Because I usually have my glasses off when I take a shower, I am rarely able to see just how dirty my bathtub is. Even though I’ve used Soft Scrub and a now-defunct Clorox product to clean the tub, they haven’t really done a very good job. The tub is very visibly brownish-stained (not deep brown, but enough to make it not white - deeply dingy).
I’ve asked this before, but thought I’d toss it out again: any cleaning suggestions to get it white (or whitER)? Methods that don’t involve me wrenching my back stretching especially good!
I dunno - I usually liberally spray on a vinegar/baking soda/water solution and let it sit for awhile before scrubbing. There’s really no good way to scrub a tub other than to get in it and SCRUB. I usually just resign myself to getting sweaty and dirty, and take a shower right afterwards.
First, I would try some Ajax powder, you know, the kind in the green can with the holes in top? Use a sponge to mix plenty of the powder with just enough water to make a paste. Apply the paste everywhere. Let sit for an hour or two, and scrub. If that doesn’t work, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser might. Those things really do remove all kinds of stains!
After you get the stains out, fill the tub up with hot water, add two cups of bleach, and let it sit overnight. Drain and rinse. This should restore the former sparkling whiteness.
A paste of baking sode and vinegar will work if you let it sit for a while. This idea is saer and cheaper than commercial cleaners, but let me repeat: give it about an hour to work.
If you have a fiberglass shower-bath, scouring powders run a risk of permanently etching it.
I use Magic Erasers when the tubs get really bad. You can scrub out one very dirty shower-bath with one eraser. The crud will come off in little balls.
I like the dish detergent idea… though I wonder if that would be an etching risk too?
I think everyone has given great cleaner advice but I have a suggestion for your back. Buy a new toilet brush and use it to reach the areas you have difficulty with–it scrubs very well and because of the long handle, you don’t have to kill your back as badly. A friend of mine with serious back issues cleans her tub this way. The rounded head on the toilet brush works well to get around the curves of the tub as well.
Growing up, we had a fiberglass tub, and my dad would make me clean it with muriatic acid, or at least I think that’s what is was. May be dangerous, IDK, but it works REALLY well.
You’re choices are (typically) fiberglass or cast iron. If you knock on it a few times you should be able to tell.
Or even easier, is it plastic (fiberglass) or porcelain (cast iron)?
Fiberglass is a pretty safe bet. Even if it’s not, I don’t know of anything that would be safe on fiberglass but cause a problem for porcelain. Stay away from anything overly abrasive.
My suggestion would be Formula 409 and a scrub brush, or water and a magic eraser.
I’ve found the easiest way to clean the tub is to do it while you’re in it, at the end of a shower. I just use a green scotch-brite pad and soap or shampoo and it cleans fast and easily. Assuming that scotch-brite is safe for your tub.
