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Thread: Any good products for scrubbing a bathtub?

  1. #31
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveinMN View Post
    Kind of depends on the paint on your baseboards. Some paint is more scrubbable than others -- the general rule is that the glossier the paint, the harder you can scrub. But that doesn't mean you have to use the eraser like a sanding block, either. You can try lots of short, shallow passes and see how it does before you really go at it. But erasers are touted for removing black marks on floors and athletic shoes and the like, so I certainly would try it.
    Now that I've just finished a round painting my bedroom trim, and I can say the answer to cleaning scuff off white baseboards is to get a can of white semi-gloss paint and just repaint. It's far less elbow grease and the results are so rewarding. In a bathroom, it would take you 20 minutes at the most to do all the baseboards.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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  2. #32
    Geila
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    Oh, my baseboard issue is not in the bathroom - it's in the rest of the house! Especially in the hallway. I guess I like to vacuum tightly in there. So I don't think painting would be easier since I have hardwood floors and would probably drip all over the place. I'm thinking I could spend a lazy afternoon on the floor 'erasing' the vacuum lines while playing with the dogs.

    I tried the Dawn/Vinegar yesterday! It worked great. Caveat: I scrubbed the bathtub last Friday with Comet bleach so it was pretty clean. It had started to lose it's shine and was starting to look 'used.' I sprayed the solution all over and let it soak for maybe 30 mins and then washed it down with a washcloth. The tub looks bright and shiny. Very pretty.

    I think I used too much solution on all the areas I did (stove, sinks, window sills) because it was very soapy and it took forever to get all the soap residue off. And the sprayer got gummed up after a bit. The plus side, it's REALLY clean everywhere I used it! I might add water next time to make it easier to use. The Dawn/Vinegar only is quite thick and concentrated. And the vinegar smell is pretty strong. Not sure if this is safe to use on tile (we have tile surround in both bathrooms) since the vinegar is acidic and the tile has some decorative glazing. Would it be safe on metal/steel, like the range hood?

    I also did a test on my other tub that is not used as much (DH uses it a few times a week and I use it to bathe the dogs every 1-2 weeks). I had not scrubbed it in over a month so it was looking dingy and dull. On this one I used my Lysol All-Purpose cleaner (the yellow one). I simply sprayed it everywhere and let it sit for 30 mins. After I rinsed it all off. The results were pretty good. The tub looks clean and shiny, though not as white and bright as when I scrub with Comet. But it was pretty dirty and I didn't even wipe it down at all, just rinse. I find the smell of this product less harsh than the vinegar and Costco sells it in big bottles. This is safe to use on tile and metal.

    So now I have two methods for good results in the tub with much less work.

    Today is my house cleaning day and I might give the second tub a scrub with Comet to get it up to snuff and then see if I can keep them looking nice with only the occasional scrub (maybe once a month). I'll do the spray and wipe weekly and see how it holds up.

    ETA: Libby - do you use water in your solution?

  3. #33
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    The thing I use the most is shampoo. A cheap kind from the dollar store especially one designed for oily hair, though I've used the regular stuff, too. Never with conditioner or anything like that added, though. It seems to get the soap scum off the tub surround, which is older and using anything abrasive would scratch and ruin it. That's why I tried it originally. Now, I also use it on the porcelain tub right after a bath or shower. Just glob some on a cloth or on the tub itself. Then rinse. It is not soap-based, but is meant to remove oils, etc. I do it when it looks like it needs it. It looks pretty shiny afterwards. If I let it go too long, I use a scouring powder, usually the one that doesn't have bleach and is a natural product. Sometimes comet, but rarely use that. Oh, and about the shampoo, I started with Breck for oily hair, but the cheap stuff from the dollar store works just as well. The good thing about shampoo is that it doesn't have harsh chemicals and no grit to try and get rid of, like scouring powders.

