What's the best way to clean fiberglass tubs and showers?
Thank you!
Michelle Jenkins from Swan Lake, MT
I like CLR for my bathtub but it is metal. I have a fiberglass surround and just recently found a cleaner that is working well for me. It is called KABOOM I purchased this at Walmart for about $3. (03/06/2006)
I have tried many of these products and they all are good, but they cost money. I have found that for my shower and tub both which are fiberglass, I use cheap hair shampoo. I get a lot of it from my son who travels a lot in his job and he brings me the hotel bottles once or twice a year. I use the plain hair shampoo and a "net" scrubber I made out of onion and potato bags. This cleans very well. Sometimes I fill my tub up w/water and then after I have cleaned the sides of the tub or shower I take my string mop and swish it around in the water and mop the tile floors w/the solution that I just cleaned the tub with. This saves me time and money! I use plain old vinegar and water sprayed on the chrome faucets to clean them and they shine right up. I also use the hair shampoo in my toilet and then use an old fashion toilet brush to finish the job. This is a lot cheaper than anything else I have found and just as good if not better. Hope this helps someone save money and time! (03/06/2006)
By COOKIEPOM
Well water here is heavily with minerals along w/much iron and silt. It cakes on quickly and discolors everything it touches from orange to black. I'd despaired of ever returning the appliances to all-white. As a last resort, when The Works for cleaning tubs wasn't strong enough for my need, The Works disinfectant toilet bowl cleaner was tried. Rather than ruin the tub, as I'd feared, it actually took away some layers of muck! It took several re-applications to get rid of most stains. You can leave it on for hours w/o marring the finish. Of course, it does wonders for the commode. (03/06/2006)
By gator
The best way to prevent the build up of soap film and other build ups is to simply wipe down the shower from the top to the bottom with a towel after each use. This will take off all the soap film and water.Then you will never have to scrub the shower or tub again to remove the soap film.However,if there is a coating of soap film I suggest you buy a non scratch scrubbing pad from 3M and other companies available at your local super market and scrub with any soap product. (03/07/2006)
By Dean
Amen to the "WORKS" toilet bowl cleaner. We also have well water and this stuff works like a charm. I was also afraid it would ruin the finish but the tub was starting to look so bad that it couldn't make it look any worse, so I tried it and it did a beautiful job with no damage to the finish. The iron stains just disappear right in front of your eyes. It was unbelievable. I use it all the time. It does have an awful odor to it but I can live with that. And the best thing is I got it at the dollar store for $1.00. (03/10/2006)
I changed the subject title on my post so you would notice. After
exhausting ALL means of cleaning a friends tub, I too tried Snow Bowl toilet bowl cleaner. It RUINED the chrome on the tub drain!
It made the chrome bubble and peel. So unless you want to replace that I would not recommend using it on the tub. It does help on enamel. DON'T use it on refinished tubs, ones that have the enamel replaced or recovered (sorry I forget the proper term).
This post brought back a bad memory, so I had to post my experience. (03/10/2006)
By Ariela
If you use body soap instead of bar soap cleaning the tub is a breeze. it is the wax in the bar soap that leaves soap scum. So it only makes sense to do away with the wax and use the liquid or body soap. (04/26/2006)
By mileswj
Thanks everybody for giving me ideas for excellent fiberglass cleaners (these should work well on my hot tub, too).
Just a quick note after reading all these entries: soap scum is a mix of body oils, dirt, and the fatty salts that are formed when the calcium, magnesium, and iron in your water react with your soap. Some bar "soaps" are really bar "detergents" (slightly chemically different from soaps) and don't cause as much buildup as real soaps. And soaps need not contain talc to cause soap scum. (07/27/2006)
By ziply
My husband and I used to manage apartment complexes and had to clean several filthy bathrooms after tenants would move. After speaking with a fiberglass shower distributor we found out that they always recommend fume-free oven cleaner to clean fiberglass showers. (Be careful if you don't use the fume free) Simply spray it on, let it sit for about 20-30 minutes and then wipe it off, and rinse. On really bad areas you may have to do a little more scrubbing. I also found that for the bottom of the tubs where the fiberglass is textured, the Mr. Clean eraser pads with the scrubby side work perfectly. The showers in the apartments have been there for 15 years and after my husband and I would clean them our managing agents would evaluate the apartments. They told us they have never seen a cleaner shower/tub than they had after we finished cleaning!
Seriously... Mr. Clean Eraser Pads and Fume Free Oven cleaner are the best. Heavily recommended by experienced users and professionals! (10/25/2006)
By Lindsay
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