Cleaning
How To Clean A Toilet Without A Brush
It’s not the most exciting topic in the world, but it’s a question I’m often asked! There are a vast amount of products on the market that promise to keep your loo smelling fresh and clean. However, without the correct tools and technique, your toilet can harbor up to 50 bacteria per square inch and three times as many bacteria on the bathroom floor! This post will discuss how to clean a toilet without using a brush or bleach.
For many years my cleaning company cleaned end-of-tenancy properties, so you can imagine some of the toilets I’ve had to clean. Some toilets should have had a flame thrower rather than a cleaner to get them spotless! On each of these properties we cleaned, we brought the toilets back to new without using a toilet brush or bleach. In this post, I’m going to show you how!
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Know your products
Most people assume that using a multipurpose bathroom cleaner or toilet bowl cleaner is enough to clean all surfaces. However, this may not be the case, depending on the ingredients of your spray.
An all-purpose bathroom cleaner will clean the gunk but will not kill any germs; there is a good chance you may remove some bacteria as you’re wiping but not all of them. So, effectively after you’ve cleaned using an all-purpose bathroom cleaner, you’d need to spray it with a disinfectant to kill the germs after removing the dirt. However, some products do both jobs.
It’s essential to understand that you can’t just spray a disinfectant and expect it to work straight away. Most disinfectants have a dwell time of between five and ten minutes, so it’s a good idea to spray thoroughly, covering the whole surface, then walk away and clean something else while it’s killing all those pesky bacteria!
How To Clean A Toilet Without A Brush
You will need the following:
- Cream cleaner
- Green scrubby
- Disinfectant Cleaner
- Toilet Gloves
- Microfibre Cloths (color-coded)
- Glass Cloths
- Pumice stone (for really bad toilets)
Now you’ve got your cleaning kit, the big question is: how do you clean a toilet without a brush?
- Vacuum the whole bathroom.
Hair, cobwebs, dust, and water do not mix, so get rid of as much of the loose grime as possible before you start with the wet stuff!
Please don’t skip this step, as it is probably the step that will save you the most time in the long run. - Wipe the outside of the toilet and floor
Wipe the outside of the toilet and floor with a dry paper towel or cloth to remove any surface grime the vacuum may have missed.
- Spray with the disinfectant cleaner.
Spray the outside of the toilet, the floor around the toilet, the seats, and the insides of the lids. With the cleaning disinfectant, and leave it for the specified dwell time, according to the manufacturer.
Don’t skip the dwell time, as this is the bit that kills the bacteria! - Clean the outside of the toilet.
Start by cleaning the outside of the toilet, from top to bottom, then wipe the floor and walls around the toilet.
- Change your cloth
It’s important to change your cloth at this stage as it is already contaminated.
To learn how to color code your cloths to prevent cross–contamination, read this post. - Dry and polish
Use a dry cloth to dry and polish the areas you have just cleaned.
- Clean the seats
Clean the lid, toilet seat, and underneath the seat. These areas are the most contaminated parts of the toilet and are better left until last.
- Check for mineral deposits under the seat.
If you have a build-up of mineral deposits under the lid, you can soak off the stains with vinegar and toilet paper. You can remove any hard urine stains under the seat with your scrubber and some cream cleaner.
- Wipe behind the seat.
Behind the seat is where a lot of hair and pee ends up. But it is also one of the most difficult places on the toilet to clean. You can use a cotton bud soaked with toilet bowl gel cleaner to get into difficult-to-reach areas, such as where the screws hold the seat in place.
- Check for any stubborn toilet rings within the bowl.
If there is a stubborn toilet ring, you can use a pumi toilet bowl ring remover like this one to gently remove the ring. Make sure your pumice is natural, so it doesn’t scratch.
Also, ensure you wet the toilet’s surface before using the pumice to prevent scratches. - Remove the water from the toilet.
It is easier to clean the bowl if you remove the water from it first. You can remove the water from the bowl by bunching up some paper towels and soaking up the water, then throw the paper towels away.
- Clean the inside of the toilet
Squirt a liberal amount of cream cleaner into the toilet bowl.
Using the green scrubber, rub hard underneath the rim and inside the toilet bowl.
- Rinse away any residue
After cleaning the toilet bowl, flush the chain and use a toilet brush or cloth to rinse away any residue.
- Polish to finish
With a clean, dry cloth, dry and polish all the surfaces you’ve just cleaned. Check for dust or hairs and remove or buff if necessary.
How to use a toilet bowl cleaning stone
Many areas have hard water, which can stain toilet bowls quite severely, and you might need something to remove hard water stains in the toilet. If you’ve tried the steps above and you’re still struggling with toilet bowl stains, you may need to try using a pumice stone.
There is a particular pumice stone available for use in the toilet; you can find one here Pumice Cleaning Stone with Handle, Cleaning Block Deep Stains, and Hard Water Ring Remover for Loo
It’s important to go for natural pumice rather than a manufactured one and always to use it wet. You must try it on your toilet in an inconspicuous place as it may scratch depending on what your toilet is made from, and always follow the manufacturer’s instructions before use
Which is the best toilet brush to use?
