BATHROOM CLEAN-UP No Bleach Needed!

I will get ZERO sympathy from our friends on the East Coast who have spent the week digging out from a blizzard, but with frequent rain, cooler weather and houses made out of stone, Winter in Bermuda is like sitting in a cold wet basement.  As with any damp spaces with little ventilation (it’s hard to open the windows when there’s a downpour and 50mph winds) mold and mildew grow rampant, especially in the bathroom.  I refuse to give up my hot evening shower but these minutes of joy create a lot of steam.  In time it settles on the ceiling and walls and creates mold.

In the past, my cupboard was stocked with bleach, which would be put to use weekly.  It seemed that no matter how much I cleaned, the mold would come back.  Not too long ago, our shop was visited by two lovely gentleman from California Paints.  While they were not sympathetic to our complains about the cold (no surprise there), they could relate to our mold problem.  We got to talking about bleach and they pointed out that when bleach breaks down, it creates a food source for a new mold colony.  Well, that makes sense!  It also has a pretty noxious smell and I’ve ruined many a pair of pants with bleach stains.

I decided there had to be a better alternative so I went down to the grocery store in search of a new bathroom cleaner.  I read a while ago that women pick products mostly on the basis of smell.  Yup, totally agree there.  The Method bathroom and toilet cleaners smell like sparkling clean spearmint, which is certainly an upgrade from the burning bleach fumes.  Cleaning the bathroom is not my favourite way to spend an afternoon but I couldn’t wait to use this stuff over and over.  The smell was amazing!

But let’s face it, the smell can only go so far.  Was the Method cleaner effective?  I can certainly get behind environmentally products that are not only better for us but also for the environment.  However, I often find they don’t work as well as the full-toxic stuff.  The Method cleaners DID require a little more scrubbing when compared the instant whitening power of bleach but they were A LOT more pleasant to use and I could tolerate being around the smell for a long time.  It reminded me of the fresh and clean feeling of toothpaste.

The verdict?  Definitely a keeper!  I don’t think my husband will let me throw out the bleach quite yet but it’s the first step in trying alternates to harsh cleaners.  Now if you excuse me, it’s time for me to clean something else!