101 Ideas: Tips on cleaning bathrooms

How do hotels keep those bathrooms so clean? One quick answer is that hotels clean bathrooms every day, even if the same guest is occupying the room night after night. While you may not want to clean your entire bathroom every day, doing small things -- such as wiping down the counters, faucet and sink, and spot-cleaning the mirror -- can give your bathroom a daily perk-up.

To get the dirt on the routine, we asked two experts: Jenny Botero, resident manager of the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va., and Erika Jacso, director of style for the W New York Union Square in New York City. They gave us 10 simple steps for keeping your bath sparkling.

Step 1: On the rare occasion that the W Union Square receives a complaint, "it usually has to do with finding hairs on the tile or floor in the bathroom," Jacso says. Her team's goal is to make sure that never happens. They work from top to bottom, dusting light fixtures and shelves with micro-fiber cloths before vacuuming floors and crevices.

Step 2: Heating tile and the tub just 10 degrees above the normal air temperature "doubles the effectiveness" of alkaline cleansers, Botero says.

Step 3: Drain the tub, then spray an antibacterial cleaner on tile walls, tub, counters, sink, toilet and floor. Work from top to bottom, starting at the top of shower walls, and spraying down to the tub and inside the toilet bowl.

Step 4: Use a sponge or cloth to spread the cleanser around evenly on tile surfaces.

Step 5: Disinfectants need contact time to work. Jacso's team lets the cleanser sit for five to seven minutes inside the toilet bowl and on surfaces.

Step 6: Use a scrub brush or non-scratch abrasive pad to scrub every square inch of the tub and tiles. Both housekeeping experts swear by Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, especially for hard-to-remove gray rings inside the tub.

Step 7: If you don't rinse after spraying your cleanser, dirt is going to stick to it and build up

Step 8: Use clean, dry cotton cloths or rags to thoroughly dry all surfaces. Botero recommends using color-coded cloths for cleaning That way, you never make the mistake of wiping off the sink with a cloth that was used to dry the toilet.

Step 9: Spray the mirror and other glass with a glass cleanser and wipe dry.

Step 10: Exit out of the bathroom by rinsing, wiping and drying the floor.

Courtesy Kathy McLeary on hgtv.com