21 Bathroom Cleaning Hacks Using Common Household Items

Maintaining a clean bathroom is not an easy task as it is a frequently used space. However, you don’t have to spend too much time cleaning your bathroom as weekly cleaning should be enough. Here are shortcuts to keep different bathroom surfaces, including the toilet, faucet, tub, and shower, sparkling. These clever cleaning hacks utilize common household items such as baking soda, vinegar, citrus fruits, and so on to keep the bathroom clean.

Designer: Woodio

1. Create an All-Purpose Cleaner

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Mix equal parts of apple cider vinegar and water in a spray bottle. This homemade solution offers a safe, eco-friendly alternative to sanitize various bathroom surfaces like shower tiles, sinks, and countertops, leaving them gleaming without streaks.

2. Clear Shower Drains with Baking Soda

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In addition to tackling tub stains and tile grout, baking soda is great for unclogging shower drains. Simply pour some down the drain, then follow with hot water to dissolve grime, hair, and other debris lurking within.

3. Descale Shower Heads with Vinegar

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If you want to thoroughly clean your shower head and household faucets, just pour diluted white vinegar into a zip-top plastic baggie, secure it around the shower head or faucet with a twist tie, and let it sit overnight. This effortless trick naturally dissolves and eliminates stubborn grime buildup.

4. Clean Crevices around Fixtures with an old toothbrush

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Scrub tight spaces around fixtures with an old toothbrush. The toothbrush is effective at removing dirt from the hard-to-reach corners of your kitchen and bathroom. Simply use it to clean vents, grout, faucets, and other small fixtures and crevices that are difficult to access.

5. Use a Squeegee

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Squeegee your tile, tub, and doors promptly after each shower to swiftly remove water and condensation from glass surfaces. This simple routine aids in preventing soap scum buildup, ultimately decreasing the need for frequent bathroom cleaning sessions.

6. Go for Machine-Washable Shower Curtain Liners

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Shower curtain liners can get dirty quickly. That’s why it’s best to choose liners you can wash in the machine with your regular laundry. Keep a spare liner in your linen closet to switch it out while one is being washed. This way, you’ll always have a clean shower curtain.

7. Use Baking Soda for the Toilet Bowl

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A baking soda container in your bathroom can help extend the time between toilet cleanings. It’s a simple and effective way to keep your toilet bowl clean between thorough cleanings. Baking soda absorbs odors and is slightly abrasive, so sprinkling it generously into the toilet bowl before flushing can lessen the need for frequent use of a toilet brush.

8. Place Silica Gel Packets in the Medicine Cabinet

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The small silica gel packets found at home serve a useful purpose. Designed to absorb moisture, placing a few desiccant packs inside your medicine cabinet helps regulate humidity. This ensures the stability of medications and prevents razors from rusting. Remember to store them safely away from children and pets to avoid any choking hazards.

9. Sparkling Clean Windows

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Combine one part white vinegar with half a part rubbing alcohol, (look for a 70% concentration) and two parts of water in a spray bottle to create an effective cleaner for bathroom windows, shower screens, and mirrors all in one. For optimal results when cleaning windows with vinegar, choose cooler days without direct sunlight and use a microfiber cloth for streak-free results.

10. Make Your Taps Shine with Lemon

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If water spots have dulled your taps, rub them with the cut half of a lemon, then rinse and buff. Alternatively, dampen an old toothbrush with water, sprinkle baking soda directly onto the bristles, and scrub the problem areas. Leave for 10 minutes, then rinse and buff.

11. Maintain White Tile Grout with a Toothbrush

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There are several methods to clean grout. You can spray a mixture of half water and half white vinegar on your shower area as you exit the shower, or simply use a bleach pen. Scrub discolored grout with an old toothbrush dipped in a solution of one part bleach to four parts water. Let it soak for a while before rinsing.

12. Clean the Toilet Brush

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After cleaning the toilet as usual, rinse the brush with clean water. Then, close the toilet seat and lid over the brush handle to let it drip dry into the toilet bowl—this prevents dirty toilet water from getting into the brush holder. Lastly, pour some bleach or white vinegar into the brush holder to keep the brush fresh for next time.

13. Keep the Bathroom Bin Smelling Fresh

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Bathroom bins can harbor germs and bacteria, so they need regular cleaning. If yours starts to smell bad, it’s likely due to bacteria breeding. However, you can keep it fresh between cleanings by sprinkling baking soda into it every time you empty it.

14. Keep your Mirror Streak-free

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Wipe off splatters with rubbing alcohol on a soft cloth, then use glass cleaner or plain water on a microfiber cloth, avoiding circular motions. For extra sparkle, buff with white vinegar on a paper towel.

