ARTICLES: The Basics of Bathroom Maintenance

Bathroom

Believe it or not, your bathroom says a lot about you. It's no secret that people will "judge you" by your home, and it's nothing personal... but your home does speak a lot about you and the impression your bathroom makes on a guest is much deeper than the impression left by your kitchen or living room.

First of all, your bathroom is the second most private room in your home. (The first being your bedroom, which a guest is unlikely to visit.) This means that even the best housekeeper may neglect his or her bathroom, because the upkeep doesn't seem as "important."

You couldn't be more wrong! As private as a bathroom is, it is also a room that your guest is likely to be in, and to look around in. Don't worry, a good guest won't be snooping for decorative soaps to steal, but they will absorb the feel of your bathroom while they are in there.

Some basic tips for the upkeep of your bathroom:

(1) Keep it clean! You should not just 'pick up' your bathroom, it should be scrubbed and shining every day. For some bathrooms you must do your cleaning daily, for other bathrooms this can be done only once a week. Stains in your bathtub or in your toilet are as gruesome as egg on your shirt, and they can get uglier the worse they are. The same goes for hair or toothpaste on your sink.

(2) Keep your bathroom 'user friendly.' Believe it or not, but it is actually good hosting to keep magazines, crossword puzzles, or other forms of 'reading material' nearby in your bathroom. Perhaps not stacked on the back of the toilet, but a cute little magazine rack next to the toilet for storing reading material is always a friendly gesture even if it is not necessary. Another useful activity are the handheld electronic games, such as poker or sudoku. (Hint, keep the volume turned off on electronic games so a guest won't feel embarrassed about playing with it if needed.)

(3) Keep a nice 'mood' in your bathroom. There are several elements that contribute to the 'feel' of a room, as often followed in higher traffic areas such as a kitchen or living room. For example, the lighting in your bathroom should have several settings: one bright for personal use (showering) and another softer ambience for regular use. Lights should not be too dim, but certainly not too bright either. A bathroom can easily look 'tacky' if you stick with a "theme" (seahorses or lighthouses, for example.) A classy bathroom uses contrasting or complementary color themes for a more relaxing feel. Candles can be used for decorating a bathroom, in place of mini soaps.

The important thing to remember is that a bathroom should not be neglected as an important room in your home, because in several ways your bathroom can be one of the most important rooms in your home.