How do I get grime off of the bathroom tub?

Question

It's like a combo of dirt and soap.. I can't get it out by scrubbing and using the scrubbing bubbles. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

try vinegar it cleans our outside grimey windows

Answer 2

You've had some good advice, but here is another way to look at it - you don't have to get it all off at once!

Each time you are in the tub try scrubbing just a small section using just soap and a scouring pad like you use for washing up. Just scrub away while you are in there. Eventually you will get it all clean.

Now about not letting it get that way. If you wipe out the tub every time you use it, just with a washcloth, and rinse with a little clean water, this buildup will never happen again. Much housework can be done in this preventive way. These big jobs that make us suffer so much are often the result of thinking that we need to be able to see dirt before it's time to clean.

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Answer 3

I clean out houses and prepare them for sale. So I have seen some pretty nasty tubs in my time. I use a few different products. I first mix a half and half bottle of peroxide and water and spray down everything. Once I let it set for a while (long enough to spray down everything else in the bathroom) I take a towel and wipe it down and if it comes clean great. But most of the time I am not that lucky. So then I mix a bowl of baking soda, lemon juice (to help with smell) and dish soap. I make it into a paste. Dip the rag into hot water and then in to the mix. I use it all over and go about cleaning the sink with the same mix (so the tub can soak). Then I rinse off everything and wipe it down again. If it still is nasty I grab the clean earaser and scrub it down. Most of the time that is plenty to get the job done. The dish soap eats away a lot of the grime. But if it is still nasty I break out the trusted FASTBALL. (can be found at janitoral supply palces) That will clean anything. (It is also a very strong disinfector). I have found that you have less build up and stuck on dirt when you use liquid soap and not bar soap. Look at it like oil and grease when you buy soap. Once you heat up grease/ or bar soap then they easily turn soft. Heat up oil or liquid soap they stay liquid. Unless you scrub your tub before you turn the shower off to get rid of the bar soap then once the water is off and tub cools then the soap residue will become soild again. Just like grease becoming solid after it is cooled. I tell everyone to only buy the liquid soap. That is what I have learned over time. Good luck with cleaning.

Answer 4

DEPENDS ON THE FINISH OF THE TUB!!!
If you have a porcelain tub finish over cast iron, you need to use Dutch Cleanser (Comety and Ajax powders are the same thing- it basically means an abrasice.)
IF you have a newer tub unit, it is likely fiberglass and you CANNOT use abrasives (ruins the finish)! You can use regular sprays but every month or so you need a fiberglass cleaner such as GelGloss from TR Industries. It goes on like a paste and sucks up dirt and scum- you rub then let it dry the rub off with a clean dry cotton rag (old t shirts and old diapers work great!). It is petroleum-based so ventilate the bathroom well. I used to plan on it once a month and usually did it early in the am after everyone left, let it dry and hour or two, then buffed (it's a workout!), but boy did the tub shine! Now that I am alone most of the time, I only do it two or three times a year. It depends on how much scum buildup you get- the quality of your water and how frequently you use the tub determines how often you need to do this.
Good luck!

Answer 5

If the surface is new and safe, use a commercial cleaner, like Dutch Cleanser -- just be sure to look for non-abrasive.

If the surface is antique porcelin (more than 50 years old), it's better to try a paste of baking soda and Morton Salt, equal parts, with a tiny bit if lemon juice on a soft sponge.

You might need to get a men's flat razor, and gently scrape away some of the grime that's caught in the seams or grout. Be careful not to slice or remove any silicon seals.

A weak solution of common household bleach will whiten the surface if it's discolored.

Listen to really good 1970s or 1980s music while you clean. Put on your favorite album, and forget about the rest of the world while you learn the Zen of bathroom cleaning.

Become physically fit, more serene, and sparkling clean while you dissolve that nasty soap scum!

Remember soap is mostly alkaline and requires an acid to dissolve, which the normal ph of water will do. Older soap scum requires harsher measures, but always remember to protect your hands with plastic kitchen gloves and your eyes from the cleaning solutions.

Happy Betty Bathtub to you!

Answer 6

I use The Works shower cleaner. It does not damage the porcelain interior like Ajax cleanser will.

What I do it squirt is to run the shower water all around the edges of the but. Then I squirt The Works liberally around the tub walls and let it dribble down. It should clear everything out of the pathway, including the dirt and soap (we have a lot of lime in our water). Then I let it set in the tub for about 15-20 minutes. Afterwards I wipe down the walls. Then run the shower on hot water and make sure it completely rinses everything off. If there is a lot of build up, I may have to then touch up the remaining spots that weren't affected by the first attempt.

I would recommend trying this. I got busy and could not clean my tub for several weeks (I go to school and work almost full time and so I don't have a lot of time for housework) and it does get rid of the stuff in the tub.

