As a general rule, all hotels bathrooms and toilets should be thoroughly scrubbed, cleaned and disinfected after one guest leaves and before the next one checks in. Dirty bathrooms and toilets can be off-putting to guests, and in poorly cleaned facilities, they can even be potential health hazards. The last thing a hotelier wants is having a guest catch a fungal infection or some other disease after using the hotel’s facilities. Here is how professional housekeepers clean hotel bathrooms and toilets.

 

The Bathroom Cleaning Process

 

When cleaning a hotel bathroom, the main objective is to ensure that every surface, fixture or object in the room is clean, bright, spotless, and sanitary. Before starting out, the following precautions should be taken:

 

• Protective gloves should be worn at all times.
• Depending on the type of cleaning agent, it may be necessary to wear protective goggles or gas masks.
• Use different rags or brushes when cleaning different areas to avoid spreading germs. Colour code cleaning cloths to make it easier to tell them apart.
• The equipment used to clean the bathroom and toilet should not be used elsewhere.

 

Housekeepers usually start by collecting all used towels that are left in the bathroom and clearing out any trash. They then proceed to meticulously wipe down all bathroom fixtures and fittings using a cleaning cloth and a disinfectant spray solution. The fittings that ought to be cleaned and sanitized include:

 

• The hand basin or sink
• The shower head
• The water taps
• The mirror
• The vanity counter top
• Any door handles

 

All these surfaces must be completely spotless and perfectly sanitary by the time the housekeeper is done. It may be easy to accidentally overlook some fittings. To prevent this, some professionals use a directional approach. This means that they start at a given point in the bathroom and move in a clockwise or an anticlockwise direction, cleaning every fitting on the way, until they get back to where they started.

 

Cleaning Tiles, Grout, and Ceramic Surfaces

There are many commercial tile cleaning products that can get rid of grime and disinfect the tiles at the same time. Usually, the cleaning solution is sprayed onto the tiles and it’s left to stand for about five minutes.  A stiff brush is then used to scrub the wall tiles starting from the ones on top and progressively descending downwards. Other ceramic surfaces such as the bathtub, the sink, and the shower floor can be cleaned using the same process.

 

Finish with the Bathroom Floor

The bathroom floor should be cleaned last after every other surface is done. It should be scrubbed with detergent and a disinfectant like bleach, and then mopped dry.

 

You might also be interested in this article Cleaning Vomit from Hotels, Pubs and Night-Club Floors

 

Cleaning Hotel Toilets

When cleaning toilets, professional housekeepers usually start by moving all items away from the toilet bowl as a precaution in case of splatter. They then flush the toilet and apply a cleaning and disinfecting agent onto the toilet bowl. There are many varieties of toilet cleaning agents. Some are powdered while others are in form of gels or solutions. The type of cleaner doesn’t really matter, as long as it has powerful disinfecting and stain removing properties. The inside of the toilet bowl is then left to soak for a while, as the housekeeper deals with its exterior.

 

The exterior of the toilet is usually cleaned from the top to the bottom. A cleaning solution is sprayed onto the toilet cistern and the flush handle, and they are then thoroughly wiped down with a cleaning cloth. This process is repeated for the toilet lid, and the outside surface of the toilet bowl, up to the very bottom where it joins the floor. If there is grime on any of these surfaces, is may be necessary to use a tough brush to scrub it off. The S-bend of the toilet should be carefully cleaned because it tends to trap a lot of grime in its nooks.

 

Special attention is given to the toilet seat because it is the one part of the toilet that comes in contact with the user. The cleaning agent is generously applied to the toilet seat on both sides, and it is meticulously wiped down all over, including the hinge area.

 

By the time the housekeeper is done with the other parts, the inside of the bowl should be ready. The interior of the toilet bowl is methodically scrubbed, starting from the rim at the top, slowly moving downwards, and finishing with the hole at the bottom. The toilet is then flushed with the lid down. At this point, it should be sparkling. All stray drips are then wiped away, and the toilet cleaning process is done. Find out more about our professional hotel cleaners here.

 

Cleaning Hotel Rooms Kitchenettes and Appliances

For hotel rooms with kitchenettes and appliances such as washing machines, dryers, microwaves, and dishwashers, the same principle applies: all surfaces should be wiped down and disinfected. The cardinal rule is that the cleaning equipment used in the bathroom should never be used in the kitchenette.