We may be compensated if you purchase through links on our website. Our team is committed to delivering honest, objective, and independent reviews on home products and services.
Bathroom cleaners are formulated to target specific surfaces and stains, from hard water and soap scum to mold and mildew. The best option for your home depends on your bathroom’s materials, stain types, and how often it’s used. To help you choose, the This Old House team reviewed the best bathroom cleaners and selected our top five picks.
Top 5 Bathroom Cleaners
- Most Versatile: Clorox All-Purpose Cleaner
- Best for Toilets: Clorox ToiletWand Disposable Wand Heads
- Best for Bathtubs: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Bath Scrubber
- Best for Mold: RMR-86 Instant Mold and Mildew Stain Remover
- Best for Hard Water: Bio-Clean Hard Water Stain Remover
Compare Top Bathroom Cleaners
| Product | Quantity | Best For | Surface Recommandation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clorox All-Purpose Cleaner | Two 30-ounce spray bottles | Soap scum, dirt, and grime | Works on most bathroom surfaces |
| Clorox ToiletWand Disposable Wand Heads | 30-pack of wand heads | Rust, calcium, and lime stains | Toilet bowls |
| Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Bath Scrubber | Eight-pack of scrubbers | Soap scum, dirt, and grime | Bathtubs |
| RMR-86 Instant Mold and Mildew Stain Remover | 32-ounce spray bottle | Mold and mildew | Works on most bathroom surfaces |
| Bio-Clean Hard Water Stain Remover | 20-ounce bottle | Rust and hard water stains | Works on most bathroom surfaces |
| Product | Quantity | Best For | Surface Recommandation |
Most Versatile
Clorox All-Purpose Cleaner
- $21
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Pros and Cons
✔ Comes with a bleach-based cleaner and a bleach-free cleaner
✔ Has easy-to-use spray nozzles
✔ Doesn’t leave behind residue
✘ Can’t mix it with ammonia-based cleaners because one of the bottles contains bleach
✘ Intended for hard, nonporous surfaces only
What Customers Are Saying
Most customers said that this cleaner was powerful, pleasant-smelling, and easy to use. However, some unhappy customers had issues with the bottle nozzles. They either didn’t spray or leaked.
Best For Toilets
Clorox ToiletWand Disposable Wand Heads
- $22.34
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Pros and Cons
✔ Comes in a pack of 30
✔ Has a small size and a hexagon shape to fit in the nooks and crannies of your toilet bowl
✔ Removes rust, calcium, and lime stains
✘ Can’t flush the heads
✘ Can stain the clothes you’re wearing if it touches you
What Customers Are Saying
Satisfied customers praised these heads for effectively cleaning a variety of stains and for being easy to attach to the wand. On the other hand, dissatisfied customers said that they were made of a paper-like material that disintegrated in toilet bowl water.
Best For Bathtubs
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Bath Scrubber
- $24.97
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Pros and Cons
✔ Comes with two packs of four cleaners
✔ Has built-in Febreze freshener
✔ Starts working when you add water to activate the cleaner
✘ Can fall apart if it’s soaked in water or scrubbed with vigorously
✘ Not reuseable
What Customers Are Saying
Customers found this cleaner to be effective on even tough stains in older tubs. However, some users gave it negative reviews for not working well on hard water stains and for having an overwhelming smell.
Best For Mold
RMR-86 Instant Mold and Mildew Stain Remover
- $16.99
- $18.99
- 11% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Pros and Cons
✔ Cleans multiple surfaces around your bathroom and home safely
✔ Eliminates stains in as little as 15 seconds
✔ Comes in other bottle sizes and quantities if you need more solution
✘ Has a powerful smell
✘ Comes in an opaque bottle, making it difficult to tell when you’re low
What Customers Are Saying
Positive reviews stated that this spray was easy to use, didn’t have an overwhelming scent, and displayed fast results. However, some customers said that it frequently left residue and sometimes left scratches.
Best For Hard Water
Bio-Clean Hard Water Stain Remover
- $17.77
- $19.77
- 10% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Pros and Cons
✔ Leaves a protective sealant that lasts for up to three months
✔ Can remove years of built-up stains
✔ Works on glass shower doors, porcelain toilets, and other surfaces in your bathroom
✘ Has an unnatural bright green color
✘ May require some intense scrubbing
What Customers Are Saying
Customers said that this cleaner was powerful, showing quick results with minimal scrubbing. Some users said that its bottle sometimes leaked. Others felt like it didn’t do anything that a bottle of bleach couldn’t replicate.
