Using a toilet brush to clean your porcelain bowl is quick and efficient, but it can be unpleasant when the brush itself becomes dirty after scrubbing. Bleach is often to the go-to ingredient to add to the brush holder to keep it sanitary, but according to one cleaning enthusiast, there’s an even better way to keep both your toilet and brush clean. The Instagram user, turned “home hacks queen” explained that shaving foam is actually a “great” alternative to strong chemical products like bleach.
Posting on her Instagram profile, self-proclaimed cleaning expert, Carolina Mccauley showed followers the simple trick.
She filled an empty toilet brush holder with white, foamy shaving cream and dipped the clean brush into it.
After coating the brush in the thick product, she got to work on the toilet bowl by scrubbing it vigorously.
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As she scrubbed the porcelain bowl, Carolina noted that shaving cream is “an excellent toilet cleaner” for several reasons.
She said: “It removes stains from porcelain, contains alcohol for disinfecting, and smells amazing.”
After cleaning the bowl, the “home hacks queen” placed the brush in the water at the bottom of the toilet and flushed it.
This rinsed off the shaving foam and dirt lurking on the brush fibres.
Once the toilet brush was rinsed off, the verified Instagram user placed the brush handle under the toilet seat with the bristles hanging over the bowl.
After leaving the brush to dry off, the final step is to spray more shaving foam onto the brush and return it to the holder.
According to other cleaning experts, including Lynsey Crombie, this hack works just as well as a cleaning spray and is “quite similar” in action to commercial toilet cleaners.
While the shaving foam uses slightly different ingredients, alcohol found in the creamy liquid is the main element that provides the bacteria-fighting benefits.
Though this hack is very effective for cleaning a dirty toilet, it will only work if your brush and holder are clean to start with.
Cleaning existing dirt and grime from this handy tool is actually easier than you may think, though you should wear gloves while doing so.
The experts at Cleanipedia recommended using a disinfectant spray to spritz the inside and outside of the toilet brush holder.
For stubborn dirt and bacteria, you can soak it in a bucket of hot water soap for one hour before rinsing it and then spray it with disinfectant.
Once clean, leave the holder to drain and dry completely.
To clean the toilet brush, remove it from the holder and leave it to drain above the toilet bowl for 10 minutes (by balancing the handle under the toilet seat).
Spray with disinfectant and rinse all over with boiling water.
Leave to dry and pat off ay excess with a cloth before returning it to the holder.
Fill the base of the holder with shaving foam and complete the remaining steps to maintain a clean toilet brush and bowl for weeks to come.
