Surviving the Shared Bathroom: Tips for Students

This article was published in 2015 and updated in October 2026.

Unless you were lucky enough to grow up with an en suite, you’re probably accustomed to sharing a bathroom. But there’s a big difference between sharing a bathroom with your family, and sharing with a group of students living without rules for the first time! Student bathrooms aren’t exactly known as the most hygienic of places, but you probably still want to maintain a bathroom your mother won’t faint at the sight of when she comes to visit. So how can you and your hall mates maintain a clean bathroom environment?

Toilet Manners

When it comes to the toilet, always try to leave it in a state you’d be happy to find it in. That doesn’t mean that you need to know how to clean a toilet until can see your reflection in the bowl, but it does mean using common sense and ensuring the bowl is reasonably clean and empty for the next person. Use a toilet brush to clean the sides of the bowl, and, if you manage to block the toilet, don’t panic! Rather than quietly sneaking off and acting surprised when your poor, unsuspecting victim screams from the loo, just learn how to unblock a toilet – there are plenty of tips available online to help you deal with serious blockages.

How to unblock a toilet in a hurry:

Throwing water down the bowl may provide enough force to dislodge the blockage, or a plunger can also be very effective. Baking soda mixed with vinegar also works well – the two household ingredients expand when they react, and can help push blockages through the pipe. If the toilet is still blocked, tell your landlord or residence staff rather than reaching for harsh drain chemicals. And keep a bottle of bathroom cleaner handy for when Mum visits, too.

Sparkling Showers

Now that you know how to unblock a toilet and give it a quick clean, it’s time to think about the shower. As students, you and your hall mates may be racing against the clock to get to those early morning lectures, which often means having a super quick rinse and not really thinking about leaving the shower clean and fresh. Usually, showers don’t need to be cleaned after every use, but when 8 or more students are using the same shower every day, it’s going to get dirty fast. The good news is that it doesn’t really take much to instantly improve the look, feel, and cleanliness of your student shower.

How to make the shower shine, fast:

After showering, just be sure to remove any loose hairs that have accumulated in the plughole, and rinse off any soap, shampoo, or conditioner that have splattered on the walls or on the shower screen. If family are turning up for a visit, here’s a quick trick to get your shower sparkling – coat the glass with a paste made of a little water and powdered laundry detergent, rinse, and then use a squeegee to get rid of any watermarks.

Mould Prevention

Unfortunately, mould is a common problem in many student accommodations. Mould and mildew can grow in even the cleanest of environments, but they are particularly prevalent in student housing. This is because more people in a building means more moisture in the air, there are multiple uses of the shower each day (which creates steam), and students generally lack knowledge regarding the best mould prevention techniques.

How to help prevent mould:

After you’ve used the bathroom – whether you’ve had a shower or a bath – try to create as much ventilation in the room as possible by opening windows or leaving the door open. If your bathroom has an extractor fan, use it! Mould not only looks bad, but can also make you feel a bit under the weather –which is the last thing you need when you’ve finally recovered from the dreaded ‘Fresher’s Flu’!

Make a Bathroom Rota

The easiest way to avoid arguments is to agree on a simple plan early on:

Take turns: set up a weekly cleaning rota on paper or in a shared app or group chat, so everyone knows whose turn it is.
Share supplies: split the cost of toilet paper, cleaner and bin bags, and agree who buys them next.
Keep your own things together: a shower caddy keeps your toiletries out of the way and stops the shelves overflowing.
Be considerate in the morning: keep showers short at peak times so everyone gets to their lectures on time.
Report problems early: leaks, broken fans or mould that keeps coming back should be reported to your landlord or residence staff.

Sharing a bathroom with your peers can take some getting used to, but while it may not be as clean and tidy as the one you left at home, it’s actually pretty easy to keep it hygienic and free from common germs. Establishing a cleaning routine and a set of ‘toilet rules’ with your hall mates early on can help ensure everyone is on the same page, and reduce the risk of nasty surprises!