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When your bathtub really gets grimy looking and the bathroom cleaners don't seem to be working, try a scrubby sponge and a bit of powder dish washer soap. It doesn't scratch, but it will get things super clean.
By Lynn from WV
To quickly and easily clean your bathtub area or shower stall, fill a bucket with cleaner and hot water. Place the bucket into the tub or at the bottom of the stall. Use a mop with the water-cleaner mixture to wash down entire area.
Rinse out bucket and mop and repeat the same procedure with water to rinse, or if you have a hand-held shower head, you can rinse everything with that. Works like a charm!
By Marie from West Dundee, IL
Use liquid toilet bowl cleaner in your bathtub or shower to remove hard water stains, minerals, mildew, and soap residue. It's stronger than bathtub cleaners and does the job in no time.
The thicker formula makes it cling to the sides of the tub while it dissolves the offending grime. If you use a product with a color added (the one I use is blue) it can stain white grout, so be careful not to put it directly on the walls. Rinse thoroughly and do not mix with other cleaners.
Source: Heard it from a friend who restores old houses.
By Diane from Wonder Lake, IL
This might be ok for one time, but keep in mind that its extra strength can pit the surface of the tub, and you will end up having to replace the whole tub.
You can use salt scrub that you use on your skin also to clean your shower or tub. I take a scrub brush and put a heaping tablespoon across the bottom. Then I spray water around the tub with the showerhead to make the tub damp. Then I scrub the tub with the salt mixture and the tub comes clean of dirt and mildew with not much effort at all. It is safer for the environment compared to Comet, which doesn't always get the stubborn stains out. Also this is cheaper since you can make it at home from a recipe you find on this site.
By Yard_sale_annie from MI
When we moved into our "new" apartment, it needed a good cleaning! The worst of it was in the bathtub/shower. I used cleaner after cleaner, until I talked to the apartment manager one day.
Fill tub or sink with the hottest water you can. Add at least 1 cup dishwasher powder. Stir to mix well. Let sit until water is cold. Let out water as it is draining wipe sides with a rag...
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How do you clean soap out of a bathtub (not porcelain)? I also need to clean the fabric liner for the bathtub. It has some rust stains on the bottom.
Try baking soda on a sponge to clean the tub. Also try baking soda on the curtain, wet curtain area that needs stains removed and sprinkle on baking sode. Rub baking soda in, scrubbing back and forth. Launder as usual.
Try Comet or AJAX or get that shower cleaner that is on the commercial that sprays every 10 minutes or so. I can't recall the name of the product though.
Try an old credit card to scrape the gunk off. If it's really built up: if you're REALLY VERY CAREFUL you can use a single blade razor held as parallel to the surface as possible to scrape the accumulation off. Needless to say, I wouldn't do this to a new tub, ours is 40 years old.
I'm assuming the bottom of the shower curtain actually has orange mildew on it. If it really is rust, ignore this suggestion. If your shower curtain is vinyl, wash it in warm water with a warm rinse (so it doesn't get cold and tear) with a couple of towels and a healthy dose of liquid bleach along with the normal detergent. Then just hang it back up on its hooks to dry.
P.S. Oops, I see you stated you have a fabric liner. If anyone else has a vinyl one, be sure to use warm water.
Never use Comet or AJAX to clean unless you want to scour the surface away, this junk is nothing more than powdered 'sandpaper'.
Now get in the habit of wiping down the tub/shower enclosure each day... Purchase the following:
1) Squeege
2) Microfibre cloths
Squeege the surfaces first, then finish with a microfibre cloth wipe down, this will take about 3 minutes and your bath enclosure will be clean every day.
Fabric liner:
Purchase a large, nylon net clothes bag [the sort that is used for collecting dirty clothes]. Place Liner and shower curtain inside, tie shut, then wash in the washing machine...the bag will protect the liner & curtain from abuse and you'll have sparkling clean items...available from your K-mart and Wal-marts ......
I just moved into an apt that had a rubber bathmat in the tub. Now there's about 30 large, round circles of buildup in the tub. How do I remove them economically, or at all. I can't find anything that helps. Jigger
I don't know if this will help, but I used to have those non-slip stickers on bottom of tub and I filled tub with about a half-inch of HOT water and added ammonia and let it soak overnight, then used a cleaner called greased lightning after I drained the tub and used a 'scratchy' pad (the green pads on a sponge). Hope this helps you.
I wash my bathroom and tub every week but I find even with my weekly cleaning the dirt and soap scum builds up in my tub so once a month I get down and dirty and with a single edge razer I scrap all the soap from the sides and from the bottom of the tub. Then I spray with the new TILEX Mildrew root penetrator and scrub and when I am done my tub looks great and ready for my weekly cleaning until the following month. Try it I"m sure you can save your tub "good luck"
Go natural first - I like to sprinkle bi-carb on crud, then pour vinegar on it. It will fizz and bubble for a while. When this has settled down I use pieces of polar fleece to clean, so I just wipe down with this and warm water.
Greased Lightning works fabulous but make sure you ventalate the room VERY well and use gloves. If anyone takes a bath make you you rinse the tub well too.
Try the 'green pad' scourer and scouring powder first - if that doesn't work try fine grade sand paper - BUT only if you have a ceramic bath! Don't use abrasive cleaners on 'plastic' baths or you will damage/dull the surface.
Regards
Jo
I used the Mr. Clean Eraser on some of the spots in my tub. The previous owner took the decals up and there were brown spots where they were. They are not completely gone but they have lightened.
I just moved into a new apartment and everything was new looking and clean. Until my son took his first bath. There are dirty little footprints in the bottom of the tub that won't go away. I've tried every household cleaner I can think of. The tub is not porcelain. I don't know what to use. Please help.
