‘Not often enough’: Cleaner’s controversial call on how often we should be cleaning the bathroom

The bathroom is one of the most annoying and tiring parts of the home to clean, which is why a lot of us end up doing it weekly or even fortnightly. But a housekeeper believes we should be doing it much more frequently, though she admitted her take is “controversial”.

“I may get cancelled for this, but it needs to be said. Y’all are not cleaning your bathrooms often enough … You don’t have to wait until it’s really dirty in order for you to actually clean it. Coming from a housekeeper I can tell you, if you brush it, and you wipe it every three days you should be good to go,” Vanesa Amaro said in a TikTok.

The response to the three daily bathroom cleaning call was mixed, with some viewers agreeing they clean the bathroom that often or more frequently, doing it “every other day”, while others admitting they struggle to do it weekly.

For anyone who finds the thought of doing it every three days overwhelming, you can breathe a sigh of relief as Simone Tsigolis, founder of cleaning company Jetlag Remedy, told nine.com.au weekly is fine for most people. 

“[The bathroom should be cleaned] once a week properly, plus about 60 seconds of habit each day. That's my answer for the vast majority of Australian homes, and I'd gently say that every three days is solving the wrong problem,” she said.

“What actually makes a bathroom dirty isn’t time passing, it’s moisture sitting on the surfaces. Mould, soap scum and that grey film are all water issues.

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“A bathroom that gets squeegeed and properly ventilated every day will look and smell better after a week than one that gets scrubbed every three days and then left damp in between. You can clean a wet bathroom constantly, and it will still look tired.”

Rather than cleaning every three days, Tsigolis said squeegeeing the shower glass and screens after the last shower of the day, every day takes just 30 seconds and makes a lot of impact on the mould and soap scum buildup that are so tricky to clean later.

Another quick task that makes a big difference on how clean the bathroom stays is leaving the exhaust fan running after a shower for about 20 minutes, and opening any windows and doors for airflow.

Wiping up and rinsing out the basin after brushing your teeth is also recommended as they take a few seconds to clean if done straight away, but require scrubbing if left until your weekly clean. Having cleaning cloths near the bathroom basin makes this quicker and easier too.

Even something as simple as spreading damp towels out so they can dry thoroughly makes a huge difference.

“A bunched towel stays damp all day and that's a big part of why some bathrooms smell,” Tsigolis said.

However, there are times when three daily cleaning might be useful, so like a lot of things in life, it’s about what works for your household and circumstances at the time, such as if someone in the home is ill.

“The bathroom is one of the dirtiest places in the house, especially if it has the toilet in the same room … if someone has been sick recently the bathroom should be cleaned thoroughly when they have recovered to prevent other people from getting sick, otherwise once a week is a good rule,” Emma Harding, microbiologist and virology researcher, previously told nine.com.au.

“Floors will generally need cleaning less than high-touch surfaces like taps, showers etc. It is a good idea to clean the bathtub every time before use, especially if it is not used very often. Microbes can settle in the bath between uses and a rinse with soapy water before running the bath is a quick way to make sure it is clean enough for bathing.”