Buyer’s Guide
Whether you’re removing soap scum or limescale from the floor in your shower or getting rid of mold from the grout between your bathroom floor tiles, there are several elements about bathroom cleaners you should consider before you make a purchase. Our guide below explains some of the most important factors to consider before purchasing a bathroom cleaner.
Type of Cleaner
You can purchase liquid, foam, scrubber, and wipe bathroom cleaners. Liquid cleaners typically come in a large spray bottle that you disperse over the area you’re looking to clean. Foam cleaners, meanwhile, usually come in an aerosol can. They have a thicker viscosity, so they sit on and break down tough grime.
Scrubbers and wipes are usually disposable, so you throw them away after cleaning a problem area. Some of them have a built-in cleaning agent, while others require you to add some yourself.
Type of Stain
Some cleaners are multipurpose, working on a variety of common bathroom stains. However, if your bathroom surface has a tougher stain, such as hard water, mold, mildew, or rust, it may require a heavy-duty cleaning agent that’s specifically designed to clean that particular stain.
Surface
Make sure that the cleaner you purchase is safe for the surface you intend to use it on. Most general-purpose bathroom cleaners are made for tile, stone, and laminate counters, while others are designed for as glass cleaners for mirrors and shower doors. Toilet cleaners need to be safe on porcelain, and sink cleaners should be compatible with brass and chrome.
Ingredients
Many traditional cleaners are made with bleach, ammonia, or ammonium chloride, which can cause allergy-like symptoms and pollute the air with harsh chemicals. Though less effective, natural cleaners that use eco-friendly, plant-based ingredients avoid these harsh ingredients, so they’re better for you and the environment.
Learn More: How To Make Your Own Bathroom Cleaner
How To Keep Your Bathroom Clean
While some stains and germs are inevitable, there are many simple steps you and your family can take to help your bathroom stay as clean as possible and reduce messes. Below, we’ve outlined some tips.
Wipe Your Surfaces Regularly
Wiping your bathtub, shower, and counter routinely can eliminate unsightly stains from hand soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and more. It also kills any germs that are breeding on these surfaces.
Clean Your Toilet Often
Though it’s important to keep up with every element of your bathroom, no surface in your bathroom, or even in your entire home, requires more attention than your toilet. While no one enjoys cleaning a toilet, doing so frequently can eliminate stains, germs, and odors. Wipe the seat with an all-purpose cleaner and the bowl with a brush at least once a week.
Don’t Neglect Your Bath Mats and Shower Curtains
Just like the rest of your bathroom, your bath mat and shower curtain also require cleaning to maintain their luster. It’s easiest to throw them in a washing machine—if that’s safe for them—every few weeks. If they’re not machine-washable, you can soak them in a tub or spot treat them with a stain remover.
Be Diligent With Your Grout
Grout buildup can be a pain to remove, so consider purchasing a brush to tackle mold, soap scum, and other stains between your tiles. The more often you use a grout cleaner, the easier it will be to remove any grime.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I clean my bathroom?
We recommend doing a quick cleaning of your sink, toilet, tub, and shower once a week. You can do a deep clean that involves intensely scrubbing the sink, shower, and tub on a monthly basis.
What can I mix bleach with?
If you have a bleach-based cleaner, you shouldn’t mix it with anything except water to dilute it. In particular, avoid mixing bleach with ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, and vinegar, as these mixtures can create toxic gases.
What materials do I need to clean my bathroom?
Here are a list of items that can help you thoroughly clean your bathroom:
- Toilet brush
- Sponge
- Paper towels
- Microfiber towel
- Deodorizer spray
- Broom
- Mop
- Shower scrubber
- Bucket
- White Vinegar
- Baking Soda
Why Trust The This Old House Team
This Old House has empowered homeowners for more than four decades with top-notch home improvement content in the form of television programs, print media, and digital content on its website and social media platforms. The This Old House Team focuses on creating in-depth product and service review content to help inform your purchasing decision for just about any item or resource that you might need for your home. The This Old House Team has written over 1,000 reviews on products in the home space, from cordless drills to kitchen trash cans, lawn mowers, and dining room decorations.
We recommend products in each review using an intensive research process, spending hours combing through the best available models on Amazon. For a product to make our list of top picks, it must hold a solid sales record on Amazon, have consistently positive customer reviews, and offer unique features, among other factors. After narrowing down our list of recommendations, we conduct additional research and sometimes in-person testing to ensure that the products meet our standards. Once we conclude the research phase, we craft a well-rounded, user-friendly article that includes our recommended products and additional information to help homeowners like you make the right purchase.
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.
