Rinse a toilet brush after each use by flushing while you hold it in the bowl, then let it drip dry with the handle wedged under the toilet seat before it goes back in its holder. Once a week, soak the head in diluted bleach, rinse it, and wash out the holder. Replace the brush head once or twice a year.
Most toilet brushes are dirtier than they need to be for one reason: they go straight back into the holder wet. The water collects in the bottom of the holder, the bristles sit in it for days, and that's where the smell and the brown sludge come from.
After every use: rinse and drip-dry#
- When you've finished scrubbing, flush and hold the brush in the clean water as the bowl refills. Swish it to rinse off cleaner and debris.
- Tap the handle against the rim to shake off excess water.
- Wedge the handle under the toilet seat so the head hangs over the bowl and drips into it. OXO suggests exactly this to stop the brush from getting gross.
- Once it's stopped dripping, put it back in the holder.
If small children or pets use that bathroom, don't leave the brush wedged there unattended. Put it back once it's mostly dry.
How to disinfect a toilet brush once a week#
A weekly bleach soak handles what rinsing doesn't. The CDC's recipe for a bleach disinfecting solution is 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) of household bleach per gallon of room-temperature water, or 4 teaspoons per quart. Use regular unscented household bleach that states its strength on the label (most is 5% to 9% sodium hypochlorite). The CDC says splashless and some laundry bleaches aren't suitable for disinfecting. Mix a fresh batch each time.
- Put on rubber gloves and open a window or switch on the fan.
- Flush the toilet first, and rinse the brush in the clean water. Many toilet bowl cleaners are acidic, and you don't want any of that on the brush when it meets bleach.
- Mix the bleach solution in a bucket that you only use for cleaning. A gallon is more than enough for one brush.
- Stand the brush head-down in the bucket. The CDC says the solution needs at least 1 minute of contact. A few minutes in the bucket covers that with room to spare.
- Rinse the brush by holding it in the toilet and flushing, then let it drip-dry under the seat as above.
- Pour the used solution into the toilet and flush it.
During a stomach bug in the house, do this soak after every cleaning session, not just weekly. The CDC recommends disinfecting in addition to cleaning when someone is sick.
Don't run a toilet brush through the dishwasher. Brabantia's product sheet for its ReNew brush marks it as not dishwasher safe, and you don't want toilet residue in with your plates anyway.
Never mix toilet cleaner and bleach#
This is the part of toilet cleaning where people get hurt. Bleach reacts with acids to make chlorine gas, and many toilet bowl cleaners and limescale removers are acidic. The Tennessee Poison Center explains that even short exposures can cause coughing, burning, and irritation, and higher exposures can injure the lungs. Bleach plus ammonia makes chloramine gas, and urine contains ammonia, so flush before you add bleach to a bowl or a brush.
Use one product at a time, flush between them, and never top up a holder or bucket with a second cleaner. If you start coughing or your eyes burn, get out into fresh air.
How to clean the toilet brush holder#
The holder needs cleaning as often as the brush, because it's where the dirty water ends up.
- Lift the brush out and pour the liquid in the holder into the toilet.
- Remove the inner cup if it has one.
- Wash the holder and cup with hot water and an all-purpose cleaner, using a cleaning sponge you keep for the toilet. Get the bottom edge, where a ring forms.
- Rinse and dry it completely before putting the brush back. A dry holder stays clean far longer.
Metal holders need gentler treatment than the brush. Brabantia's care sheet for its ReNew toilet brush says to clean chrome and plastic parts with a damp cloth and an all-purpose cleaner, never to use products containing chloride or hydrochloric solutions on lacquered parts, and to avoid aggressive or abrasive products. Keep the bleach soak to the brush itself, not a chrome or painted holder.
When to replace a toilet brush#
OXO's suggestion is to swap the brush head once or twice a year. Replace it sooner if:
- The bristles are splayed, bent flat, or falling out.
- There's stained buildup at the base of the bristles that doesn't come out after a soak.
- It still smells after cleaning.
- The handle is cracked.
Many brushes, OXO's among them, have replaceable heads, so you can keep the holder and handle. A cheap all-in-one brush can just go in the bin; wrap it in a plastic bag first.
Give the brush its weekly soak on the same day you do the toilet deep clean, so it gets attention while it's already in your hand. Mop heads and cloths that touch the bathroom floor need the same kind of routine; see how to clean a mop head. The full rundown of weekly and monthly bathroom jobs is in how often you should clean your bathroom.