (exept tires). the package also warns against mixing with other cleaners especially those containing ammonia
http://www.cometcleanser.com/
Mr. Clean:
Mr. Clean is a liquid all pourpuse cleaner that is advertized to be a grease cutter and limited disinfectant. Sodium Hydroxide is the active ingridient and it is at a .34% concentration (there are also grease cutting agents in the unactive ingredients). the product is toxic but does not contain phosphate, clorine bleach or ammonia. the product is not recomended for carpets and alumium surfaces.
Product Stats:
Comet:
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| Various cleaning products being tested in my bathroom |
http://www.cometcleanser.com/
Mr. Clean:
Mr. Clean is a liquid all pourpuse cleaner that is advertized to be a grease cutter and limited disinfectant. Sodium Hydroxide is the active ingridient and it is at a .34% concentration (there are also grease cutting agents in the unactive ingredients). the product is toxic but does not contain phosphate, clorine bleach or ammonia. the product is not recomended for carpets and alumium surfaces.
20 Mule Team Borax:
borax has olny one ingrediant: Sodium tetraborate (aka borax). it is safe on nearly any suface when used apropriatly. it is toxic and is a possible eye irritant.
Vinegar:
Vinegar is a popular cleaner due to it's acidic nature it is not toxic an often used in food. as far as claning products go vinegar is very inexpensive ($0.89 for 32 oz of the bargain brand). its major drawback is the distinct odor it has.
Also known as sodium bicarbonate baking soda is a very versatile housecleaning product. it is a basic material so it acts diferently on materials than vinegar which is acidic. it can be used on a large variety of surfaces. like vinegar it is also very inexpensive ($0.89 for 1lb box of bargain brand)
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| Vacuuming debris from inside drawers and cabinets |
Ok The Actual Cleaning:
Step1:
The first step to cleaning in the bathroom is is a through vacuuming of all the surfaces, and i mean all of the surfaces. vacuum the walls, light fixtures and everything else. one of the most important places to vacuum is inside the cabinets, lots of crud gets in there and it is good to get it out because that is where most people keep all their bathroom stuff. I recommend using the brush attachment for most of the surfaces, use the floor part of your vacuum for the floor.
Step 2:
use your favorite all purpose cleaner to clean the sinks and the counter surface (if you have natural stone counter tops use only a stone safe cleaner I recommend pledge). I tested all of the cleaners above and found some interesting results: borax was easy to use and left a great shine but had some difficulty with cleaning the grout, and hard water buildup. baking soda was reasonably effective on tile and grout but left a powdery residue even after wiping the surface down with clean water. vinegar was a so so cleaner because it smelled bad and wasn't terribly effective, but when paired with baking soda vinegar was the most powerful cleanser blasting through tile grout stains and soap scum. Mr. Clean was an effective cleaner at all of these but it had a horrific chemical smell and an absurd color, comet was the last product I tested and it was reasonably effective and had some bleaching capability along with the bleach toxicity and smell. after considering all my results borax is my winner so I used it on all of the rest of the floor surfaces. when i got to my shower borax just would not cut the soap scum on the floor of the shower so I went back to baking soda and vinegar to clean it. the methods I used for cleaning were scrubbing with a sponge then drying with a towel and in the shower I scrubbed with the sponge then used the shower to rinse the mess out.
Step 3:
Look how shiny!
Until next time happy cleaning!
Step1:
The first step to cleaning in the bathroom is is a through vacuuming of all the surfaces, and i mean all of the surfaces. vacuum the walls, light fixtures and everything else. one of the most important places to vacuum is inside the cabinets, lots of crud gets in there and it is good to get it out because that is where most people keep all their bathroom stuff. I recommend using the brush attachment for most of the surfaces, use the floor part of your vacuum for the floor.
Step 2:
use your favorite all purpose cleaner to clean the sinks and the counter surface (if you have natural stone counter tops use only a stone safe cleaner I recommend pledge). I tested all of the cleaners above and found some interesting results: borax was easy to use and left a great shine but had some difficulty with cleaning the grout, and hard water buildup. baking soda was reasonably effective on tile and grout but left a powdery residue even after wiping the surface down with clean water. vinegar was a so so cleaner because it smelled bad and wasn't terribly effective, but when paired with baking soda vinegar was the most powerful cleanser blasting through tile grout stains and soap scum. Mr. Clean was an effective cleaner at all of these but it had a horrific chemical smell and an absurd color, comet was the last product I tested and it was reasonably effective and had some bleaching capability along with the bleach toxicity and smell. after considering all my results borax is my winner so I used it on all of the rest of the floor surfaces. when i got to my shower borax just would not cut the soap scum on the floor of the shower so I went back to baking soda and vinegar to clean it. the methods I used for cleaning were scrubbing with a sponge then drying with a towel and in the shower I scrubbed with the sponge then used the shower to rinse the mess out.
Step 3:
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| Thats one clean bathroom! |
Until next time happy cleaning!
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