Bathroom Cleaning - Help, I Hate It. Couple Quick Questions.

Suction Cupped Shower Caddies - sorry, I'm old school...

I clean my showers with a vinegar and water solution - spray bottle of 1 part water to 1 part vinegar - spray it down, run the shower, dry it off - that's about all I'm willing to do, I wouldn't win any prizes for my *sparkling* showers but they are sufficiently clean. I do the sinks and mirrors with Window cleaner.

Toilet cleaning - okay, I have three and I live with two boys (one is my husband). We avoid drop-ins because of septic system and also on occassion our dogs have been known to get a drink of 'fresh water' when lid is left up (gross, I know).

I keep a spray bottle of 1 part bleach to 1 part water and a brush next to each toilet. Spray it down, give a quick brush, let it sit for 10 minutes (while you are spraying and rinsing the shower), brush again and flush. I've found this works better than any of the fancy stuff out there. Bleach water works great on tile grout too. Sometimes you gotta just keep it simple!

Of course I keep that spray bottle of bleach water and vinegar water far from the reach of my little one. She has her own little spray bottle of just water that she 'helps' me with.

Here's to clean bathrooms...vinegar water works on carpet spots too!

I don't know about the toilet drop-ins but for the shower caddy, I used one of those sticky hooks (the kind that are supposed to stick to your walls without ripping them up...) on the wall part above my shower tile (the tile doesn't go all the way to the ceiling) and hung the caddy from there...it works great.

FIRST ANSWER: Just brush the toilet every day. Skip the cleaner all together. I had a plumber swear those drop ins are bad unless they're on the inside of the bowl (never the tank), and I think they're all kinda messy & gross. Clean it once in awhile really well if you feel compelled. Then every night, make it a routine to brush your toilet while you brush your teeth. Just with the bare brush. I get a replacement brush at the dollar store whenever I think about it. I haven't used cleaner in years because it's not getting any build up since I brush it nightly. The seat/lid area gets a Clorox wipe on my way out the bathroom most, if not every night. It's just part my night/bathroom routine. That said, I'm only really consistent in the upstairs bathroom that we all use most often. However, my 6 year old has taken a sudden interest in cleaning and she now does the downstairs toilet (with no cleaner) because she thinks it's "so much fun!" Yay for me!

SECOND ANSWER: We have the Scrubbing Bubbles thing, too. I got those 3M Command hooks, and with 3 of the heavier weight ones, I hung our pretty large shower caddy on the back side of the shower. It worked perfectly. I also got a mesh shower caddy that hangs from the shower curtain hooks for the kids' stuff. (They're about $8 at http://www.amazon.com/Mesh-Shower-Organizer-White-24/dp/B...) That's been a great addition. Awhile after we got our Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic cleaner, they had the ones with the free caddies available at Target & Walmart. Of course, I wanted one. So I emailed them and begged for one. They couldn't send one out separately, but because I so heavily praised their product and how it's saved my life of cleaning shower walls post now 2 year old twins, they did send me a coupon for an entire free unit AND 2 coupons for free cleaner AND 4 coupons for $1 off the cleaner PLUS a coupon book for miscellaneous SC Johnson products. So I got the one with the caddy. And I haven't bought cleaner in awhile because I used my free coupons when they were buy one get one free at Jewel awhile back, so I doubled my freebies :) Some combination of that should be helpful. Soon your wife can happily keep no less than 24 bottles of things she doesn't even use every day in the shower with ease - like me!

Good luck!
A.

I second, er... third i guess, the shower pole caddy :)

I would ask a plumber about the drop ins for the toilet. a friend of ours is a plumber and he says it's one of the worst things you can put in your toilet, aside from tissues... by tissue, I mean Kleenex.

I know it's a pain in the tush, but I help the job a little by keeping toilet cleaner in every bathroom (we have 4 toilets and I clean them all - ugh!). Once a week-ish I squirt some in and a quick brush around and the job is done. It's one of my least favorite tasks too... I have girls (my boy doesn't use the toilet yet) so you'd think it would be neater.. HA! not so... I dont know how the pee gets under the seat - nasty!

Good luck!

The Container Store has awesome suction cup containers that really stay put. I originally bought some less expensive suction cup containers from Target and they fell off the wall right away, total waste of money.

I don't have any suggestions for the toilet, but for the shower I would suggest a shower pole caddy. I love this thing. You can find them at Linens n things or bed bath and beyond.

I second the shower pole caddy... it holds a lot of stuff

Aarti