Scrubbing Your Bathroom? Here's A Simple Way To Boost The Power Of Your Clean

No one particularly enjoys deep cleaning their bathroom, which means most of us want to finish the task as quickly and efficiently as possible. But scrubbing the space can sometimes take longer than expected — especially if there is grime or soap scum buildup that requires a heavy dose of muscle power. However, there is one simple thing you can do to help you boost the power of your clean and save time, and that's saturating key areas with hot water before scrubbing. 

It's one of the most simple tips to make cleaning your bathroom easier. Rather than spraying down your sink with a product and attacking the surface while it's room temperature, you can instead have an easier time removing dirt and buildup if it's softened with warm water first. This will negate the need for scrubbing, which will help you wrap up your chores much faster. Here is how to do it and why it works.

There are several ways you can use hot water to clean your bathroom faster. If tackling the sink, lift the stopper on your faucet to plug the basin and allow hot water to run for 30 seconds or until the sink is full. Let the water sit for a minute or two, and then drop the stopper for the water to drain. Then, immediately go in with your cleaning product and sponge. Any built-up grime or dried toothpaste will easily wipe away. The same idea applies if you're washing your bathtub. Drop the stopper in the drain, and allow hot water to fill the tub. To avoid wasting resources, allow it to cover only the bottom of the tub rather than fill the whole thing. Allow the steamy water to sit for a few minutes, drain the water, and tackle it with your cleaning products.

If you want to clean the sides of the tub — or the tiles of a shower — use your showerhead to deliver hot water to those areas for a minute or two. Once sufficiently warmed, turn off the water and go in with your cleaning products. The soap scum and dirt should easily wipe away. 

The science behind why this works has to do with how molecules behave when there is heat present. When something gets hot, the molecules move further apart from each other and begin to frantically bounce around. If you're trying to remove body oils from your tiles or tub, dousing them in hot water makes it easier to remove them because the applied heat causes the oil molecules to separate, making their hold on the surface weaker. It's also a great way to remove dirt and grime for this same reason. Since the molecules in hot water are further apart, they can hold more solvents between them than cold water can. And since molecules move around more quickly when heated, they will help agitate the cleaning products between them, making them more effective.

However, this is only true if you're using cleaners that don't include bleach. Hot water makes bleach less potent because it degrades one of its main ingredients – sodium hypochlorite. When that deteriorates, the bleach loses its ability to kill germs as effectively. So, if you want to use a bleach-based cleaner such as Soft Scrub on your ceramic tiles or your bathtub, you're better off skipping this hack since it will make your product less effective.