# How do I clean my bathtub? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 17, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-my-bathtub/294921 "2005-03-17T02:59:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-my-bathtub/294921/41 "2005-03-19T19:00:36Z")
I haven’t read him, but I’ll give him a try. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-my-bathtub/294921/42 "2005-03-19T19:10:59Z")
Now for the good part: Add up the cost of the baking soda and vinegar. Go to the store and figure out the cost of 8 pounds of any bathroom cleaner. Spend the difference on Spillane & Thompson books. **Crappy cleaning shit** is a good description. A good website for natural cleaning ideas: [www.betterbasics.com](http://www.betterbasics.com) ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-my-bathtub/294921/43 "2005-03-19T19:38:33Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Now for the good part: Add up the cost of the baking soda and vinegar. [www.betterbasics.com](http://www.betterbasics.com) Oh yeah. Forgot to add that part. It was about $2.75/4 lbs of baking soda and \<$2 for 1 gal. vinegar. I estimate that I used approx 1/10th of the vinegar to both clean the tub and scrub the floor (vinegar/hot water mix) and perhaps 1/10th of one box of baking soda. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-my-bathtub/294921/44 "2005-03-19T20:13:46Z")
> [@Early Out](#): > > Because of environmental concerns, TSP is no longer available in a lot of states. Here in Sector R, I’ve seen “TSP Substitute” in the hardware stores, but I don’t know whether it’s any good or not. Apparently, it’s sodium carbonate. Anyone know whether it works? Hmmm…sodium carbonate could work. I think a percarbonate would work better (think OxyClean) but it would be worth a shot. I can see why they would want to pretty much take TSP off the market–it’s not good to dump lots of phosphates into the system. It’d probably be cheaper as well. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-my-bathtub/294921/45 "2005-03-19T20:29:22Z")
Sodium carbonate is none other than the washing soda I mentioned above. A variation of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate),washing soda is great at removing grease, wax, and oils and works on many stains. One warning: don’t use either soda (washing or baking) on aluminium. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2005, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-my-bathtub/294921/46 "2005-03-20T05:02:21Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > Round 7: I’ve been putting off exercising lately, but this should be a good isometric/endurance workout for the ol’ back and pecs. Considering that I’m also in my tighty-whities, I wonder if I could market a service where dirty old men get to watch nubile young guys like me scrub their tubs. Considering that I’ve only got two days until the ol’ lady comes back, I don’t think I have enough time to even put together a business plan. If you ever get your business plan put together, you might try _dirty old WOMEN_ instead. I think that may be a better demographic for you! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-my-bathtub/294921.md?page=2)