I will admit it: I cleaned my toilet brush by pretending it did not need cleaning. The holder slowly filled with a brown sludge I refused to look at. Then a guest asked for the bathroom and I suddenly cared very much.

Why the brush needs its own cleaning

You use the brush to clean the toilet, but nothing ever cleans the brush. The holder collects drips, and bacteria love it. Cleaning the brush itself sounds gross, but it is fast.

How to do it

1. Flush the toilet and hold the brush in the clean water, then rinse it.
2. Pour a splash of bleach or disinfectant into the holder.
3. Let the brush sit in the holder while the disinfectant does its work, then rinse again.
4. Pour out the holder and scrub it with a sponge you are willing to throw away.

Do this monthly and the holder stops becoming a science project.

A cleaner habit that helps

After I scrub the toilet, I leave the brush wedged under the seat over the bowl to drip dry before putting it back in the holder. A dry brush means a clean holder. I also line the holder with a folded paper towel I swap each week.

It is not glamorous, but the bathroom smells better and I stopped dreading that corner.