Okay. I have a really funky tub EVERY WEEK due to rusty well water. My tub ALWAYS looks like it’s never been cleaned (except for three days after I clean it). Here’s what I do:
It is an old claw-foot tub that the finish got ruined on. We had it refinished and the guy said not to use scouring powder on it. I use Chlorox liquid gel cleanser and a Scum-Buster machine. You can substitute a green scrubby sponge for the Scum-Buster. Scrub that stuff all over the tub and let it sit for a few minutes to bleach it. Then, at the faucet end where it’s all RUSTY and funky looking, I pour “The Works” toilet bowl cleaner on the stain. It starts smoking a little and instantly removes the funk. This process only takes about 10 minutes total (20 if I skip a week). This shit can kill you, so open a window and hide the cats.
These are the only products that work. I Guar-UN-TEE.
Well, with multiple scrubbings, a lot of elbow grease and even scraping with my fingernails, the tub grime is pretty much gone, using the mild abrasive / bleach crap I mentioned in the OP and a stiff brush. Thanks for the advice folks.
Now, it seems the tub’s grout is stained in some places from a bleach-resitant mildew. I haven’t used pure bleach yet, will that damage grout? If bleach doesn’t work, is there any other product that might work? I’d really like to avoid re-grouting the tub, I’m not good at that stuff and I can’t really afford to hire someone.
I clean my tub about 3 times a week. After my shower when the tub is still wet, I pour about a capful of liquid cleanser in the bottom of the tub. I have a mop scrubber which consists of a sponge with a hole in it and a wooden handle which is about three feet in length. When the handle is screwed into the sponge, the sponge swivels and I can maneuver it all around the tub. After about thirty seconds, I rinse the tub and leave the scrubber in the tub to drain. This is the easiest method I can think of since I hate to bend over and scrub by hand. Now if someone can suggest an easy way to keep the toilet clean, I’d appreciate it.
Don’t you watch commericals? I forget what it is called but of course it cleans “all surfaces” and if you call within 10 minutes they will send a second bottle “FREE”.
I used pure bleach, applied with a spray bottle, to clean the tub in my last apt before moving out. Just spray and let sit overnight. It didn’t seem to damage the grout, but it did make the black mildew white. I would highly recommend taping something over the metal fixtures before doing this though, the bleach made the spigots turn black, which was a project in itself to clean.
Uh, Spit, thanks for the compliment, but I have nothing to do with medicine or flying. The MED stands for my initials, and the star part just seemed to go well with MED.
That Scumbuster sounds like a great deal. Does it work well in other applications for you?
Grout? I saw people using toothpaste & a toothbrush on it. That seems like alot of labor. Bleach is okay but be aware that if you don’t clean it off in about two minutes, that rust may start to form.
The ScumBuster is the greatest invention since I dunno what! I normally balk at gifts that are electric, but hubby scored big points with this one. We’ve only had to replace the rechargeable batteries once in 8-10 years. Plus, your hands don’t get all chemically and your nails don’t take a beating. I also used it on the grout on my kitchen floor, which is pretty funky.
Grout: Bleach is fine unless it’s colored/stained grout that is not color-fast.
I’d worry more about the Caulking… repeat use of bleach will cause it to corrode more quickly.
FWIW - If you wanna clean the shower curtain really easy and you dont wanna throw it in the washer because it folds and never cleans right… Take your kitchen dish detergent and a sponge into the shower with you next time and clean it with that… dish soap cleans shower curtains fast and cheap. It’s also good for already mainly-clean tubs.
My mother was a Comet User. In my bacholor days, I rarely cleaned the tub, and used Comet as well. I was always frustrated at how not clean it left my tub. And I dumped nearly a third of a can on the tub once.
I bought some bon ami one time (thinking that it and Comet were the same) and was instantly impressed. This stuff works like Comet never did. I’ll never buy Comet again.
Combine Bon Ami with a Black and Decker Scumbuster, and you’ll have yourself a sparkling clean tub, with very little effort.