Bathroom Hacks To Save You Time And Money

What it does: Lifts and removes stains from clothing and other fabrics
Cost: $2-$6 per bottle*

Putting on makeup is an important day-to-day ritual for a lot of people, even now, when many are still working from home. You have to look good, even if you’re on a Zoom call. Unfortunately, though makeup is useful, it has the potential to be a huge staining agent, wreaking havoc on clothes when a drop of foundation or a dab of lipstick comes in contact with the fabric.

Remove makeup stains with shaving cream @harpersbazaar / Pinterest.com

Luckily, there’s a product you already have in your bathroom that can help: shaving cream. If you don’t have some, run to CVS or Rite Aid and grab it, as it’ll be a lifesaver. Apply a couple squirts of shaving cream to the makeup stain, and let it soak for ten minutes. Blot up any residue and rinse the stain with cool water. Lastly, throw the clothing into the washing machine in your usual cycle to get rid of the rest of the blemish. 

What it does: Softens clothes, opening up and getting rid of wrinkles
Cost: $0*

If you have an important date or meeting at work, don’t let your outfit be ruined by a few wrinkles. When you’re taking your morning shower, take the clothing in with you, assuming that you take hot showers (who doesn’t?).

Bring wrinkled clothes in while you shower to steam them @cleanipediabr / Pinterest.com

The steam from the hot shower will reverse the wrinkling process that caused the folds in the first place, saving you a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond to buy an iron. The humidity the shower produces softens the polymer in your clothing’s fabric, opening the creases and turning wrinkled fabric into smooth cloth. Let the clothes cool and dry for a few minutes, and then get dressed for the day as usual.  

What it does: Cleans shower tiles thoroughly and removes grime
Cost: $10-$15*

Though it might not look like it, there are a lot of different things to clean in your shower. Your shower’s grout, tub, and tile all need to be cleaned at least semi-regularly, if you want to prevent grime and minerals from building up.

Keep a soap-dispensing dish brush in the shower to clean on the fly @ebaycouk / Pinterest.com

It’s best to be a consistent cleaner; otherwise, cleaning thoroughly will become more and more difficult as buildup forms on the tiles and in the grout. One cleaning hack for your shower is to keep a soap-dispensing dish brush, which you can find on Amazon for $10-$15, in your shower. Fill it with shower cleaner and scrub the shower down quickly every couple of days. Though this won’t replace a full scrub-down, it’ll help maintain a shiny, streak-free shower.  

What it does: Cleans lime stains because it has a gritty, abrasive surface
Cost: $4-$10*

A pumice stone forms when water and lava mix together. The result is an abrasive, yet light, stone that you mostly use to remove dead skin from your feet. A pumice stone can not only remove calluses from your heel, it can also remove lime stains from your bathroom.

Pumice easily cleans lime stains @homehacksofficial / Pinterest.com

The gritty surface of a pumice stone, combined with its compact size, make it a surprisingly formidable competitor to store-brand toilet brushes and cleaners. The pumice stone won’t scratch your tiles, and it will help you scrub away hard water and lime stains that might be lurking in your bathroom. 

What it does: Cleans hair tools and removes product build-up from their surfaces
Cost: $11.99*

Before you use a straightener or curling iron, you probably spray your hair with some type of heat protectant (and if you don’t, you should, as that much heat can fry your hair over time). Day after day, this heat protectant, as well as other products you use on your hair, begins to build up on the tools.

Remove build-up from hair tools with a Magic Eraser @betterbeco0504 / Pinterest.com

This buildup, if not cleaned, can lead to your hair tools not working. It might even cause a fire, which is way worse than a bad hair day. To remove build-up from hair tools, take a dampened Magic Eraser sponge and scrub the surface thoroughly. Wipe residue with a damp paper towel and dry thoroughly before using the iron again.

What it does: Keeps a consistently cleaned shower and prevents buildup
Cost: $11.99*

The handy Magic Eraser makes a second appearance on this list, once again when it comes to bathroom cleanliness. We’ve already seen that it can remove buildup and grime from hair tools, so you can imagine how well it works on other surfaces.

Keep a Magic Eraser in the shower to clean @ntrepanier00 / Pinterest.com

Your shower is prone to a lot of bacteria buildup and scaling, and just cleaning it every so often isn’t going to be enough to keep the grime at bay. If you want to keep a consistent clean, keep a Magic Eraser in your shower. Every day or two, scrub the shower down after you’ve used it. It won’t take longer than thirty seconds, but your shiny, good-as-new shower will be worth it.

What it does: Organizes bottles and keeps your bathroom neat
Cost: $10-$20*

We’ve all heard it: the loud thud that comes with dropping a bottle onto the bathroom floor. It’s an all too common occurrence, especially in the bathroom, where shampoo, lotion, and body wash bottles are likely to become slippery from water and condensation.

Add spice racks to hang up lotions and hair care products ©Foter.com / @livingly.com / Pinterest.com

If you feel like your bathroom is in need of some organization, try using spice racks. Though you might think these racks, which you can buy from places like Walmart for $10-$20, are just for paprika and oregano, they actually have many more uses. Most haircare and body products have dimensions that will fit into a spice rack. Consider adding this kitchen staple to your bathroom to get your bottles and tubes in order. 

