If bleach has been your bathroom-cleaning go to, it may be time to rethink this harsh product. Photo / Getty Images
If bleach has been your bathroom-cleaning go to, it may be time to rethink this harsh product. Photo / Getty Images
A professional cleaner has revealed why you should never use bleach on your bathroom tiles and silicone, and what to use instead.
If you're quick to grab bleach to solve all your stubborn stain problems, you may want to think again.
A professional cleaner from Melbourne, Kacie, who goes by the TikTok handle "The Big Clean Co", claims it's doing more harm than good, particularly in your bathroom.
Kacie from The Big Clean Co posted a video to TikTok explaining why you should never use bleach to clean your bathroom. Photo / TikTok
Instead, she suggests using dishwashing liquid — something she also uses for most jobs around the home.
The cleaner, who has racked up more than four million likes on her TikToks, often shares tips and tricks when it comes to cleaning.
And in one of her latest clips, she warns against using bleach - especially when it comes to bathroom tiles and silicone.
Bleach will destroy the silicone and frequent use can create long-term problems. Photo / TikTok
"Bleach will destroy the whole point of silicone (keeping moisture out of crevices)," she says.
"The thing about dishwashing liquid and the reason it's our go-to product is because it's just about as close as you're going to get to a neutral PH (like water)."
She said while bleach might be required on occasion, it's only a quick fix, and if it's used regularly on your tiles, grout and silicone, it will actually ruin them.
The pro cleaner also shared a clip of the long-term damage caused by using too much bleach, adding that it erodes the grout and creates tiny holes which can never be fixed.
While she loves to use dishwashing liquid, even on mirrors, she agreed you may need something a little stronger on stubborn mould.
Warning that bleach erodes grouting, she suggests using a hydrogen peroxide and adding it to some bicarbonate of soda to create a cleaning paste instead. Photos / TikTok
Kacie also told viewers who use lemon to rid of stubborn stains in their bathrooms: "just don't".
"If you want something that's natural you can just make a paste with bicarb and cleaning vinegar and you can just brush that on your grout," she said.
Kacie is a big fan of using dish-washing liquid for lots of different cleaning. Photo / TikTok
To clean tiles and grout without bleach, she suggested buying hydrogen peroxide — which can be picked up in local supermarkets — and adding it to some bicarbonate of soda to create a cleaning paste.
"Thicker for a paste, thinner for a spray. Let it sit for a little while before scrubbing and washing off."
Although hydrogen peroxide does have bleaching properties, it is entirely different and it doesn't contain chlorine — which is the toxic component of regular bleach.
The only time Kacie will use bleach is when cleaning the toilet — but she says she will always use a specific toilet cleaning product.