15. Ventilate

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Make sure to yurn on the extractor fan or open the bathroom window while showering to prevent the growth of unsightly mold. If there’s already mold present, soak mold-stained shower curtains in a diluted bleach solution if they can’t be machine-washed.

16. Perform Routine Spot Checks

Always have a microfiber cloth within reach in the bathroom to swiftly wipe away toothpaste splatters, watermarks, and other stains before they dry and become more difficult to clean.

17. Get Rid of Makeup Stains

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Remove makeup stains from bathroom mirrors with toothpaste. Apply a small amount to the stained areas, gently rub with a soft cloth, then wipe clean with a damp cloth. Toothpaste’s mild abrasives effectively lift makeup residue without harming the mirror’s surface, leaving it clean and shiny.

18. Use a Chopstick to Access Difficult-to-reach Areas

For weekly cleaning, employ a cloth wrapped around the end of a chopstick to reach tiny spots in your sink. For heavily soiled areas, sprinkle with water and baking soda before cleaning for a deeper cleanse.

19. Consider Citrus Fruits for Cleaning

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Harness the power of citrus for effective cleaning. Use lemon to remove water spots from chrome faucets and shower doors, whether by spraying lemon juice or rubbing a cut lemon directly onto the hardware. Combat toilet odors with a DIY paste of lemon juice and baking soda, leaving it for fifteen minutes before rinsing. For tub cleaning, exfoliate with a halved grapefruit sprinkled with coarse salt, scrub the tub, and drain before rinsing with warm water for a refreshing scent.

20. Use Baby Oil

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Polish away fingerprints and grime from chrome fixtures with baby oil. Apply it using a damp cloth or cotton ball, then buff until you see your reflection.

21. Apply Shaving Cream on Mirrors

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Shaving cream, containing glycerin, forms a protective layer on mirrors, preventing them from steaming up during showers. Simply spray and wipe off with paper towels to keep mirrors clear. It’s also effective for polishing chrome and stainless steel, thanks to its emulsifiers acting as gentle cleaning agents.

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This minimalist coffee maker ditches all of the frills for a single-button operation

Muuto is a minimalist coffee maker made from ceramic steel that operates with the click of a single button.

For all that coffee provides to get us through hectic workdays and our busy lives, sometimes all we need is a no-frills coffeemaker that even our sleepy brains can operate. Plus, when all the extra mechanics and crowded control panels are out of the equation, minimalist coffee makers just look better in modern homes.

Designer: PDF Haus

When all we want is a cup of coffee, the frills can take the backseat. The Muuto Coffee Maker from PDF Haus is a minimalist coffee maker that ditches all the bells and whistles for a clean, elemental build.

Intuitive by design, the Muuto Coffee Maker is like the electric kettle’s older, edgier cousin. The only button on the entire operation is an easy-click power key located on Muuto’s main, rounded chamber. A small LED light can be found just above the main power switch and indicates three different signals to users: on, off, and fill.

When the light glows white, that means that Muuto is powered on and ready to brew. When the LED turns red, then the water basin needs to be refilled before brewing can begin. When the LED light doesn’t reveal any color, then users can rest assured their coffee maker is powered off.

Equipped with a removable filter basin and compartment, users will find a familiar setup underneath the chamber’s lid. Drawing water from a detachable water reservoir, a built-in water dripper pours water over the filter and coffee grounds for brewing.

By the looks of it, Muuto is built from ceramic steel for a truly elemental look, supplying the steel with a textured feel. From top to bottom, Muuto is a no-frills coffee maker that’s ideal for any modern kitchen.

PDF Haus conceptualized Muuto in an array of soft colors, ranging from sage green to a taxi yellow. 

The ceramic steel body frames the glass hardware for a warm touch.

Muuto is a no-frills coffee maker that can be used intuitively. 

The removable water basin can be taken out and removed after use.

The LED light signals to users when Muuto needs more water.

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Cork-based home goods strike the perfect balance between practicality and sustainability

Mind the Cork is a line of cork-based home goods, ranging from hanging planters to cylindrical storage vessels.

Cork is one of the planet’s most sustainable materials. Every decade, the heavy bark can be stripped off from the cork oak tree through a skilled trade that’s passed down over generations. Once the cork is harvested, the biodegradable material can be used for an array of different purposes.

Designer: Mind the Cork

London-based studio Mind the Cork found one purpose in using cork to produce home goods. The designers behind Mind the Cork produce cork pieces like planters, dishware, and storage containers to create a line of practical home goods rooted in sustainability.