What it does: Cleans toilet regularly and prevents grime from building up
Cost: $12.61 per pound* (Arm & Hammer)

Cleaning the bathroom is likely part of your weekly or monthly routine (or at least, we hope it is). The bathroom is one of the most important areas in your house to keep clean, and there are a few tips and tricks that can buy you some time between cleanings.

Keep a shaker of baking soda in the bathroom to extend time between toilet cleaning @apttherapy / Pinterest.com

Keep a shaker of Arm & Hammer baking soda next to your toilet or behind it. Once or twice a week, sprinkle the toilet with baking soda and let it sit for thirty minutes. Then spray the toilet with a little vinegar before scrubbing with your usual bowl brush. Flush the residue. Your toilet will be sparkling clean, and the regular cleaning will keep grime from building up. 

What it does: Digs out grime and dirt from the crevices around your toilet, tub, and sink
Cost: $5.99 for 40-pack* (Amazon)

If you look at your toilet right now, you’ll see the obvious places to clean: the bowl, the lid, and the seat. However, if you look to the base of the toilet, you might see a grimy location that has often been forgotten: the crevice around the toilet itself.

Clean crevices around fixtures with a chopstick @apttherapy / Pinterest.com

Bacteria, grime, and germs all find their way into the crevice, building up and, eventually, emitting a nasty smell. Nipping buildup in the bud is the name of the game when it comes to bathroom cleaning, and a surprising tool, chopsticks, can help you do just that. You don’t have to go out and buy an expensive product from Mr. Clean to dig out the crevice around your toilet. Just use chopsticks. The narrow, sturdy sticks will clear crevices of dirt just as well as any brand-name cleaning product.  

What it does: Adds a high-powered touch to your scrubbing
Cost: $1-$5*

When you think of a drill, you might think of putting holes in the wall or setting up furniture. However, your handy drill can actually have quite a few uses when it comes to cleaning, especially in tough spots of the bathroom.

Put a scrub brush to a drill and use your favorite cleaner @HewlettPackardLovecraft / Pinterest.com

Many drills actually come with a brush attachment included. However, if yours doesn’t, you can attach a scrub brush, doused with your favorite cleaner, to the drill and run it on a low setting. Though drills aren’t cheap, you can buy a scrub brush from pretty much any Dollar General or drugstore. Just be sure the brush is thoroughly attached and the drill is not on a high-powered setting before you start scrubbing. 

What it does: Lubricates the hinges and silences squeaky doors
Cost: $4-$7 per bottle*

We use the bathroom several times a day, and we open the bathroom cabinet about that frequently as well. Hearing an annoying squeak or whine as you open the cabinet or bathroom door can be irritating. Luckily, there’s an easy way to silence these creaks and groans, restoring your door to its former quiet glory.

Quiet a squeaky door or cabinet ©NagornyiSergiy / Shutterstock.com

Though products from WD-40 or other name brands might be an obvious solution, you can also use something you have in your pantry: olive oil. A few drops of oil applied with a pipette will quiet squeaky hinges, lubricating the metal and getting rid of friction that could be causing the noise.

What it does: Prevents soap buildup and streaks
Cost: $10-$20*

The best part about all these maintenance tips on this list is that, if you’re keeping up with them, you will only have to do a deep clean of your bathroom once a month. That’s way easier than cleaning once a week or once every two weeks.

Squeegee glass shower doors after every shower @apttherapy / Pinterest.com

You can add this cleanliness tip to your maintenance list. Squeegee your glass shower doors after you use the shower (so, once or twice a day, for most people). This will keep soap scum from building up and prevent streaks from forming. You can buy a squeegee tool on Amazon for $10-$20.

What it does: Removes stubborn soap scum from dry shower surfaces
Cost: $4-$6 per box*

Soap scum is easy to spot in bathrooms. Also known as lime soap, soap scum is a white or gray layer that films over showers, sinks, and bathtubs. It’s made from a combination of calcium stearate, alkali derivatives, and magnesium stearate.

Dampen a used dryer sheet and use it to clean soap scum @apttherapy / Pinterest.com

Soap scum forms when soap meets hard water, and it can be tricky to clean, especially if it has been building up for a long time. If you spot the film, try cleaning with a used dryer sheet from Downy or Tide. Dampen the sheet with warm water and scrub your dry shower surface with it. You’ll soon begin to see stubborn spots of soap scum slough off.

What it does: Removes limescale and grime from showerheads and faucets
Cost: $2-$4 per bottle*

Showerheads and faucets are prone to scaling and grime buildup. Descaling isn’t always as easy as using some elbow grease, as those stubborn spots can be quite hard to clean. Luckily, white vinegar will do the trick, as long as you have a little patience.

Soak shower heads and faucets in a bag of vinegar @gogakrusta / Pinterest.com

Remove the shower or faucet head if you can and place it in a bowl of vinegar. If you can’t remove the heads, take a Ziploc bag, fill it with Heinz white vinegar, and place the bag over the shower or faucet head, fastening it with a tightly-tied rubber band. Let it soak for several hours before removing and scrubbing off the residue. You’ll find that your showerhead or faucet is shiny and good as new.