Disinfecting Bathrooms and Keeping Them Sanitized for 24 Hours

Inside: Tips and instructions on disinfecting bathrooms from floor the ceiling. Learn how to properly disinfect bathroom floors, counters, showers, toilets, and more. This post is sponsored by Microban 24 but all opinions are my own.

One night, shortly after bedtime, our 9-year-old daughter came into our room, looking sick, acting sick, and kinda covering her mouth. We told her to run to the bathroom!

And sure enough… she puked all over our water closet – toilet, walls, floors. It was a MESS. I mean, some got in the toilet, but it was nasty.

Pretty much every parent I know hates cleaning up vomit, but other sickness messes are right up there too.

Whenever one of our children is sick, we want to prevent the sickness from spreading throughout the household. That’s why it’s important to know how to properly disinfect your bathroom.

Of course, it’s important to disinfect all areas of your home when sickness is lurking, but today, we’re going to focus on the bathrooms as they are often the receiving end of our sicknesses.

Really, even without a designated “sickness” in the house, bathrooms harbor plenty of germs, bacteria, and grossness that should be disinfected regularly, to prevent future sickness!

Do you Really Need to Disinfect the Bathroom?

For a long time, I didn’t really disinfect my bathroom. I just assumed that if I cleaned it, it would be good to go. I wiped and scrubbed away the bad stuff (mildew, mold, soap scum, hard water, etc).

However, just because something is clean, doesn’t mean it’s disinfected, and just because something is disinfected, doesn’t mean it is clean.

Cleaning bathrooms is really a 2-step process of first cleaning, and then of disinfecting.

The New Microban 24 Bathroom Cleaner

The good news is that there are some great cleaning products out there that will do both now, cleaning dirt and crud as well as sanitizing when used as directed per the instructions on the back of the label. One of these 2-in-1 products is a new antibacterial spray called Microban 24.

The new Microban 24 Bathroom Cleaner is great because not only does it protect your surfaces from the spread and growth of bacteria for 24 hours but it also prevents the spread of mold and mildew for 7 days!! Microban 24 works throughout the day to provide long-lasting protection for surfaces in your home.

This is pretty great, especially when one or more of the kids are battling sicknesses. I know that I can use the Microban 24 line of products (in addition to the Bathroom Cleaner, there is a Sanitizing Spray and Multi-Purpose Cleaner) to quickly disinfect and sanitize various objects around my home.

Different Areas In Your Bathroom to Disinfect

When it comes to disinfecting bathrooms, there are several areas that need specific attention, things we often overlook. This post will address some of those different areas, so your bathroom will be squeaky clean, instead of… well… covered in germs.

1. Shower Curtains

If you have a shower curtain, you’ll want to make sure you regularly clean both the liner and the curtain.

These can be washed pretty easily by taking them off the hooks and putting them into the washer and dryer with some regular detergent, and maybe a bath towel too. Wash them in hot water, on the sanitizing setting if you have one. You can either hang them to dry or put them in the dryer.

Between washings, you can also spray the liner with the Microban 24 Sanitizing Spray. Let it stand for 5 minutes and allow it to air dry to prevent the spread of bacteria for 24 hours! Microban 24 does not provide 24 hour residual protection against viruses.

2. Shower Heads

My favorite way to clean the shower head is to soak the head in a bag of vinegar. You can see the full tutorial for this in my post on how to clean shower heads.

You can follow up this deep cleaning with spraying the shower head down with the Microban 24 Bathroom Cleaner. Read the instructions to ensure you are using the product correctly and getting the outcome you are looking for.

3. Sink Handles

Sink handles collect a lot of germs and viruses, as we touch them right after using the bathroom. You’ll want to make sure to clean every side of the handles.

If you have those acrylic globe-style handles, there is a super-easy way to clean even the inside of them, following my instructions on how to deep clean faucet handles.

Use the Microban 24 Bathroom Cleaner to really clean the base of the handles, where mildew and soap scum build-up. To clean between the handle and the faucet, use a washcloth, sponge or even a toothbrush. 

4. Drains

The sink drain and shower drain collect a lot of bacteria and nastiness. You don’t want them to steam back up at you, so you should clean your drains and disinfect them!

To do this, remove the stopper from the drain (or the drain cover for your shower) and dump a lot of baking soda down the drain (like up to a cup of baking soda).

Next, pour down up to a cup of vinegar, a little at a time.

You can also use a cleaning toothbrush or sponge to clean the part of the drain you can reach/see with baking soda.

Once you’ve done this, spray your drains with Microban 24,  let it stand for 5 minutes, allow it to air dry, and you will be protected from bacteria for 24 hours.

What I didn’t know before I learned about Microban 24 is that with many disinfectants, bacteria can be reintroduced after the first touch. The unique Microban 24 technology kills the bacteria after it is introduced and provides continuous surface protection against bacteria. 

I am so happy to have found an antimicrobial spray that provides my surfaces with continuous protection.

You can learn more about Microban 24 here and you can purchase it at Walmart.