Mind the Cork founder Jenny Espirito Santo initially produced the line of cork goods as her passion project, but its eco-concious and minimalist appeal soon took off. Weaving together the environmental aspect with the current home trend toward green spaces, Santo produced a collection of different planters of varying sizes and shapes.

From hanging to stationery planters, Mind the Cork carries small to medium-sized planters and even features maintenance and care instructions so the cork lasts. Besides planters, Santo works closely with craftspeople and small factories in the UK and Portugal to create cardholders, cork bowls, and cylindrical storage containers with 11 lid options.

Providing safe nesting grounds and a healthy ecosystem, cork oak tree plots are never damaged during the process of cork harvesting. Primarily taking place in Portugal, Santo harvests the cork by peeling the excess bark from cork oak trees, which in turn prompts each tree to begin a regenerative process to grow more bark. With an average lifespan between 170 to 250 years, cork oak trees are first harvested after they reach 25 years. From there, the cork can be stripped from the tree’s bark every ten years.

In addition to desk planters, Mind the Cork carries hanging planters that are lightweight and sustainable.

Cork dishes and bowls provide a soft landing spot for jewelry and other delicate items.

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A compact, countertop-friendly dishwasher is inspired by elephant bathing rituals

Elle is a compact dishwasher shaped like an elephant that’s designed to clean the dishes used during a small family meal.

Even if you’re one of the few who enjoys doing the dishes, cleaning up after a big meal can get tiring. In a perfect world, we’d take care of the dishes as soon as we’re finished using them. But following a big meal, all we want to do is cozy up on the living room couch and enjoy the consequences of our food comas.

Designer: Stalin Jr.

Alas, the dishes still pile up in the sink and we must tend to our most human of responsibilities. To help make the chore feel a bit more approachable, industrial designer Stalin Jr. conceptualized Elle, a miniature dishwasher shaped like an elephant that scales down dishwashing to its most compact size.

Inspired by the bathing rituals of elephants in the wild, Stalin Jr. designed Elle’s silhouette to resemble the shape of an elephant’s rump. Scaled-down from the size of an actual elephant’s rump to around the same size as an air dryer, Elle is compact enough to fit right on any kitchen countertop.

In conceptualizing Elle, Stalin Jr. explored the possibilities of what a dishwasher could look like in regards to its unique shape and compact size. Primarily conceived for the nuclear family, Elle is compact enough to remain out of the way when not in use and big enough to clean all of the dishes and utensils needed for an intimate family dinner in one wash.

Elle functions as the go-to appliance in between meals, when there aren’t enough dirty dishes to use the full-size dishwasher, but you still want to keep the sink free of dirty dishes. Equipped with all of the functions needed for a thorough cleaning, Elle comes with a touch-automated control panel and wall-mountable water inlet valve.

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This sustainable humidifier moistens the air in any room by using the natural evaporative qualities of terracotta!

The Coarse Pottery Air-Humidifier uses terracotta to function as a sustainable alternative to electric air humidifiers by employing capillary action to moisten dry interior spaces.

For centuries, terracotta has been sculpted into household appliances that naturally perform cooling, heating, and evaporative methods. Porous by its organic composition, designers typically integrate a form of capillary action into their products for terracotta to execute forms of vaporization and cooling distribution. A group of students from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts teamed up with some designers from Shenzhen Changsen Trading Company to produce an air humidifier from clay that doesn’t require any electricity for operation.

Led by Haibo Hou, the team of student designers produced the Coarse Pottery Air-Humidifier as a sustainable alternative to electric air humidifiers. Designed to moisten dry interior spaces, the Coarse Pottery Air-Humidifier almost appears like a radiator made from clay. The air humidifier is made from a type of pottery that contains just the right amount of porosity and moisture absorption qualities. By adding water to the Coarse Pottery Air-Humidifier’s basin, the droplets will gradually rise and evaporate through tiny cavities located near the Coarse Pottery Air-Humidifier’s top. As the water rises, the interior space’s air is moistened with small water droplets. The corrugated body of the Coarse Pottery Air-Humidifier creates a wavelike form that alludes to its natural evaporative function.

Recognized by Red Dot, the Coarse Pottery Air-Humidifier was chosen as a design winner in 2021 for its use of sustainable material and general practicality. Speaking on the product’s aesthetic and functional design elements, the team says, “Its beautiful and rhythmic wave-like surface form can increase the evaporation area of water to moisten the whole indoor environment. On this basis, The Coarse Pottery Air-Humidifier blends in with the tone of culturally rich interiors as an elegant accessory in the interior.”

