How to Clean a Toilet Brush & Holder

The toilet brush can easily be the most ignored cleaning tool in your home. After you wash your toilet you simply store it away even without washing. The brush should be as clean as the other items in your bathroom.

To clean your toilet brush you need to soak it in bleach or another disinfectant long enough to remove all the dirt, grime, and waste it has been exposed to the whole day. To keep it clean, regularly clean and disinfect the brush and store it in dry place. The cleaning can be done weekly or more often, depending on your usage.

Below we discuss multiple methods on how to clean the toilet brush and keep it clean.

Methods to Clean

Below are three methods you can use to clean your toilet brush.

Using Bleach

Materials Needed

• Bleach
• Hydrogen peroxide or another household disinfectant
• White or apple cider vinegar
• Baking soda
• Spray bottle

Method

1. Fill a bucket with hot water and add in two cups of bleach. The water should be enough to fully submerge the toilet brush with its bristles. If unsure about the usage of bleach, read the back of the bottle for more instructions.
2. Leave the brush in the mixture for about an hour or more, overnight is best.
3. In the morning, check the water for any residue floating. Take out the brush.
4. Pour out the dirty water and replace it with clean hot water. The water should be boiling.
5. Add the brush again into the water and let it sit for at least a minute or so. Swirl the brush in the hot water to decompose active ingredients from the bleach and remove any left dirt.
6. Remove the brush from the water and let it dry. You can place the brush hanging between the toilet and the toilet seat.
7. Let it air dry until it’s completely dry, then store. Don’t store wet or damp brushes as they inhibit the growth of bacteria and mildew.

You should repeat this cleaning process as often as possible even when you’re not using the brush. It’s a precautionary measure to stop any bacteria or filth from growing in between the brush bristles.

Using Hydrogen Peroxide

If you don’t have bleach, hydrogen peroxide is a good alternative.

1. Take a spray bottle and fill it with hydrogen peroxide plus any other disinfectant.
2. Place your toilet brush under the ring of the toilet seat. Close the toilet ring so it wedges the toilet brush between the lid and the seat.
3. Spray the disinfectant onto the brush until it starts to drip on the solution.
4. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes.
5. Rinse under hot water.
6. Wedge it back under the toilet lid to dry

If you’re not happy with the results, you can repeat the process as many times as you wish. You can also dry the toilet brush using a towel or a paper towel to dry it faster. Don’t forget to store your brush in a cool and dry place.

Using Natural Products

Numerous home solutions can act as disinfectants. They include baking soda, vinegar, lemon, or a mixture of all of them. Here are common methods to try.

Vinegar-Water or Lemon Water Solution

Simply submerge the brush into a mixture containing either vinegar and water or lemon and water and allow the mixture to sit overnight. The citric acid in either solution will remove the dirt and disinfect the brush altogether. Rinse with hot water to remove the acidic solution.

Baking Soda

Baking soda and baking powder are abrasive cleaning agents that can be used to clean a myriad of things including your toilet brush.

1. Wear your protective attire(gloves and apron).
2. Sprinkle about a cup of baking soda onto the brush, precisely between the bristles.
3. Using another brush, scrub the brush making sure to get in between. The bristles.
4. You could spray some water to form a paste as you continue to brush. Leave the mixture in between the bristles for about an hour.
5. Run or dip the brush into hot boiling water. Leave it in for a minute or so to ensure the baking soda is cleaned.
6. Leave the brush out to dry or use a towel/ paper towel to dry the brush. Store in a cool dry place.

How to Clean a Toilet Brush Holder

While the toilet brush isn’t involved in your toilet’s actual cleaning, the germs can get transferred to the holder after use. Here’s a quick and easy method to clean the holder as well.

Materials Needed

• Hydrogen peroxide
• Baking soda or another household disinfectant
• Microfiber cloth
• Toothbrush

Method

1. Detach the brush from the holder and drain any standing water inside the holder.
2. Mix a cup of baking soda with water to form a paste.
3. Using a toothbrush, apply the paste all around the toilet brush holder coating it completely.  This is to remove any stains or stubborn crusted areas of dirt.
4. Let it sit for about 30 minutes then rinse the holder with hot water.
5. To disinfect the holder, take a spray bottle and add hydrogen peroxide plus another household disinfectant and spray down the holder with it.
6. Allow the disinfectant to sit for at least ten minutes and rinse it off.
7. Wipe down the holder with the cloth and allow it to dry completely.

How to Keep the Toilet Brush Clean

Now that you know how to clean the toilet brush and the handle, you need to know how to keep it as clean as possible. The key is consistency in cleaning. Washing the brush and its handle weekly or more should keep it clean, disinfected, and safe for use in your home.

Despite that, here are other ways to keep the brush clean;

• Store it in the open so you will notice any discolorations, stains, or mold as they form.
• Include washing the brush and the handle into your cleaning routine so you don’t forget.
• Avoid overstaying with your brushes. Those of you who use hard water may need to constantly change their brush as their water is harsher and more prone to staining.
• Drain excess water on the brushes before storing them to keep the brushes clean and smell-free.

Self-cleaning Toilet Brush -Lumi

Most people wonder if there is a toilet brush that can clean itself. There’s one known as lumi that comes with a smart base uses UV technology for the cleaning.

All you need is stick it into the base and the self-cleaning begins automatically. The base surrounds the brush on all sides with UV light set at specific wavelengths to kill germs.

Where to Store the Toilet Brush After Cleaning

Most toilet brushes come with their brush holders. However, you can create your own storage  holder from some used containers in your home. Store it in a dry area where the brush can no longer accumulate bacteria and mildew.

Your storage container could also have holes to help with draining extra water in case you store it when it’s not completely dry. Remember you don’t want to keep the brush when humid as it’d be conducive for mold growth.

FAQs

How Often Should you Clean your Toilet Brush?

It primarily depends on how often you clean your toilet with the brush. The more you wash off waste from the toilet, the more you should clean the brush and disinfectant both it and the handle. But for a rule of thumb, once a week would be a good measure to keep the brush as hygienic as possible.

Another thing to note is that you should replace the toilet brush every six months. The brush can only get clean so many times, after six months you would have bleached the brush approximately 24 times which is enough for one brush. Lastly, if you have a wooden toilet brush you should probably replace the brush sooner as water could be sipping into the wood every time you clean it.

How do you Remove Brown Stains from the Toilet Brush and make it White Again?

Brown stains imply that your toilet brush hasn’t been cleaned for a very long time and harbor lots of dirt, bacteria, and hard water remnants. To make the brush new again, you need to do two procedures, one to remove the brown stains from the brush and another to get the brush clean and disinfected.

For the brown stains, soak the toilet brush into a bucket and add in a cup of baking soda, a cup of vinegar, and hot water. Allow for it to soak for some time then rinse with hot water. Next, you want to soak in bleach or hydrogen peroxide using the method above to get rid of bacteria.

Again, rinse with hot water then allow to dry before you can store it. If the stains are persistent, repeat the procedure a few more times until you’re satisfied with the results.

More on Toilet Cleaning

• How often Should you Clean your Toilet?
• How to Clean Toilet Tank – DIY Hacks & Best Cleaners
• How to Clean a Toilet Plunger+ Drying & Storage
• How to Clean Toilet Siphon Jets for a Stronger Flush
• How to Clean under Toilet Rim Stains