Answer 7

We had a lot of trouble, too, until we discovered 2 products that work -- one is called "The Works Tub & Shower Cleaner," by a company called HomeCare Labs in Lawrenceville, GA. You can buy it at Dollar Tree for a buck! It comes in an odd dispensing bottle, so you might want to dump it into a spray bottle, but it cleans like nothing else we've found and it doesn't blow you away with the smell, like some strong cleaners do. The other thing, oddly enough, is the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It also does a surprisingly good job. So . . . the ultimate cleaner? -- a little of The Works dumped onto a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser!
Best wishes.

Answer 8

Greased Lightning works really well -- BUT -- make sure you wear rubber gloves! That stuff will eat the skin right off your hands if you use it for too long. It will also corrode the polish off of the faucet and handles, so do not let it sit on those for very long before rinsing off. It won't hurt the tub if you let it sit, just the faucet & handles. I had to learn that the hard way

Just spray some on there, let it sit for about a minute or two and then scrub off with an abrasive sponge. There isn't much that Greased Lightning won't eat up.

Lime-a-Way also works really well.

If you have mold and mildew, you'll have to use Tilex Mold & Mildew remover, AFTER using Greased Lightning, to really kill it. Sometimes it takes two applications of Tilex to really kill that stuff.

After that, get one of those Scrubbing Bubbles automatic shower cleaners. Those things work pretty well and will help to keep your shower clean all the time.

Good luck!

Answer 9

I use Lysol bathroom cleaner which works really well. Try filling your tub with water and bleach to let it soak. It doesn't come off it might not be soap it could be a lime buildup so get CLR (calcium lime rust remover) or a similar product and attempt to take off that way.

Mr. Clean magic erasers are amazing. I used them to get crayon and marker off the floor when I worked preschool. For my tub I also use the Mr. Clean magic reach (i think that is what it is called). They have two different pads, mopping and scrubbing. I put the scrubbing one on and than spray the tub down with the Lysol bathroom cleaner and it works great. It has an extendable handle so you are not on your hands and knees and you get better strength behind your scrub.

Answer 10

I have tried so many things it's not funny to clean my tub. the white caulking around the tub I use a quirt bottle with bleach in it to put on that part and let it sit. My cloth shower curtain since only the bottom gets nasty since that's where the water lingers at I put a bleachy butter bowl of water on the tub and put the end of my shower curtain in that for a while and rinse saves on taking it down everytime to wash it then iron it cause mine wrinkles so badly that it looks hidious. While it's soaking I use Comet with Bleach with a good stiff brush and scrub my tub and let it sit a while and scrub it again if needed. Then for the walls and crome fixtures I use Lysol Bathroom cleaner you used to be able to get it in green Apple Scent but I can't find that now. I got it the other day and it is the same thing but they changed the scent to Island Breeze. This is a spray bottle. This stuff will make your crome sparkle I absolutely love it. So spray those walls and crome down and wipe with a cloth rinse the tub all down. Now if you have my problem of the bottles of shampoo causing mildew or mold under them on the edges of the tub where they sit in a short amount of time. Let me know the solution to that. That is the hardest thing to keep clean but now I use a wet paper towel and wring it out some and quirt some bleach in that area set the paper towl on it for a bit and it comes clean. But that's my annoying problem now. I struggled to keep and get that tub cleaned and this is the best I have found. Whatever you do don't do my trick where I thought I am going to find a way to clean this if it's the last thing I do and I used Dawn with Bleach Alternative and regular bleach together to let it soak. Well I will tell you don't do that. It had the same reaction that Bleach and Ammonia has... I didn't know that would do that but I didn't think I would ever get the stuff rinsed out of my tub before passing out. I turned on the exhaust fan in the bathroom opened all the windows and doors covered my nose and mouth up and tried to keep my eyes shut and I still about passed out. It was bad. So needless to say when I tried Comet as cheap and easy as it is to use. I never went back. It's been the best. Cheap too. I have tried so many and they just don't give the results. So after you do all of this, your tub should sparkle. Then just maintain it every few days or once a week. Good Luck Oh and is it just me or does the bathroom although it's usually the smallest room in the house takes the longest to clean? That's the way it is at my house... I dread a dirty bathroom but I dread cleaning it too...

Answer 11

I have a white bath tub with the grip finish on the bottom and let me tell you, it is terrible trying to get the schmutz out of it. Ugh. Until I found Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. The thing is a miracle worker. I do the Ajax jazz but then rub over the more stained parts with the magic eraser and they are gone. Walk, don't run and get a coupld of these. They rock all over the house. Dirty oven..gone...stuck on grime on the counter...gone. Amazing. This is the only thing that will clean the tub to new.