Designers: Hou Haibo, Feng Jijie, Luo Li, & Yang Ruibing

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This miniature portable washing machine designed for delicate loads means you have fresh laundry anywhere!

This mini washing machine is a portable travel companion ideal for lighter, more delicate loads of laundry that requires only one-third the amount of water that traditional washing machines use.

Getting around to laundry can sometimes feel like a headache. Sorting through our laundry to pick out delicates and white clothing items and ensure we don’t end up with a pink closet can feel more taxing than the actual chore. Besides, once all of our clothing items are sorted, sometimes our pile of white laundry isn’t big enough for its own load in the wash. Streamlining the entire process, a mini portable washing machine designed by Kai Xia hopes to be the small solution for lighter loads.

The mini washing machine as designed by Xia features ultrasonic high-frequency vibrations for increased sterilization rates that ensure a gentle, yet thorough cleaning for each load. The portable washing machine can be plugged into any power outlet prior to use and activated with the touch of a button. Once users have thrown in their clothing items into the machine’s drum, holding the power button down for two seconds will wake up the machine, and pressing it once more will start the wash.

From there, washing is completed in about 15 minutes following a cycle that moves through a forward rotation, reverse rotation, ozone sterilization, forward rotation, reverse rotation, ultrasonic, so forth. By the time each cycle ends, the mini washing machine shuts down on its own.

Constructed from eco-friendly ABS plastic, the mini washing machine is lightweight for easy carrying and impact-resistant, making it ideal for traveling. Xia downsized their washing machine to be more energy-efficient, requiring only one-third the amount of water that traditional washing machines use.

Designer: Kai Xia

Envisioned in mint green, Kai Xia’s washing machines are conceptualized to suit each user’s taste.

Blush beige accents tug on an all-white polished exterior. 

The Bauhaus school of design inspires the striking stained glass colors and geometric shapes of these vases!

Trio is a collection of three stained glass vases inspired by the Bauhaus school of art and design to bring a timeless edge to the traditional glass vase.

Finding the perfect vase for flowers is sometimes the most fun when arranging bouquets. Bunchier flowers deserve a bulkier, more bulbous vase. While more delicate flower arrangements could use a skinny, minimalist vase. You know the right vase when you see it.

Vases also carry a long, intricate history in ceramics and glass-making that dates back centuries. Taking notes from one historical art school of design, Bauhaus, Ashley Case designed three different vases in its style to accommodate all types of flower arrangements and create a collection called Trio.

Case’s study on Bauhaus design took shape in the art school’s commitment to simplicity, bold colors, and geometric lines. All three vases are molded from sturdy stained glass that creates shadows of color when natural light pours through them. The first vase, a deep cobalt blue, forms three-quarters of a circle and suspends in midair from a black steel cradle that entirely surrounds the vase.

Then, a vertical, rectangular vase coated in lemon yellow stained glass remains in place inside of a four-bar black steel crate. Finally, an inverted triangular vase dipped in scarlet red balances above an empty platform inside a similar black steel crate. All three vases are undoubtedly inspired by Bauhaus design, an art school devoted to integrating a timelessly modern look into any era.

The Bauhaus school of design came to life in 1919, following geometric and abstract styles of design that feature little to no emotion and personality. Instead, the school encourages a timeless look that nods to no cultural or historical aspect in particular. Ashley Case’s collection of vases called Trio embodies Bauhaus through their minimal profiles and strikingly colorful displays that create dazzling shadows of light color to hearken back to the art school’s heyday.

Designer: Ashley Case

Each vase is molded from the stained glass in striking colors reminiscent of the Bauhaus school of design. 

Each vase can accommodate a variety of different flower arrangements, according to your personal taste. 

This automated mushroom chamber uses smart technology to grow and harvest your own mushrooms at home!





Mella is a household mushroom fruiting chamber that uses smart technology to automatically grow and harvest a variety of mushrooms.

Over the past couple of years, our homes have become test kitchens for everything from colorful sourdough bread to dalgona coffee. Now it’s time to make some counter space for an at-home smart mushroom fruiting chamber.

Mella, an innovative new kitchen appliance from FirstBuild, a co-creation community backed by GE appliances, uses smart technology to grow and harvest your own mushrooms at home.

Smart technology has made mealtime simpler than ever. With smart technology, we can program our appliances to do the hard parts for us. Mella’s automated programming brings just the right amount of fresh air and humidity into the fruiting chamber to allow mushrooms to mature at the right time and speed, growing into full-size, edible mushrooms. With automated technology running the show, seasoned mycelium harvesters and recreational growers can sit back and enjoy the show.

