There's nothing glamorous about cleaning the toilet. If anything, it ranks among the most odorous chore in the home. As an area of the house that is crucial to health and wellbeing, it's important to keep the bathroom clean and sparkling. While regular cleaning is enough to keep your bathroom clean and fresh, sometimes you need to go a little bit further to be rid of offensive odors.
Your regular cleaning routine might be overlooking some of the hard to reach places on your toilet. Dirt, hair, and dust tend to collect under the hinge of your toilet seat. Toilet seats are attached to the bowl with a pair of hinges each secured by a bolt, which are often covered by a plastic cover.
While the plastic covers in the hinges help to improve the seat's aesthetic appeal, they have a considerable downside. These pair of covers trap dust and other debris to create a significant amount of smelly grime. Of course, that only happens is you don't clean the hinges regularly.
Luckily, cleaning the hinges on your toilet seat doesn't need to amount to a Herculean task nor call for particular handyman skills or special tools. Here's a detailed guide showing you how to clean toilet seat hinges so you can make it part of your regular deep cleaning routine.
How to Clean Toilet Seat Hinges
The only additional tool you need to keep the hinges on your toilet seat cleaning and sparkling is just a screwdriver. In most cases, a flat screwdriver is enough to get the job done as you only need it to loosen the pair of screws attaching the cover to the toilet bowl. Here is how you go about the entire process.
Cleaning supplies you'll need:
- Disinfecting wipes
- Cleaning liquid (or substitute with 2-part baking powder: 1-part vinegar)
- A soft brush
- Rags
- Water
Cleaning Procedure
- Close both the toilet seat and the lid. That gives you easy access to the hinge at the back of the cover.
- Open the plastic hinge cover. Depending on your toilet seat model, you might need to use your fingers to pry them loose, or you might need to use a screwdriver. If it's the latter, slide the flat side of the screwdriver and pop the hinge covers up to reveal the screws.
- If you're in a rush, you can just clean the now exposed hinges. If you have the time and energy, use the screwdriver to remove the screws attaching the seat's cover to the toilet bowl. Remember to remove the bolts from the underside of the seat. Taking off the toilet seat is the best way to deep clean as it grants you access to all nooks and crannies.
- Now that the lid is off, you have access to the ledge below the toilet reservoir and the portions covered by the hinges.
- Wrap the screwdriver with a disinfecting wipe and run the tip in the space below the toilet tank. Run it through several times until you've gotten all the grime that accumulates in that particular cranny.
- Wipe the area that's usually covered by hinges with a rag soaked in the scouring liquid. Alternatively, you can coat the area with a vinegar and baking powder paste then scrub it with the cloth or the soft brush. If you don't remove the toilet cover, consider using a toothbrush as that allows you better access around the hinge surface.
- Rinse off the scouring solution or the cleaning paste and ensure not a trace is left behind. Wipe it down with a clean rag until the surface has no traces of the cleaning paste, then wipe them dry.
- Now give the seat cover a thorough cleaning with your choice of cleaning agent. If the seat has stubborn urine stains, coat it with the paste of two-part baking soda and vinegar and let it sit for about 20 minutes. The paste provides you with a gentle way to remove the yellowish discoloration without damaging the seat.
- Use the soft brush to clean around the hinges and the bumpers on the underside of the seat cover. Don't forget to clean the hinge covers, the screws and the bolts as well.
- Rinse the seat cover with clean water and eradicate every trace of the cleaning solution or paste.
- For additional oomph, stand the toilet seat cover in a basin containing a 10 percent bleach solution for 10 minutes. Doing so kills all the germs on the surface in addition to enhancing its sheen.
- After the ten minutes are up, wipe it down with a wet rag to remove the bleach solution. That leaves the toilet seat sparkling clean and smelling fresh.
- Reattach the hinges and the toilet cover to the toilet seat.
Cleaning A Toilet Seat With Brass Hinges
Unlike their plastic counterparts that are impervious to water and urine, metallic hinges can sometimes rust and fall off. The problem compounds when you have young boys with a diabolical aim. When exposed to high moisture levels and air, brass toilet seat hinges will develop a black or greenish stain.
In the absence of preventive measures, the unsightly tarnish will cover the entire hinge and even stain the toilet bowl. Luckily, you don't have to throw away the stained seat as you can have it looking good as new and prevent the hinges from tarnishing again by cleaning it properly.
Cleaning supplies you'll need:
- Dishwashing fluid
- A coarse rag
- Vinegar
- Hot water
- Ammonia solution
- Salt
Cleaning Procedure
- Remove the toilet seat hinges as described earlier in this article.
- Clean the hinges in a solution of hot soapy water and scrub them with a rag with a rough texture to remove stubborn stains on the hinges. Dishwashing liquid works just fine with brass hinges.
- Microwave half a cup of vinegar for a minute until its hot.
- Mix a little salt into the now hot vinegar then rub the paste on the hinges using a cleaning rug. That helps to remove any tarnish remaining on them.
- Rinse off the paste from the hinges with clean water and then dry them with a soft cloth.
- Using a solution of equal parts hot water and ammonia, clean any tarnish stains on the toilet seat and bowl. Plastic scrubbers are handy in removing heavy stains.
- Rinse the bowl and the toilet seat with clean water, removing any trace of the ammonia.
- Reattach the brass hinges to the toilet bowl.
Wiping brass hinges with a cleaning rag soaked in an ammonia solution keeps the tarnish from building up.