  4. #34
    Senior Member gimmethesimplelife's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sagewoman View Post
    The thing I use the most is shampoo. A cheap kind from the dollar store especially one designed for oily hair, though I've used the regular stuff, too. Never with conditioner or anything like that added, though. It seems to get the soap scum off the tub surround, which is older and using anything abrasive would scratch and ruin it. That's why I tried it originally. Now, I also use it on the porcelain tub right after a bath or shower. Just glob some on a cloth or on the tub itself. Then rinse. It is not soap-based, but is meant to remove oils, etc. I do it when it looks like it needs it. It looks pretty shiny afterwards. If I let it go too long, I use a scouring powder, usually the one that doesn't have bleach and is a natural product. Sometimes comet, but rarely use that. Oh, and about the shampoo, I started with Breck for oily hair, but the cheap stuff from the dollar store works just as well. The good thing about shampoo is that it doesn't have harsh chemicals and no grit to try and get rid of, like scouring powders.
    Interesting....I think I will try this. Rob

  5. #35
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Geila View Post
    Oh, my baseboard issue is not in the bathroom - it's in the rest of the house! Especially in the hallway. I guess I like to vacuum tightly in there. So I don't think painting would be easier since I have hardwood floors and would probably drip all over the place. I'm thinking I could spend a lazy afternoon on the floor 'erasing' the vacuum lines while playing with the dogs.

    I tried the Dawn/Vinegar yesterday! It worked great. Caveat: I scrubbed the bathtub last Friday with Comet bleach so it was pretty clean. It had started to lose it's shine and was starting to look 'used.' I sprayed the solution all over and let it soak for maybe 30 mins and then washed it down with a washcloth. The tub looks bright and shiny. Very pretty.

    I think I used too much solution on all the areas I did (stove, sinks, window sills) because it was very soapy and it took forever to get all the soap residue off. And the sprayer got gummed up after a bit. The plus side, it's REALLY clean everywhere I used it! I might add water next time to make it easier to use. The Dawn/Vinegar only is quite thick and concentrated. And the vinegar smell is pretty strong. Not sure if this is safe to use on tile (we have tile surround in both bathrooms) since the vinegar is acidic and the tile has some decorative glazing. Would it be safe on metal/steel, like the range hood?

    I also did a test on my other tub that is not used as much (DH uses it a few times a week and I use it to bathe the dogs every 1-2 weeks). I had not scrubbed it in over a month so it was looking dingy and dull. On this one I used my Lysol All-Purpose cleaner (the yellow one). I simply sprayed it everywhere and let it sit for 30 mins. After I rinsed it all off. The results were pretty good. The tub looks clean and shiny, though not as white and bright as when I scrub with Comet. But it was pretty dirty and I didn't even wipe it down at all, just rinse. I find the smell of this product less harsh than the vinegar and Costco sells it in big bottles. This is safe to use on tile and metal.

    So now I have two methods for good results in the tub with much less work.

    Today is my house cleaning day and I might give the second tub a scrub with Comet to get it up to snuff and then see if I can keep them looking nice with only the occasional scrub (maybe once a month). I'll do the spray and wipe weekly and see how it holds up.

    ETA: Libby - do you use water in your solution?
    I use water in the mix, and I use two parts vinegar to one part Dawn. I don't like soapy cleaners either. How much water you want to use probably depends upon how much soap/vinegar strength you need, but I use quite a bit of water in my solution: like half water, and the other half would be the two parts vinegar to one part Dawn. It makes for a really good all-round cleaning solution. I use vinegar on my tiles, and on the inside of my microwave. In fact, I've read that if you put vinegar in a bowl and let it sit in the microwave for a while, it makes it much easier to clean.

    At the same time, Tybee mentioned Mrs. Meyers. I noticed Amazon Prime had a deal on Mrs. Meyers and I was looking for a good hand soap, so I got a bundle of 3 cleaners: the hand soap, all-purpose cleaner and dish detergent. The all-purpose cleaner works FANTASTIC on my black appliances. I always have a hard time making them look really shiny, but the cleaner dissolved the grease and left a streak-free shine.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

  6. #36
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    I dont use any water in my mixture. I also quit using a spray bottle and use an empty dish soap bottle instead. I am pretty sure you could use less dish soap in this mixture and it would still work great.

  7. #37
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    Timely thread for me. Will be trying the dawn and vinegar! Thanks all!
    To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
    Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
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