Located on the outside of Mella’s chamber, the water basin can easily be refilled to funnel in just the right amount of water to combine with fresh air and become humidity for optimal mushroom-growing conditions. Then, the hygrometer indicates the humidity levels inside the chamber so that users can always keep tabs on the best conditions for harvesting mushrooms. Four LED lights also pour light into the chamber to ensure the mushrooms receive the necessary amount. Finally, a WiFi-compatible program controller allows users to adjust Mella’s settings as they see fit to help mushrooms grow.

Summing up Mella in their own words, the team behind FirstBuild notes, “Made for those mad about mushrooms Mella controls and automates the inputs necessary to grow delicious, edible mushrooms in the comfort of your home.”

Designer: FirstBuild

 

Muji’s latest set of multifunctional storage solutions are designed to declutter your tiny living space!

Currently on display at Milan Design Week, ‘Compact Life’ is a line of home storage products from Muji designed in collaboration with industrial design students inspired by today’s movement to downsize and declutter living spaces at home.

For those of us who’ve been living tiny before it was popular, we know the right home accessories for storage make all the difference between a cluttered and clutter-free home. Today, majorly in response to the raging climate crisis, people are incorporating aspects of tiny living into their home spaces to dampen their overall climate footprint. Providing the means to do so, Japanese household goods supplier Muji released a collection of storage accessories called ‘Compact Life’ that makes tiny living seem a lot more attainable for all of us.

Documenting and taking note of their own living spaces, the students worked closely with Muji designers and the Swiss designer Michel Charlot to finalize an array of twelve home products that optimize storage space to make tiny living a lot more comfortable. Each product stays true to Muji’s minimalist personality and humanistic approach to design, keeping geometric shapes and multifunctional builds.

Amidst the catalog of accessories is a basket storage system that doubles as a wood-and-crate step ladder, ideal for the kitchen space or bathroom to store toiletries and reach taller heights. Then, there’s a series of photo frames that can store paper goods like notes and business cards in an integrated slot that traces the perimeter of each frame. Using their own homes and colleagues’ homes as their main source of inspiration, the design students even made niche items like an insect house made from wire and hollow bamboo that could be hung outside an apartment window for hummingbirds and honeybees to drop by and visit.

Each one of the twelve designs is on display at Milan Fashion Week and the home accessories that comprise the Compact Life collection span from a modest corner shelf designed for the shower to a mirror medicine cabinet that also functions as a whiteboard. Product designs like a valet stand for hanging clothing items and a pole storage system with compartments tailor-made for umbrellas would help organize home spaces like the entryway for a clutter-free welcome.

Then, there are products designed for office spaces, like a paper wall pocket that functions as a filing system for narrow office items such as notebooks and stationery and a folding chair that transforms into a small side table for impromptu lunch meetings. A steel-wire basket trolley tucks under the bed and stores clothing items to take some of the load off the closet. Finally, a bedside table with a concealed compartment for charging smartphones takes focus away from technology and brings us closer to a restful night’s sleep.

Designer: Muji

Entryway products like the multipurpose coat rack help declutter the home’s foyer.

An under-the-bed steel-wire basket trolley takes some of the load out of the closet.

The Stepladder Basket is a stepladder that also functions as a storage basket for smaller household items.

The Valet Stand is another entryway product that could help declutter crowded spaces.

Clip Hanging Frames allow for ways to hang your photos and also store paper goods.

A mirrored medicine cabinet also functions as a whiteboard for notetaking.

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Playfully designed home cleaning equipment could make chores much more entertaining!

Meet Dustache, a dustpan with a quirky Pringles-ish avatar that hopes to bring a fun, storytelling element to the act of cleaning. A portmanteau of Dust + Mustache, this dustpan and broom by Peleg Design is your personal clean-up crew that can take care of any dry-waste mess around your house. The dustpan forms Dustache’s face, while the broom is styled to look like a nose and nice thick pair of man-whiskers. Whenever you come across some dirt or dust, or you accidentally spill some food over, just grab ahold of Mr Dustache and his brush and pan are always ready for duty… and don’t worry, he doesn’t mind getting crumbs in his moustache- that’s his job after all!

Designers: Dar Stern + Peleg Design Studio

What Dustache does so wonderfully is it bring a quirky and fun appeal to an otherwise mundane task. It’s something the folks at Peleg have managed to do really well with their products. Dustache’s fun personality and oddly cartoonish design make cleaning up much more fun. It’s almost as if you’ve got yourself a clean-up buddy as you conveniently feed crumbs into Dustache’s non-existent mouth using his rather furry (and detachable) upper lip!

Check out more of Peleg Design’s playful house products here!