Cleaning Bathroom Vanities

Your bathroom vanity is probably one of the most routinely soiled places in your home. Toothpaste gets smeared on it, makeup residues fall on it, hairspray is sprayed on it. Because so much water is present in the bathroom, sometimes even mold grows on it. Yuck. You should clean that vanity once a week, or more often if it gets heavy use or if it's a bathroom that company uses.

I would recommend using white vinegar to clean your bathroom. It's antibiotic, natural, inexpensive, and really works. You don't have to worry about rinsing it off, either. Don't worry about the smell; it will evaporate in a couple hours. Here's what to do to clean the various parts of your vanity:

1. Make a homemade window and glass cleaner by mixing 1/3 cup white vinegar and 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. Spray this on the mirror and wipe with paper towels or newspaper.
2. Remove all items from your vanity. Use a sponge to soak the entire surface of your vanity and sink with white vinegar. Use more on the bottom of your sink; that's where stuff tends to build up.
3. Let it sit for a few minutes, then use a scouring pad to scrub everything, starting from the outside edges of the vanity. Gently scrub the fixtures. Make sure to scrub all the soap scum from the soap-holding area. Scrub the sink last because there's usually toothpaste in it, and you don't want to spread that around. End with scrubbing the drain valve.
4. Use a dry cloth or paper towels to wipe everything down. This will shine everything up nicely.
5. Use this same cloth or paper towels, now slightly damp, to go over the front of your vanity, wiping off any toothpaste spots and dusting any trim. Your vanity should now look sparkling clean.

Here are a couple more tips that you won't need to use every time you clean. Once a month, pour some baking soda followed by white vinegar down the drain of your sink. Leave it for an hour to fizz and clean out any buildup in the drain. Then run some warm water down the drain.

As needed, remove water deposits around the faucet by soaking a paper towel in white vinegar and placing it around the edges of the faucet. Let it sit for at least an hour, then scrub the deposits away with an old stiff-bristled toothbrush.