Some of the most high-touch surface areas (those that have frequent contact with hands) in the house are going to be in your bathroom, especially the washbasin, considering all the regular handwashing you and your family will now be doing to stay hygienic and germ-free. Ensure every nook and cranny of your bathroom is cleaned effectively with these tips from Sheeja Sasidharan, executive housekeeper at Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek, and Abdulrahman Mohammed Rais, owner of Al Leefa Cleaning.

Faucets

While toilets, sinks and bathtubs get a regular wash down, extra attention needs to be paid to faucets. Make sure you clean them with appropriate disinfectant and cleaning agents that won’t corrode the material. Extend that same decontamination practice to the door handles and light switches in your loo as well as showerheads and shower curtains.

Showerheads and shower curtains

A study conducted by Safe Home shows that germs and bacteria thrive on shower curtains more than other surfaces in the bathroom. Even toilets. Most shower curtains – both plastic and fabric – are washing machine friendly. To rid them of mould and soap scum, throw in a bit of vinegar and baking soda into one of the rinse cycles, recommends Sheeja. Or handwash them with the same cleaning solutions and scrub it down with a microfiber cloth, the rinse. This prevents build-up of mildew in the future.

Abdulrahman reminds descaling showerheads with lemon and vinegar after they’ve been washed and disinfected will leaving them shiny and free of water stains. This trick works on faucets as well.

Bathtubs, shower trays, walls and floors

Sheeja vouches by the baking soda-and-vinegar concoction’s ability to leave things squeaky clean. “Baking soda is a great grout cleaner too and will scour out the bathroom floors very well, including the stubborn grime wedged in between tiles,” she explains.

Toilets

With toilets, ensure you’re cleaning not just the toilet bowl but also the base around U-bend, the lid and the tank. “Also reach out behind the base and clean the nook between the wall and the toilet,” Abdulrahman reminds.

Toothbrush and soap holder

This is another one of those high-touch surface areas that get easily overlooked during a deep-clean. “Soak your toothbrush holder for 10 minutes in hot, soapy water to soften any stuck-on residue,” says Abdulrahman.

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