Fill up a bucket with hot water, and pour the water all over the tub. Sprinkle baking soda on all tub surfaces. For extra-dirty tubs, use tub-and-tile cleaner instead. Fill your bucket with a half-gallon of hot water and two tablespoons of dish soap.
Combine two parts vinegar and one part water in a spray bottle and spray the entire bathtub. Allow this soaking solution to sit in the tub for 15 to 20 minutes. For tough stains: place a towel soaked in a vinegar and baking soda paste or hydrogen peroxide onto the stain(s) and allow the towel to sit for up to one hour.
Spray Shower with Cleaner
After removing all shower accessories and bottles, spray the entire area with a commercial shower cleaner ($2.28, Walmart) or a DIY shower cleaning solution of equal parts vinegar and dish soap. Don't forget the hardware as well; soap scum easily builds up on shower faucets.
Instead, both Merry Maids and Kerr suggest reaching for a powder cleaning solution (though they should be used sparingly because they're still abrasive) and using gentle cleaning tools. Bon Amis is probably the gentlest alternative, Kerr noted, but you can also use Comet or Ajax.
First, you want to mix a quarter cup of white vinegar with a litre of hot water and douse the surface of the tub. Grab a handful of baking soda and toss it over the surface of the bathtub. Let it sit for about 30 minutes before scrubbing and rinse your tub clean. Baking soda should help to whiten your tub.
Pour dish soap all over your bathtub. You'll want to be able to lather the soap all over your tub, so it is nice and bubbly. Pour your hot white vinegar in the bathtub on top of the soap and let it sit for a couple of minutes. If your tub is porcelain-enameled, skip the white vinegar and just pour hot water.
Cleaning tips:
Also stay away from scouring powder, white vinegar, and steel wool as they can damage the finish of the bathtub. If you are looking for a cleaner that is gentle on the surface and can be used weekly, then you can choose any of the bathtub cleaners available in the store.
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser eliminates hard water on shower glass, soap scum on bathtubs, grime on tile and grout and even hairspray and toothpaste residue on counters and sinks.
Legionella bacteria can build up in any shower, tap, or water outlet that is not used regularly as the water in the system remains stagnant. When turned on, bacteria will flow out of the system with water, and whoever is using the shower will breathe in aerosols containing Legionella bacteria.
After a year, he said, you'd have a build-up of skin stratum corneum, or dead skin on top of your skin. It includes a build-up of a protein our skin produces that has a funky odor to it. Bacteria also would accumulate on the skin, giving off a nasty smell when it mixes with our sweat.
How do professionals clean showers? Professionals use acid-based cleaning solutions like vinegar for hard water spots and soap scum. For deep-set soap scum, cleaners will use heavy-duty detergents and degreasers. Bleach cleaning solutions are best reserved for cleaning the mold and mildew from grout.
If you still have some stains in the tub, sprinkle some baking soda on them, then spray on a solution of one part vinegar and one part water. Let the mixture bubble for a few minutes, then scrub with a rag or sponge until a paste forms. Let the paste sit for 15 minutes before wiping it away.
Unless your bathtub is made from stone resin, stone tiles or metal, you actually may want to stay away from both baking soda or vinegar, as the heavy scrubbing from both substances will eventually damage the enamel coating on your bathtub.
Vinegar is cleaning agent that some online cleaning “gurus” will recommend to use on your tub to clean scum and grime. It too, however, can eat away at the surface of your tub over time, so don't use it if you want to prolong the life of your bathtub.
Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach kills 99.9% of germs, making it the perfect choice to clean and disinfect the bathroom so you can enjoy the space. Using a bleach and water solution in the tub or shower is simple. Just use our easy-to-follow steps and you'll be ready for a good long soak in the tub in no time.
“Vinegar is a good cleaner because it's acidic, but when you add dishwashing liquid/dish soap to it (which is a base or neutral) - you neutralise the vinegar. You take away the very thing that makes it work well. “The dishwashing liquid works that well on its own. Adding the vinegar is a pointless step.”
But when you combine the two, you get an effective, sprayable miracle cleaner that clings to surfaces. Just spray it on, let it sit for a while, then scrub lightly and rinse, and you'll be amazed at the results every time!
Because dish soap is meant to break up oils and lift grease and grime from your flatware and utensils, there's no reason why it shouldn't work on the oily soap and human grease build-up accumulating in your tub or shower!
Any of the Bar Keepers Friend products listed above will power through soapy residue, rust and mildew stains, and hard water buildup. Using a wet sponge or non-scratch scrubbing pad and a dry cloth, you can have that tub looking like new in no time.
The EPA recommends a slightly stronger mixture for bathrooms, with 3/4 cup bleach per gallon of water. Either dilution method will work for bathroom cleaning, but remember to use room temperature water and to use the bleach solution immediately.
Whether or not bleach can damage a bathtub will depend on its material. Fiberglass, white porcelain, ceramic, stone, and cultured marble are bleach friendly and will not become damaged. Wooden, acrylic, cast iron, and copper bathtubs can not be cleaned with bleach, as they will become damaged.