Eww, toilet brushes are the most horrendous items to keep in your bathroom, especially when you’ve got little kids that don’t know how to use a toilet brush and stir it around the bowl before they’ve flushed!
I do not clean with a toilet brush because I don’t feel that it cleans the bowl, as well as scrubbing with a green scrubby and cream cleaner.
Toilet brushes can be huge germ collectors, especially when they get full of soggy loo roll and other unmentionables! I was thrilled when I found this hygienic alternative to a toilet brush in the shape of a rubber toilet bowl brush with holder, like this one, nothing sticks to it, there are no screws to go rusty, and it’s super easy to sanitize!
How to keep your toilet fresh and clean every day.
Ok, now you’ve got a super sparkly and squeaky clean toilet, you’ll want to keep it that way. A quick daily swish and swipe are enough to keep your loo fresh and visitor ready.
- Wipe the hair and dust with a dry cloth first.
- Spray a tiny amount of disinfectant cleaner on and under the seat, then quickly wipe.
- Squirt some gel toilet cleaner into the bowl and swish quickly around and under the rim using a rubber loo brush like this one.
- Wipe down the front of the loo and around the floor.
- Quickly dry with a fresh cloth.
The whole swish process should take less than two minutes. It’s not a deep clean, but a maintenance clean, you’re stopping it from getting manky again, so next time you clean the bathroom, it’s not a huge task. If you are looking for tips on how to clean faster, please click here.
If you’re struggling with finding the motivation to clean, read more here
Please note: Do not mix cleaning products, especially bleach and vinegar-based cleaning solutions, as this will create potentially fatal toxic fumes.
FAQ
The best bathroom cleaner is by far good old-fashioned elbow grease. It’s not enough to throw some vinegar or bleach down the loo and walk away. You’ve got to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in.
Cleaning cloths seem to be a big debate among professional cleaners, which boils down to personal preference.
The benefit of using paper towels is that they are disposable. However, I get less lint and waste, using color-coded cleaning cloths to clean the toilet. As long as you ensure that you sanitize your cleaning cloths after cleaning and use a specific color cloth for the toilets and bathrooms, you will be ok.
I like to soak my cleaning cloths in a bleach solution for a few hours, then wash them on the hottest wash available.
The best way to remove a hard water toilet ring without scrubbing is to use a pumice stone, as discussed at the start of this post. Use the pumice stone wet and test on an inconspicuous area.
If you’re wondering what to use instead of a toilet brush, you can follow the steps above to clean a toilet without a brush. If you’re going brush free in toilet cleaning, you are probably going to have to get your hands dirty!
Many products claiming to be a no-scrub toilet cleaner often bleach the stain but still leave it sitting on the toilet (if you felt it would feel rough rather than smooth and clean). This can lead to a build-up of hard water stains and calcium deposits which are very hard to remove after build-up. The best thing to do is clean your toilet every day to avoid build-up and deposits.
You could try using DIY toilet bombs by throwing some bicarbonate of soda down your loo followed by a cup of vinegar, and allow to sit overnight to keep your loo extra fresh.
You could also keep your toilet fresh with a cleaning tablet which you can buy quite cheaply at B&M.
There is nothing grosser than a dirty toilet brush! The best way to clean a toilet brush is to rinse off all the gunk underneath the flushing toilet then sanitize it by soaking the brush in a disinfectant solution for a few hours. Then trap the brush under the seat to allow the brush to air dry before you put it back in the holder. 
The secret to keeping the toilet clean is to schedule it into your daily routine every day as outlined above. This will keep your toilet guest ready and smelling fresh. Follow the steps above for a sparkling loo!
The best way to keep the outside of your toilet smelling fresh is to wipe it down daily, especially if you teach little boys how to use the toilet!
I encourage my little boy to sit at home and stand up when he’s using the toilet anywhere else!
I’ve found the best thing to remove the urine smell from around the toilet and floor is Dettol, it does a great job of odor neutralizing and leaves a beautifully fresh, clean smell.
You should give your toilet a maintenance wipe-down daily to keep it clean.
Ideally, you should give your bathroom a deep clean at least once a week.
✔️ Mix 15 drops of essential oil into 2 cups of white vinegar.
✔️ Add to a spray bottle and spray into the toilet bowl
✔️ Allow it to sit for a few minutes.
✔️ Sprinkle baking soda into the toilet bowl
✔️ Scrub thoroughly with a green scrubby, and then flush.
✔️ For stubborn hard water stains, use a pumice stone as directed above.
Cleaning your toilet after a sickness bug is a huge priority. If you don’t want the germs to spread, follow the steps in this post to keep you and your family safe from bugs!
The best way to clean under the toilet rim without touching it is to use a very small crevice brush and some rubber gloves.
If you’ve got a question about cleaning, leave a comment below!
Thank you for such a thorough article, I’ve gained a lot of insights regarding bleach as an effective germ killer. Great share Clare!
Thank you ?
Hello, you can email me at [email protected] with more details. Thank you
Really when someone doesn’t understand then its up to other people that they will help, so here it occurs.