From deep cleaning your toothbrush to getting your bath towels soft and fluffy, Laura De Barra shares her top cleaning tips for bathrooms with Ray D'Arcy on RTÉ Radio 1. Listen back above.
How to wash your hand towels
"They should be done twice weekly, depending on how many people you're living with," she says. "Have two that you can rotate if you're doing a weekly wash of towels. You shouldn't be leaving them more than a week."
Likewise, bath mats should be getting a weekly wash along with bath towels and bed linen. All of these items can be washed together at a higher temperature of 40-60 degrees with a bio-detergent and no fabric softener.
How to deep clean your toothbrush
The bathroom, she says, is often a breeding ground of bacteria thanks to the humidity: "Once you leave the bathroom, there's still a party going on."
With this in mind, she says that the "proper hygiene" after you brush your teeth is to rinse everything off with hot water and allow it to air dry at the edge of the sink.
"A lot of people don't do that, and it leads to bacteria build-up," she insists, noting that the toothbrush should also be deep cleaned once a week in anti-bacterial mouthwash.
How to keep your showers squeaky clean
When it comes to the shower, DeBarra recommends soaking your showerhead in a bag of vinegar every few months to remove limescale buildup.
And while shower doors can be scrubbed down on a weekly basis, shower curtains should be washed every week or two.
Place the curtain in a bag to stop microplastics from flooding your washing machine and to protect the curtain from any damage.
How to keep your towels fluffy
If you're struggling to keep your towels soft and fluffy, the Gaff Goddess author says that you need to lay off the fabric softener.
"You need to shake towels out when they're drying, and you need to make sure you're not using too much product. A lot of people will use a lot of fabric softener, it's awful for towels and makes them crispy."
To save your old towels, DeBarra recommend soaking them in a bath with two litres of water and a cup of distilled white vinegar. Leave it to soak overnight, and the fibres should loosen up once again.
For even more hygiene tips to make your bathroom sparkle, listen back to the full interview above.