How To Tackle an Overdue Bathroom Cleaning Task

When was the last time you wiped down your curling iron or cleaned out the back of your hair dryer? If you can't remember—or you didn't even know that was a thing you had to do in the first place—then it's definitely time for a deep clean before your next styling session.
 
Tackling Your Linty Hair Dryer
Notice how the vent on the back of your blow dryer tends to fill up with lint over time? The good news is cleaning it out is simple. The bad news? It can get a little tedious, especially if it's been a while since you've cleaned it out (uh, if ever).

What you'll need:
A vacuum, a dry toothbrush, soap and hot water, and a pair of tweezers or a toothpick.

Instructions:
Every hair dryer is slightly different, but regardless of your model, you should be able to pop the intake vent cover off the back fairly easily. Once you're in, eHowsuggests you use the toothbrush to brush away any dust, lint and debris you see. Then, suck out the rest with the hose attachment on your vacuum cleaner. If you still see lint trapped in the back of your hair dryer, use the tweezers or toothpick to pull it out until it's clean. If the vent cover is dirty as well, rinse it with soap and hot water (just make sure you dry it thoroughly before you put it back on). Voila—no more dusty drying sessions!

How often you should clean it:
Stylecaster recommends cleaning your hair dryer every three weeks, but if you don't use it frequently, clean it whenever you start to see build-up.

Cleaning Your Flat Iron and Curling Wand
If you've had your hot tools for a long time, you know one thing to be true: Inevitably, your hair straightener or curling iron will be covered in mystery gunk. Okay, so it's not really a mystery—it's more like an amalgamation of all your favorite hair products. It makes your heat styling tools look gross, and it can even get in your hair and make it smell less like your favorite shampoo and more like burnt hairspray. Cleaning your hair irons is pretty straightforward overall, but the difficulty level depends on how caked on all that build-up is.

What you'll need:
A clean dry toothbrush, cotton balls, a slightly damp cloth, and rubbing alcohol or baking soda (you can also buy an inexpensive hot tools cleaner from Ulta for $5.99, if you prefer).

Instructions:
First, make sure your tools are unplugged and completely cooled down. Then, pick your poison—determine whether you want to use a heat styling tool cleaner, rubbing alcohol, or baking soda (if you choose baking soda, Good Housekeepingsuggests making a paste of three parts baking soda to one part water). Next, dampen a cotton ball or cotton pad with your chosen cleaner and use it to gently buff away all that nasty gunk. Use the toothbrush—or a Magic Eraser, as per PureWow's suggestion—to scrub away any particularly stubborn build-up. When your tools are clean, gently wipe them down with the cloth.

How often you should clean it:
Again, it depends on how often you use your curling iron or straightener, but for moderate to frequent use, Stylecaster says you should clean it every two weeks or once a month.
 
Is this going on your weekend to-do list? How frequently do you use and clean your hair styling tools?

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