'My life has been changed’ - Expert reveals vital step we're missing before cleaning the bathroom

Do you do this before your cleaning routine? It might be time to start…

bathroom with white freestanding bath, white toilet and basin, green potted plant, white and grey floor tiles, white wall tiles and grey walls
(Image credit: Future PLC/ LIZZIE ORME)

Cleaning our bathroom is a necessary chore that most of us tackle on a weekly basis, however, cleaning experts on Tiktok have revealed the vital step we've all been skipping before cleaning the bathroom.

When giving our bathrooms their weekly refresh, most of us will probably go straight to applying our cleaning products, proceeding to scrub with water until everything is clean, fresh and sparkling. However, the first few wipes of your bathroom often result in you clearing up a lot of dust, instead of the actual dirt, limescale, or product residue that results from using your bathroom daily.

To avoid this, experts advise dry dusting first when planning how to clean your bathroom, before launching into your usual routine.

Why you should ‘dry dust’ your bathroom before cleaning

Pink and blue tiled bathroom with white bath, decorative storage baskets and house plants with big window and shutters

(Image credit: Future PLC / James French)

A recent TikTok video by cleaning brand Purdy & Figg, which has had a whopping 688,000 views, highlighted the benefits of dry dusting before cleaning your bathroom more thoroughly. 

First, the cleaning experts over at Purdy & Figg advise clearing all of your surfaces, and then taking to all the different parts of your bathroom with a clean, dry microfibre cloth and absolutely no product. Yes, that’s right!

This bathroom cleaning hack specifically advises addressing all lower surfaces too, such as skirting boards, given that these areas are most prone to catching dust and dirt from higher up. For your toilet, the video recommends dry dusting with dryer sheets, which are “easily disposable and more hygienic” than using a microfibre cloth.

@purdyandfigg

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Charlotte Figg, cleaning expert and co-founder of Purdy & Figg, explained, 'It's always a good idea to remove dust before you clean in order to make sure you've effectively removed all dirt and bacteria.

'By dusting with a microfibre cloth (which carries a ‘positive’ charge) the dust will be electrostatically attracted to the negatively charged dust/dirt particle. Therefore the cloth will actively pull the dust from the surface and into the fibres of the cloth.'

It may sound simple, but the idea is that dry dusting (which arguably isn’t part of most of our routines) prior to your regular cleaning will allow you to tackle a messy bathroom without any extra dust – making the process a whole lot easier. Plus, this writer actually tried out the hack before cleaning her bathroom, and I can confirm that the end result was a much shinier and cleaner-looking space!

Dark bathroom with wall panelling behind grey bath

(Image credit: Future PLC)

TikTok users were amazed by the revelation that dry dusting could make their whole cleaning routine easier, with one writing on the video, ‘Omg! I feel like my life has been changed’, while another agreed, ‘I don’t know why I didn’t think to do this before, but THANK YOU’.

In fact, Charlotte says, 'You can either use a damp or dry cloth to remove the dust - but the key thing to remember is then using a different cloth to actually clean the surface with.' 

Agreed - no one wants to be wiping that dust back around their bathroom!

Amy Hunt
Contributor

Amy Hunt is an experienced digital journalist and editor, now working in a freelance capacity specialising in homes and interiors, wellness, travel and careers. She was previously Lifestyle Editor at woman&home, overseeing the homes, books and features sections of the website. Having worked in the industry for over eight years, she has contributed to a range of publications including Ideal Home, Livingetc, T3,Goodto, Woman, Woman’s Own, and Red magazine.