Help cleaning my grungy bathtub?

Question

I rent an apartment in an older house and the bathtub is really grungy. I clean it with lysol and regular all-purpose cleaners and they get rid of the dirt, but there are still really tough hard water stains. What are some good products and/or techniques for getting rid of that and making my tub and shower look cleaner?

Answer 1

HONEY Buy a couple of those magic erasers. THEY WORK!

or this is really good stuff as well

http://tshull.qhealthbeauty.com/products/product.aspx?itemno=E8785

Answer 2

Soft scrub and a steel wool pad will work, but if the tub is acrylic you have to be careful and not scratch it. If its an old tub and is enameled cast iron (like a claw foot tub) then you can pretty much scrub all day and not hurt it. Kaboom cleaner also works pretty well on hard water stains, but it takes elbow grease (even if the bottle says it doesn't). I used to live in a really old farmhouse (for 16 years) and we had a well, so I soft scrubbed it about twice a month.

Answer 3

If the tub is porcelain or fired enamel over steel or cast iron, you can use a pumice stone on it which you can get at the hardware store. If it is fiberglass you will need to a product like CLR (calicuim, lime and rust remover) on it. I also have used a sandpaper sponge I got from the paint department that has a medium and a fine side to it that can polish off the stains with out scratching too much. The newer formulations of Ajax, Comet and such are now "soft" to compete with soft scrub and not damage surfaces like they used to, so they take forever to clean a really funky surface like you are describing.

Answer 4

Depending on how old the tub is, you may need to get some porcelain paint. It is a kind o paint used for just that reason, to re-finish areas where the porcelain has worn off. Scrubbing and cleaning won't remove that wear spot from years of use. It looks rusty, but may actually be worn away. Check it out and see if that's the case.
Seeing it is a rental, maybe you could discuss the cost with your landlord. He may help you to purchase what you need.

If the calking is darkened or in sad shape too, you can also peel that off and replace that with new as well.

Good Luck

Answer 5

After the typical bleach (1/2) and water treatment (1/2), you can paint it with a bath tub refinishing paint, like Top Secret Coatings one part epoxy. You would need a quart of Top Secret Primer and TS-100, it looks beautiful on bathtubs and comes in over 200 colors!

Answer 6

if you don't have animals or children around you can try using Comet cleanser on the stains. Wet the stains, pour comet on them and let them sit..then do again at another time. If that doesn't bring them up, then try something like "lime away". You need though to determine exactly what caused the stains. It may take many tries, some rubs, some chemicals, some bleaches. For hard water stains "lime away" should do it. Pour it on and let it sit overnight (make sure it doesn't dry out overnight).

Answer 7

The Ka-Boom products work well for me - specifically the shower, tub & tile cleaner - just spray it on and let it sit a minute, then use a soft -abrasive sponge to wipe it down and rinse off. Worth the money.

Answer 8

My 2 fave ways of getting yukky bath tubs clean (my sister is a slob - I have to deep clean every time I visit her)
1st baking soda & Mr. Clean - scrubs well without scratching
2nd grapefruit & salt - cut a grapefruit in half, pour salt onto the grapefruit & use it to scrub the tub - the acid in the grapefruit cuts through all the buid up body oil and soap scum & the salt scrubs it away without scratching the tub

Answer 9

I sell stuff that does not work as well as "Eliminate". Found it at Orchard Supply, part of Sears.

Anyhow it's made by Unelko in Scottsdale AZ. Called them I was so impressed. Not sure who the guy was I talked to but he was very nice gave a brief explaination of how it works.

Add the www and .com to unelko and see if you can find someone selling it close by.

Answer 10

They make special paint just for bathtubs. Talk with a paint expert at the "good" paint store (not Home Depot). Mask off the walls and paint it.

Answer 11

Zep is the superb i've got used $a million.ninety 9 at abode Depot superb in case you have difficult water, open a window & use gloves nevertheless--stuff is physically powerful! I sparkling showers bout as quickly as each week to maintain mould & cleansing soap scum at bay. Any previous rag will do. for between grout a plastic scrubber will do great; for somewhat nasty stains, get the superb grade of steel wool (try on tile first, make confident it does not scratch) bathe doorways--lemon juice, vinegar & baking soda to do away with cleansing soap scum then sparkling as you generally could liquid fab softener mixed with water in a twig bottle can shop water beading up on floor--stable to repell mould. or possibly a twig vehicle wax; i exploit Rain-X from the vehicle dept of any retail save. Spray on the partitions of bathe each week to make cleansing extra handy. Tea tree oil (in the nutrition portion of the save) is likewise staggering on bathe doorways