Shower scum, unsightly mould and who-knows-what lurking in the loo – cleaning a bathroom is not exactly the most pleasant of tasks. It has to be done though – it's a high-traffic room in your house and gets dirty, fast, not to mention being the ultimate breeding ground for bacteria. Gross.
That's why it's so important to use a cleaner that works for your weekly wipe-overs and monthly deep cleans. One that will give good results, preferably with the least effort.
To help you avoid flushing money down the toilet, CHOICE experts have recently put 44 bathroom-specific cleaners through a series of tests to help you find the best performers worth buying.
How do we test? We source tiles from the Centre for Test Materials, and soil them with a blend of hard soaps. Each cleaner is then applied for a certain time according to the manufacturer's instructions, then scrubbed 10 times to measure how well the soap scum is removed.
Here's what we found.
Firstly, do you even need a special cleaner for your bathroom?
Won't a kitchen or multi-purpose spray you already have do the job? Sure, it's fine to use these cleaners in the bathroom but using a product designed specifically for bathrooms has its advantages.
CHOICE expert Rebecca Ciaramidaro says, "Bathroom cleaners are specifically formulated to handle the grimy messes of the bathroom.
"They commonly contain active ingredients like sodium hydroxide, lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide which have bleaching and disinfecting properties to effectively tackle mould and soap scum."
The top-scorer in our bathroom cleaner review is this plant-based ecostore product.
Top scorers
Green is not generally a colour you want to see in your bathroom – but there's one type of green you'll appreciate having.
The Ecostore Antibacterial Bathroom and Shower Cleaner Refill Concentrate not only topped our tests with an impressive CHOICE Expert Rating of 90%, but it's made from greener, plant-based ingredients and, as it's a concentrated product, creates less plastic waste. That's a double win in our book.
Even the fully formulated version of this product is recommended, scoring 89%.
And, if you're looking to save money on your cleaning products, a great-value plant-based formula was not far behind: Aldi Green Action Plant Based Formula Bath & Shower Cleaner scored 89%. It costs just 50 cents per 100mL, so it's good for your budget as well as your bathroom.
The Community Co Clean Freak! Bath & Shower Cleaner – which costs even less at 35 cents per 100ml – also scored 89%.These bathroom cleaners all tied for second place with an impressive CHOICE Expert Rating of 89%:
- Dettol Healthy Clean Bathroom
- Community Co Clean Freak! Bath & Shower Cleaner
- Aldi Green Action Plant Based Formula Bath & Shower Cleaner
- Earth Choice Antibacterial Bath & Shower
- Ecostore Antibacterial Bathroom & Shower Cleaner
The three worst bathroom cleaners in our test.
Bathroom cleaners to avoid
Don't get bogged-down by these cleaners that scored the lowest in our testing:
- Bosisto's Bathroom & Shower – 54%
- Aldi Power Force Pro Bathroom Cleaning Wipes – 47%
- Re.stor Concentrated Cleaning Tablets Bathroom – 40%
Clever tips for cleaning the bathroom
- Pair a great bathroom cleaner with a top-performing toilet cleaner (see which ones CHOICE experts rate).
- Keep a small squeegee in your shower and use it to wipe the screen after showering – this can help prevent soap scum from setting, which can save you extra scrubbing later.
- Don't ignore mould; it's better to clean it at the first signs instead of leaving it to develop into a much greater problem. It can become highly invasive if not addressed. Follow our easy steps to remove mould yourself.
- Stop buying paper towels and expensive 'wipe' products (see above – the Aldi Power Force bathroom wipes we tested were inferior to all the spray products). You can use reusable rags and sprays instead for a fraction of the price, and likely better results.
- Reuse items around the house for cleaning instead of buying fresh supplies – old toothbrushes are great for scrubbing fiddly bits on taps, and old tea towels or scraps of clothing can be repurposed as rags.
- A great mop is perfect for getting tiles sparkling clean – steam mops are very popular and effective in certain circumstances, and are ultimately convenient and easy to use, but our testing has found that regular mops can often do the job almost as well.
We're on your side
For more than 60 years, we've been making a difference for Australian consumers. In that time, we've never taken ads or sponsorship.
Instead we're funded by members who value expert reviews and independent product testing.
With no self-interest behind our advice, you don't just buy smarter, you get the answers that you need.
You know without hesitation what's safe for you and your family.
And you'll never be alone when something goes wrong or a business treats you unfairly.
Learn more about CHOICE membership today
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
