Features of cleaning bathtubs by materials

Unless you are the happy owner of an exotic bathtub made of wood or stone, then most likely you have either an acrylic or enamel bathtub in your home. Let’s look at the features of cleaning them.

Enameled bathtubs

They are cheap and durable, and they are also quite easy to maintain. When cleaning, do not use metal sponges or brushes with hard bristles. This can lead to scratches on the enamel, and over time, the enamel will begin to peel off in damaged areas. It is also not recommended to use turpentine and chemicals with a high chlorine content. Boiling water can also damage sensitive enamel, especially if we are talking about a new bathtub.

In principle, the type of enamel, color, and material of the bathtub do not matter much. The cleaning methods presented in our selection are suitable for all types of enamel surfaces! When cleaning, you can use folk remedies and various household chemicals.

enamel bathtub

Acrylic bathtubs

They look aesthetically pleasing, but they create a lot of difficulties when caring for them. They can only be washed with soft sponges and rags. The acrylic surface is easy to scratch, and it is impossible to get rid of scratches. This also applies to acrylic liners.

When cleaning acrylic from wax and dirt, it is recommended to use special cleaning agents (gels and pastes). Abrasive agents, washing powders, aggressive chemicals based on bleach and acetone cannot be used. It is also better to avoid soda, it can be used only in extreme cases, if there are no other means.

We will not touch on acrylic bathtubs in detail in this article, since this voluminous topic is devoted to a separate article, we will focus on cleaning iron bathtubs and cast iron bathtubs.

acrylic bathtub

Recommendations for different types of dirt

Soap scum

You can wash off soap scum on tiles and plumbing fixtures using folk remedies, here are their recipes.

Baking soda

A folk method known to every housewife in our country:

  1. Dilute half a pack of baking soda in a cup of water to make a thick mixture.

  2. Wet the surface with clean water.

  3. Rub the finished mixture onto the surface with a brush and leave for 30 minutes.

  4. Wipe the bathtub with a clean damp sponge, then rinse off the remaining soda with water. You can use water and salt.

Alcohol for a cast iron bathtub

You can get rid of soap scum with ethyl alcohol. If you don’t have alcohol, it’s not so easy to get it now, you can use vodka. This method is suitable for small stains.

  1. Wet a soft cloth with alcohol.

  2. Next, wipe the dirty surface with circular motions and rinse the area with water.

  3. Done.

alcohol

Whiteness Gel

Most chemical cleaning products for plumbing fixtures do a good job of removing soap stains. One of the best is the bleach gel, which contains chlorine. It is used to remove grease and soap stains, as well as to disinfect surfaces.

  1. Dilute the gel with clean water in a ratio of 1 to 2.

  2. You can add flakes of laundry soap or washing powder.

  3. Apply the composition with a sponge and leave for half an hour or an hour.

  4. Rinse thoroughly with water.

White vinegar

You can use white vinegar to remove white stains from metal surfaces:

  1. Using a soft cloth or cotton pad, wipe the surface with undiluted vinegar.

  2. Leave for a couple of hours, then rinse with plain water. The faucet or shower head will shine again.

Limescale

Hard water leaves a white film, calcium and magnesium deposits on the cast iron bathtub. Getting rid of limescale is a little more difficult than soap stains, but it is not a big problem either.

Vinegar and soda

An effective and inexpensive method, you can find all the necessary ingredients in your kitchen:

  1. First, mix the cleaning solution. For this, we will need half a glass of baking soda, half a glass of water and a quarter glass of vinegar.

  2. After adding vinegar, mix the folk remedy. Apply to the surface and leave for a couple of hours.

  3. Now you need to treat the surface with a damp sponge, rinse everything thoroughly after finishing.

Please note. To clean an acrylic bathtub, you need to replace soda with lemon juice or a citric acid solution.

vinegar and soda

Soda and citric acid

  1. Mix water and baking soda in equal proportions, you should get a viscous paste.

  2. Apply it to the surface that you want to clean from limescale deposits.

  3. Leave for several hours.

  4. Prepare a solution of citric acid by mixing it with water in equal proportions.

  5. We get a highly concentrated acid solution, apply it over the soda.

  6. Now you need to treat the surface with a sponge and rinse with water.

Sanox Gel

An inexpensive cleaning product for plumbing, which is made on the basis of citric and oxalic acids. In addition to limescale, it copes well with rust and soap scum. At the same time, the product is safe. Its disadvantage is a pungent odor. How to use:

  1. Using rubber gloves, apply the gel to the contaminated areas, they need to be rubbed.

  2. Wait a few hours. The product will start working 7 minutes after application.

  3. Wash off the gel with a damp sponge.

Helpful advice! It happens that limescale clogs the holes in the steel shower mixer. Many people think that after this, all that remains is to throw it away, but this is not true. You can completely clean the calcified mixer by placing it in a cup of vinegar overnight. It will be like new.

bath cleaning

How to clean a cast iron bathtub from yellow plaque?

