White vinegar, also called crystal vinegar or alcohol vinegar, is a household product found in all homes. It acts as a degreaser, disinfectant, deodorizer and descaler, making it an ideal product for the bathroom. Here are our 10 tips for cleaning your bathroom effectively with white vinegar.
Clean the tiles without streaks
Tiles are a particularly popular and widely used floor covering in the bathroom because they are suitable for wet rooms and easy to maintain. However, sometimes it gets dirty, especially at the joints. For cleaning, nothing better than spirit vinegar.
Fill a spray bottle half or two-thirds full with white vinegar and fill with hot or warm water. Add a tablespoon or two of baking soda, let the foam come down, stir vigorously and close the bottle. Then spray this mixture over the entire surface of the tiles, emphasizing the joints. Leave to act for a quarter of an hour to half an hour before mopping, rubbing more or less depending on the level of dirt on the tiles. Then iron with a dry cloth or mop to remove excess moisture.
For very dirty grout, you can sprinkle baking soda before applying the vinegar. If you leave it to act long enough, all you have to do is pass a cloth or sponge to get shiny grout.
Remove limescale and clean shower head
As explained above, white vinegar has a strong descaling power. You can therefore use it on all calcified areas of your bathroom, such as the shower head. All these elements tend to stain over time and it is difficult to restore their original appearance.
To get rid of limescale stains on the shower head and other surfaces, mix white vinegar in a plastic bag and wrap your shower head in it, securing it with a rubber band. Leave it to act for about an hour before removing the bag and rinsing thoroughly with clean water.
To descale other items such as the shower column, sprinkle baking soda and spray white vinegar pure or diluted with water. Leave to act for half an hour, then rub vigorously and rinse.
Clean the sink
The sink also tends to clog over time, despite daily care. Tartar builds up insidiously on its surface, making it even dirtier. It is therefore important to offer it a more serious cleaning from time to time.
To do this, prepare a mixture of white vinegar and baking soda, which you can dilute with a little water. Then dip a sponge in the mixture and scrub the sink. For an even more satisfactory result, sprinkle baking soda directly over the entire surface of the sink and sprinkle it with vinegar. Allow the foam to act, rub in if necessary and rinse thoroughly.
Wash the bathtub
Like the sink, the bathtub can also get dirty, its surface can become greasy, sticky or too slippery. Tartar can also accumulate on its surface, altering its original shine. Here too, vinegar is extremely effective.
You can simply use it diluted in water and spray it on the bathtub before scrubbing. You can also mix it with baking soda and lemon juice or essential oil to scent your bathtub while disinfecting it.
Shine the faucets
The faucets, whether made of copper or other materials, are one of the elements that dirty the most in the bathroom. It collects tartar, white spots and oily stains. To clean it, mix a few tablespoons of white vinegar with a liter of water and three teaspoons of baking soda. Dip a sponge in the solution and scrub the faucet until it becomes clean and shiny.
You can also heat white vinegar in the microwave for 30 seconds and soak a cloth that you will pass over the faucets while rubbing. The faucets will then be clean and shiny as in their original state.
Cleaning tile and shower joints
Bathrooms often have white coverings, in tiles or earthenware. Although aesthetic and hygienic, these coatings have the disadvantage of quickly staining and tarnishing joints.
To clean them, fill a small container with spirit vinegar and a used toothbrush. Dip the toothbrush in the vinegar and scrub the joints. The latter will regain their whiteness in a few passes. You can also sprinkle the joints with baking soda before scrubbing with the toothbrush soaked in vinegar.
Cleaning and descaling toilets
The toilet is the most difficult part of the bathroom to clean. It has many hard-to-reach corners and, in addition to scaling very quickly, making it even dirtier. To remove the tartar, ther buildup on your canvases, alcohol vinegar can prove extremely effective.
You can do this without too much effort by pouring two large glasses of white vinegar directly into the toilet before going to bed and leaving it overnight. When you flush the next day, you will find that all the deposits have been dissolved by the white vinegar.
If the limescale remains and the vinegar was not enough to remove it overnight, you can repeat the process, this time covering the entire inner surface of the bowl with baking soda powder. Then, spray white vinegar over the entire surface. The foam that forms will help remove tartar even more effectively. Leave it overnight and scrub with a stiff-bristled brush the next day before flushing or rinsing. The result is always stunning, with perfectly clean and shiny toilets.
Another advantage of alcohol vinegar is that it effectively and permanently eliminates bad smells in the toilet, so don’t hesitate to spray it in the bowl every now and then.
Remove fingerprints and shine mirrors
Mirrors are the big puzzle in our bathrooms. They are often foggy, dull and covered with fingerprints, splashes of toothpaste, soap and other cosmetics.
To effectively clean all your mirrors, use alcohol vinegar instead of window cleaner. To do this, fill a spray bottle halfway with alcohol vinegar and top up with clear water, preferably hot or lukewarm. Stir gently and spray the solution over the entire surface. Then pass a clean, dry cloth over the entire surface, making concentric movements from the outside to the inside of the mirror. To complete the cleaning, you can iron the mirror with newspaper or a microfiber cloth to dry it.
Eliminate streaks on windows
For mirrors, alcohol vinegar is very effective in removing streaks on windows. To do this, follow the same procedure as described above for the mirrors. Depending on how dirty your windows are, you can use a more or less concentrated mixture of water and vinegar. Spray the solution on and wipe with a clean cloth. You can also use a window squeegee to complete the cleaning and achieve an even cleaner result.
Clean and maintain drains
You may have unprotected drains in your bathroom. These are real dust traps and sometimes serve as nesting places for spiders and other insects. Start by removing the dust by vacuuming or wiping with a clean, dry cloth. Then dip a sponge in a bucket filled with a mixture of water and vinegar in equal parts and wipe the drains.
Alcohol vinegar is also effective in eliminating bad smells that rise from your pipes. You can do this by pouring a liter of vinegar water heated in the microwave for 30 seconds. Do this preferably before going to bed so that it can act overnight. The next day you just have to run the water a little to find clean and healthy pipes.
