Top 3 Tips to Create an Easy to Clean Bathroom Design
A bathroom renovation gives you a fresh start, and allows you to create the ideal space to kick off your morning and wind down in the evening. Everyone loves the fresh look of a newly remodeled bathroom, but no one enjoys having to clean the bathroom once it is installed. Choices you make in your design can impact the ongoing maintenance of the space. Why not simplify your life with a design that is easier to clean and maintain. Here are our top 3 tips for creating an easy to clean bathroom design.
Take Full Advantage of Storage
The first step in designing an easy to clean bathroom is to declutter as much as possible. A bathroom floor cluttered with towels, hairdryers, and dirty clothes makes it much harder to keep your floor tiles clean. What about the bathroom countertop? It is much simpler to clean when you do not have to work around bottles of make-up, razors, and hair accessories.
For every item you keep in the bathroom, there is a storage accessory available to put it neatly away. Vanity cabinetry can be equipped with a wide array of storage inserts, and even include built in electrical outlets and storage for hairdryers and other bathroom electronics. Incorporate pull outs to more easily access items and include a built in laundry basket so there are no more excuses for leaving dirty clothes on the floor! Include hooks and towel bars like these when picking out your hardware so that you have places to hang towels, robes and more.
Showers and tubs also benefit from decluttering by including built in storage niches or corner shelves like those shown here to provide an easily accessible place to keep shampoo and other toiletries. Not only will this keep you from tripping over bottles in the shower, but it keeps your surfaces clear for easier maintenance and cleaning.
Make a Clean Sweep
Bathroom floors are difficult to keep clean. They are subject to a lot of moisture and dirt, and you have to navigate awkward angles around the sink, vanity, and toilet when cleaning. Consider a contemporary bathroom remodeling style by incorporating a floating vanity like the one picture here, or even a wall mounted toilet. These freestanding fixtures are attached to the wall and do not touch the floor. This means you can more easily sweep, vacuum and mop the entire bathroom floor without having to work around awkward spaces behind the toilet or the back corner of a vanity.
Product selections for your bathroom floor are important, as some materials may be easier to clean than others. Grout lines are particularly difficult to keep clean, so larger format tiles with fewer grout lines will be easier to maintain than small tiles or mosaic tile designs. Follow the guidelines set by your bathroom design expert and the product manufacturer to make sure your floor materials are maintained and grout is properly sealed.
Simplify your Shower Design
Showers are subject to frequent use and must withstand water, dirt, soap scum, and more. Daily maintenance and following a regular cleaning ritual will help you keep your shower looking good as new. Your shower design can also greatly impact how much effort it takes to clean this area. The key to achieving an easy to clean shower is to take a more minimal approach to the design. For example, a frameless glass shower enclosure like the one below is easier to clean than a more traditional enclosure. With no metal frame to collect grime, you just have to clean one solid piece of glass. Daily maintenance with a squeegee and a soft cloth will keep water residue from damaging the glass and make long-term maintenance much simpler. Better yet, go for a no threshold shower design, or even a completely open shower or wet room, leaving you fewer awkward spaces to clean.
If you are embarking on a bathroom renovation, why not create a design that will make ongoing maintenance of your bathroom much easier. Get more bathroom ideas in our design gallery here or contact us today to find out more.