If the pipes in the house are old, rusty water will eventually make the enamel turn yellow. Deep-seated rust, reminiscent of mustard powder, can only be removed by re-enamelling. However, first you should try to whiten the bathtub using folk remedies or special chemicals.

Vinegar

  1. Fill the tub with warm water, then dilute 1 liter of vinegar in it.

  2. Leave for 12 hours.

  3. Drain the tap water and don’t forget to rinse the dirty surface.

Coca-Cola

The orthophosphoric acid in this popular drink copes well with yellow stains without damaging the enamel.

  1. Wet the cloth with Cola and cover the problem area with it.

  2. Leave for 5-6 hours, periodically wetting the cloth with the drink.

  3. After the rust has dissolved, wash it off with a sponge.

Comet

A store-bought cleaner for plumbing fixtures. Sold in spray, gel and powder form.

  1. When using a spray, it should be sprayed evenly over the surface, then rubbed in with a sponge.

  2. The powder should be poured onto a damp sponge, then rubbed in until it turns into a paste.

  3. The gel can be applied to both the sponge and the surface. Solid and liquid products have approximately the same effect.

After cleaning, the bathtub should be thoroughly rinsed with hot water.

cleaning yellow stains

Rust (old stains)

Getting rid of old yellowness is more difficult, sometimes it is impossible to remove them at all without re-enamelling. However, you can improve the appearance using inexpensive folk remedies.

Bleach

This method is not suitable for cast iron bathtubs covered with colored enamel.

  1. Prepare a chlorine-free bleach.

  2. Mix bleach and water in equal proportions. The result should be a liquid with a viscous consistency.

  3. Using protective gloves, rub the surface with it.

  4. Let the bleaching compound dry, and then wash it off with water.

  5. Repeat the procedure if necessary.

bleach

Ammonia and hydrogen peroxide

  1. Pour ammonia and hydrogen peroxide into a glass bowl in a ratio of 2 to 1. Mix thoroughly.

  2. Using a piece of cloth or a cotton pad, apply the resulting composition to the yellowed surface.

  3. Wait 15 minutes, then rinse the surface.

  4. Don’t forget to rinse the container well with boiling water, all work must be carried out in gloves.

Citrus juice

A simple, safe way to whiten a bathtub:

  1. Cut a lemon or grapefruit into two halves.

  2. Carefully wipe the surface of the cast-iron bathtub with one of the halves, the other can be left.

  3. Wait 10-15 minutes, then rinse the juice from the surface, wipe the walls with a rag.

Also, instead of citrus, you can use citric acid diluted in water.

Luxus Professional: Clean Bath

An inexpensive composition for washing and whitening a bathtub. It is sold in the form of a liquid that is sprayed with a spray bottle, and cleaning foam:

  1. Apply the chemical according to the manufacturer’s instructions, then leave for half an hour.

  2. Rinse the composition thoroughly with hot water.

It is quite easy to whiten a bathtub with this product, you do not need to prepare anything. However, its consumption is quite high, and many will find the smell too suffocating.

Luxus Professional

Precautions

When working with chemicals, even the most harmless ones, you need to take precautions:

  • Do not leave packages with chemicals in places where children can reach them.

  • Always use protective gloves when working.

  • Follow the instructions of the chemical manufacturer.

  • Ensure good ventilation in the bathroom, do not work with the door closed.

  • Use store-bought products less often; toothpaste can clean a bathtub just as effectively as dangerous chemicals.

  • Do not use tablespoons or utensils to prepare reagents.

Preventive measures against contamination

To avoid having to bleach your bathtub every week, follow these operating rules:

  • Install water filters on the tap.

  • Clean off rust immediately and dirt immediately after washing.

  • Make sure the drain does not become clogged.

  • Do not use metal sponges or brushes with hard bristles.

In conclusion, we would like to remind you that no bathtub will remain snow-white forever. Sooner or later, the enamel coating will start to peel off, and rust will appear on problem areas. This means that it is time to remove the dirty layer again and cover the bathtub with new enamel. This is a good opportunity to get rid of old stains, and at the same time give the bathtub a new look. That’s all, we wish you health and cleanliness in the house.