By Nikki F
Soft Scrub works wonders, it's like magic. A little goes a long way. Make sure you use it alone, then rinse with water. Hope this helps.
Yeah, Soft Scrub is what I've been using for years. But I would try bleach and comet.
mr clean sponges don't work and fall apart after a few minutes. waste of money
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I've read somewhere about a bathtub cleaning tip that said to fill it up with hot water and Clorox and liquid soap, but Im not sure which specific ingredients. Has anyone heard about this cleaning tip? Can you help figure out the correct instructions?
I much easier way to clean the tub is with a Magic Eraser. The knock-offs work very well. It cleans the tub well and in very little time.
I used to do this when I lived in an apartment and water was included. Now I pay for water, and realized how wasteful it is to do, so the tub just gets scrubbed by hand. It is cheaper.
It did work. Depending on how dirty the tub was, I would use 1 or 2 cups of bleach, filled the tub up as far as the little drain thingy and add a few squirts of plain blue Dawn (although if I was out of Dawn, I would use plain Tide).
I usually did it at night, swished it around good with a mop (I don't like bleach on my skin so I would never use my hands), and drained it in the morning.
It always came clean. Hope this helps!
Since this question was asked several days ago, you have probably already tried cleaning your tub.
I really hesitate recommending using bleach because it can react differently on bathtubs that are not porcelain. Most are fiberglass and I have seen bleach cause "yellow" spots and actually harm the surface.
Bleach is also very difficult to remove from the surface (takes lots of water) and it can be very slippery if even a small amount is left on the surface.
Here is a link that does explain how to use bleach in your tub.
Here is an interesting alternative (from a web site):
"If you wish to avoid bleach products altogether, the green cleaning website Re-Nest recommends treating the tub with grapefruit and salt. The salt contains chloride, one of the ingredients in the bleach compound, and grapefruit contains citric acid, which also cleans and disinfects. Cut the grapefruit in half, sprinkle salt over it and scrub your entire tub to clean and disinfect. Rinse with water and call it a day."
www.hunker.com/
I heard that you can use baking soda to clean out your bathtub. I was wondering how much baking soda would I need to use to clean it out? Thanks.
By Krystal from Kenora, Ontario
Moderate Instructions:
Step 1) You will first need baking soda, a cloth, toothbrush or a sponge.
Step 2) Make a paste in a small bowl. Use baking soda and water. You want this to be thick, but easy to spread.
Step 3) Take the sponge and dip it into the mixture. Clean your tub or shower as usual. For tough stains, spread a small amount of the mixture on it and let sit for about 10 minutes. Then clean with a towel that has been soaked in vinegar. The vinegar will activate the baking soda, and help remove the stain.
Step 4) Use the toothbrush for the grout. Just dip the toothbrush into the mixture and scrub. You may want to let it sit for a few minutes to help with the stains.
I keep a container of baking soda in my bathroom (in a cheese shaker) and I use the cheapest shampoo I can find (usually a gallon jug from Sally's Beauty Supply). I just sprinkle the soda (doesn't take much - your judgement) in the bottom of the tub and pour a dollop of shampoo and scrub with the wash cloth I just bathed/showered with - using my feet! I also use this "recipe" on my sinks!
If you don't want to use body parts to clean just get an old broom and use it to scrub all surfaces; rinse it and let it dry in the tub! Easy and clean and refreshing to your room!
Make a soft scrub paste of baking soda mixed with enough dish soap to form a good paste. Works wonders in the tub, toilet, sink and in the kitchen too. I've cleaned baked on grease from frying with this paste and some salt added.
Remember if the soda and soap paste isn't quite getting something clean - add some salt and continue scrubbing.
I have some stains on my bathtub I would like to get rid off. They're the ones you get when something sits there for too long, like toilet brush holders and such.
By Mariewl from Waupaca, WI
The color of the stain around your tub drain may give a hint as to the cause and thus to the best cleaner for the job. This page offers suggestions for cleaning stains around a bathtub drain.
The cleaner used for ceramic cooktops works very well for other cleaning jobs such as a dirty bathtub. This is a page about cooktop cleaner for bathtub stains.
Using a broom to clean your tub eliminates the bending and kneeling associated with more traditional methods. This is a page about use your broom to clean the bathtub.
This is a page about cleaning your tub with vinegar and baking soda. Instead of using expensive and sometimes harsh chemicals try this method of cleaning your bathtub.
This is a page about cleaning bathtub rings. A well used tub will often develop rings over time. If they are allowed to build up it can be quite a chore to get rid of these unsightly rings.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I just moved into this house. My bathtub is the color brown and has white stains all over it. I have tried every bathroom and tub cleaner out there, and they are still there. Anyone have advice?
By Robin from Niagara Falls, NY
I just removed some stubborn old stains from a shower with one of those magic sponges! Worked wonders, a little elbow grease was all that was needed! (11/30/2009)
By Linda
How do you clean bath tub with soil scum?
Saeed
Try the new product from Scrubbing Bubbles. Mega Shower Foamer. It says to spray, wait 2 minutes then wipe. If you wait longer, it will just dry back in place, so be sure to do it within the allotted time period and if you live in a hot dry climate, maybe sooner than later.
By Holly
The best trick I have ever learned to clean the bathtub of soap scum buildup is to clean it dry with steel wool. The most important thing to remember is not to get the scum wet. If you keep your tub dry, the steel wool turns the scum to dust and comes right up, vacuum the scum dust, then rinse with vinegar. (10/25/2008)
By Beth
