How to clean a tub!!

[Lorikr65]

Does anyone know a good way to get rid of soap scum? All the cleaners don't seem to work, or you have to work really hard. Isn't there something that you can spray, let sit and wipe down AND all the soap scum is gone!!?? I tried something once and the fumes were so bad I almost passed out!! I have used a brillo pad and that seems to work, but I can assume it is scratching the tub (it's one of those 1 piece tub and wall). All suggestions welcome!!

 

[SusanD]

It does make a difference...some surfaces can be damaged by harsh chemicals. Something that seems to work well on mine is Mr. Clean magic erasers. They are effective without the toxic smell. Good luck.

 

[disney_me]

Do you have hard water stains or just soap scum? Try CRL if its hard water stains (works well). For soap scum try Comet, Scrubbing Bubbles, or if your not into using chemical, try water and vinager.

 

[ducklite]

Vinegar! It will clean almost anything. Just keep swishing it full strength around in the tub and it will loosen the soap residue!

Anne

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

We had to have a tub surround repaired.... it was cracked and only a year old... anyway....

The guy suggested putting a coat of turtle wax on the entire tub and surround.... just like you would your car. He also suggested using only liquid soap - no bars. I have not gotten around to trying this out, and my family refuses to use anything but bar soap.... Oh well!

 

[JoiseyMom]

Kaboom worked for my tub.... You still have to scrub some of the tough stuff but it does work.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

The guy suggested putting a coat of turtle wax on the entire tub and surround.... just like you would your car. He also suggested using only liquid soap - no bars. I have not gotten around to trying this out, and my family refuses to use anything but bar soap.... Oh well!

Be careful not to wax the bottom of the tub. It may make it easier to clean but it will also make it very slippery. Just do the sides and the tub-surround if you don't have tile.

 

[TNKBELL]

I second the Mr Clean Magic Eraser!! It works better than Scrubbing Bubbles!! It removed set in soap scum in our Master Bath shower and hardly any effort, I had to scrub much harder when I used Srubbing Bubbles!! I won't use anything else!! It also works to brighten up shoes, Dd4 had leather princess sandals that she wore all summer, and I wanted them to look nice for our fall vacation and gave it a try, they looked almost new! There is fameldahyde in them though. But there is no odor.

 

[DMRick]

We do this both on our home shower/surrounds and our RV one. However, you should never put it on the bottom..it will be slippery, and you could have an accident. I don't use it on my cast iron tub, just the walls on that one, since I can use anything to clean it.
I never have to do more than rinse my tub and shower walls.

We had to have a tub surround repaired.... it was cracked and only a year old... anyway....

The guy suggested putting a coat of turtle wax on the entire tub and surround.... just like you would your car. He also suggested using only liquid soap - no bars. I have not gotten around to trying this out, and my family refuses to use anything but bar soap.... Oh well!

 

[becky7953]

Thanks for the hint about Magic erasers! I am going to try it!

 

[Mom2Ashli]

I love the new Easy Off BAM! It works great. No scrubing.

 

[tripplanner2]

I second Kaboom. I would not bath my kids in my tub for years because of the residue that I could not get off. I thought it would be there until we redid our bathroom. I then tried Kaboom and for the first time in like 3 years we are using our tub again. It looks brand new.

 

[LegoMom3]

Bon Ami cleans well if you really to scrub, but I really like non-chemical stuff like an orange-oil based product or Melaleuca's products (tea-tree oil based, non-chemical). If it is years of hard-water build-up, you'll need a CLR type thing to break through all that first.

Best of luck!...scrubbing ANY bathroom fixture is no fun!

 

[Bonny-braids]

go to the Dollar Tree and get "The Works" tub cleaner. Squirt it on, wait a few minutes and it cleans off really well. Use rubber gloves...it works really well but it's harsh on your hands.

 

[ntburns22]

Kaboom worked for my tub.... You still have to scrub some of the tough stuff but it does work.

I third KAboom it was the only thing that got my shower doors clean!

 

[Danemom]

I would suggest the Magic Eraser or also vinegar. Vinegar is amazing - it cleaned my grandfather's hard water stained toilet bowl. Just get the water out of the bowl, soak some paper towels with vinegar and leave on the stain overnight. The crud came right off so I'd think it would have no trouble with soap scum!

 

[horsegirl]

Does anyone know a good way to get rid of soap scum? All the cleaners don't seem to work, or you have to work really hard. Isn't there something that you can spray, let sit and wipe down AND all the soap scum is gone!!?? I tried something once and the fumes were so bad I almost passed out!! I have used a brillo pad and that seems to work, but I can assume it is scratching the tub (it's one of those 1 piece tub and wall). All suggestions welcome!!

I can't believe this is here! I was standing in the shower this am (I the fool insisted on a fully tiled shower when we restored our antique farmhouse 7 years ago) and anyway I looked at all the grout and hard water stains and thought, I've got to ask the DISers how to clean this thing! I am going to do this tonight with vinegar, and see how it looks in the morning and will buy those mr clean erasers. Thanks you clever people!

 

[Twende]

Magic Eraser works great but I also dripped some generic brand dandruff shampoo in the tub and it sat there for a few hours and I washed it away and the tup and enclosure was spotless under the spilled spot!

 

[Donnask8pro]

Is that magic eraser ok on fiberglass tubs also? Those inserts are tough. I even called the company and they told me turtle was also.

 

[TNKBELL]

Is that magic eraser ok on fiberglass tubs also? Those inserts are tough. I even called the company and they told me turtle was also.

Yes it works just fine on ours. It is very mild.