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CLEAN the BATHROOM

Always remember the key to speed cleaning is prevention. A lightly dirty surface is far easier to clean than one caked in muck. Run your thumbnail across the bottom of your shower. Any gray matter that comes off on your nail is soap scum. Prevent the problem by switching soap. The talc and animal fat in most soap causes the buildup which also clogs the drains. Switch to an all-natural soap like Sappo Hill found in health food stores. My preference is soap made by a local lady who uses milk from her own goats.

SHOWER Cleaning: First remove soap residue and hard water spots on glass sliding doors and fiberglass walls. It takes an acid to bust through these ornery areas. Remember, the white part of hard water stains can be removed. However, the alkali in water etches into glass and leaves a permanent mark. Bring one cup of 'made from grain' (not food grade or safe for pickles) distilled white vinegar and one cup water to a boil. Boiling vinegar is a more effective cleaner than room temperature vinegar.

Remove it from the heat and add one tablespoon of my highly concentrated CleanEz. Wear rubber gloves and start at the bottom of the shower doors and walls and wipe the mixture on the walls. Let that set five to ten minutes and repeat. Use a white non-scratch cleaning pad dampened in the vinegar solution. Pour some baking soda on the pad and scrub the shower. Heavy buildup may require a couple of treatments.

Unfortunately acidic cleaners are the only way I know to remove soap scum and water spots. They cannot be used on tile, marble, granite or Corian type composite surfaces or it will pit and dull the finish. If any of these surfaces has a buildup, test a very small out of sight section with the vinegar solution before doing the entire enclosure.

Prevention: First: switch soap. Next: After cleaning the shower, coat the walls and doors with my polymer based Advantage which protects the paint of cars, RVs, boats etc from UV ray damage. Polymers make a surface slick. Spray it on a cloth and wipe on rather than spraying it on, which drifts to the floor and makes it slick. Wait 10 minutes and wipe to remove the haze. The slick walls and doors sheet the water and soap to help prevent water spots and soap residue buildup.

RINGS in the TOILET: Remove rings around the toilet by pouring a cup of 'made from grain' distilled white vinegar and a tablespoon of CleanEz into the bowl the night before you tackle the bathroom. My number one rule of cleaning is 'Give your product time to work.' It takes time for the vinegar and CleanEz to break down the hard water stains around the toilet. Alternately try my Stain Eraser for Grout. It's fast and will not scratch like a pumice stone. It is the best way to remove water stains that cascade down the sides of the bowl. Use a white, non-scratch pad soaked with vinegar and scrub.

Prevention: After cleaning the toilet, drain the water out and dry the bowl. Spray the bowl with my Advantage mentioned above, then wipe so the entire bowl is covered. Wait 10 minutes and let the water flow back into the bowl. The polymers in Advantage make a surface slick. Do I really need to tell you how easy it is to clean a toilet when the bowl is slick and nothing sticks? Once a month add a cup of vinegar to the toilet bowl to prevent water rings.

Speed Clean a Bathroom: The night before pour 1 cup vinegar along with and additional cup of water into the toilet. When you are ready to clean, spray the inside of the toilet with diluted CleanEz and sprinkle in some baking soda.

*Once the soap residue is out of the shower and the rings gone from the toilet, then you can clean using both hands for even faster cleaning. It's also a good aerobic workout!

*Grab the soap dish and place it in the sink and fill with water. The soap from the dish cleans the sink ' well almost.

*Wipe the mirror followed by the counter tops and faucet.

*Spray the walls of the shower then wipe the toilet and start wiping the shower down with a heavy duty terry cloth towel.

*Spray the floor of the shower and sprinkle with baking soda. Take a damp rag and wipe behind and around the toilet.

*Scrub the floor of the shower with a nylon scrub brush rinse and finish cleaning the rest of the floor.

P.S. By switching to concentrated cleaners like CleanEz you save over $600 buying ready to use products. Glass cleaners run around $8 a quart and general purpose cleaners are $12.