Cleaning Showers & Tubs in a Flash
Master Baths Faster
Bathrooms get messy fast, but there's no reason you have to spend all
your spare time scrubbing them. For tried-and-true tips to speed up bathroom
cleaning, benefit from the extensive experience of the cleaning gurus
at Merry Maids.
Stay a Step Ahead
Keep a squeegee in the shower so each family member can wipe it down
when he or she is done. This will help prevent soap scum and hard water
build-up. Keep a dry towel nearby too. Drying the shower with a towel
will help prevent mildew. In the guest bath, keep an all-purpose cleaner
and a sponge under the sink so you can sneak away and do a quick clean-up
if unexpected company arrives.
Keep the tools and cleansers you need readily accessible. If you have
a small bathroom or a tile entrance, skip the scrub bucket and simply
use an all-purpose spray cleaner and a damp sponge for easier cleaning.
Another way to buy time when cleaning bathrooms is to clean after a hot
bath or shower. The steam will loosen the dirt from walls, surfaces and
fixtures.
Clean with a disinfectant to kill germs. Disinfectant can be used on
everything in the bath except the mirror, making it easy to clean the
whole bathroom in just three to four minutes a day. Don't forget doorknobs
and switchplates.
Shower Power
Tile and mats
- To remove mildew from ceramic tiles and make them sparkle, sponge
with a solution of ammonia and water.
- Remove soap and hard-water buildup from shower tile with tile cleaner.
- For stubborn stains, apply a paste of scouring powder and water, and
let it sit for five minutes. Scrub with a nylon scrub pad, rinse thoroughly,
and wipe dry.
- Over-the-counter rust removers generally work well with rust stains.
- To clean plastic tile and shine dull bathroom walls, wash with a solution
of vinegar and water, then polish with a towel.
- Once your tile is clean, apply a good paste wax and buff with a dry
cloth to deter future water spots.
Shower doors and curtains
- To remove hard water spots, rub glass shower doors with a sponge that's
been dampened with white vinegar.
- To clean a shower track door, pour full-strength vinegar into the
track. Let it soak for a few minutes, then rinse.
- A coat of acrylic floor finish gives new shine to fiberglass shower
doors and makes water spots disappear.
- To remove hard water deposits, try automatic dish detergent in a bucket
of warm water. For best results, try it immediately after showering.
The hot water and steam will help loosen the buildup. You can scrub
with a white nylon sponge, followed by a glass cleaner. Dry the doors
after every shower to prevent deposits from forming.
- Clean plastic curtains with laundry pre-wash spray. Spray along the
top, and let the treatment run down to cover the curtain. Allow the
solution to sit for a few minutes, then rinse it off.
- To prevent mildew from growing on shower curtains, soak in a salt
water solution before hanging.
- To remove mildew from a shower curtain, wash in hot soapy water, rub
with lemon juice, and air dry in the sun.
Stubborn Soap Scum
The best solution to soap scum is prevention. Consider using a soap that
won't accumulate on surfaces and squeegee shower walls before you step
out. Wiping down tile shower enclosure walls with lemon oil also retards
the formation of soap scum. And, if you have a porcelain tub, you can
apply a light coating of boat or car wax to the sides (never the floor)
to help ward off soap scum.
It takes some elbow grease to get rid of soap scum once it exists. Because
soap scum is an oily/fatty deposit, you need a strongly alkaline degreaser.
Janitorial supply stores carry such products specifically designed to
remove soap scum. Automatic dishwasher detergent is an effective alternative,
used as follows:
- The ideal timing to tackle this job is right after a shower, when
the walls are already wet.
- Mix a handful of automatic dishwasher detergent in a bucket of water.
- Cover the tub or shower walls completely.
- Leave the solution on for 15 to 20 minutes or more to soften the deposits.
Keep the surfaces you're cleaning wet and let them soak while you do
something else.
- Scrub the walls and floor with a stiff scrub brush or a white nylon-backed
scrub sponge.
- Keep soaking and scrubbing until all soap scum is removed, then rinse.
If you have hard water, you may also have to clean with a phosphoric
acid cleaner to remove the mineral scale. Apply the cleaner, let it soak
awhile, and scrub stubborn spots with a stiff brush or white nylon-backed
scrub sponge. Be sure to rinse well and let dry. Plan to use the strong
acid cleaner only once in a while, as overuse can deteriorate the grout
in ceramic tile showers. You can safely apply soap scum remover more frequently.
Scrub-a-Dub Tubs
Bathtub cleaning methods vary with the tub material. Enameled steel or
cast iron tubs are very durable and resistant to most cleaning products.
You can use heavy-duty cleaners and degreasers to remove a bathtub ring,
and even scrub a little with mild cleansers from time to time.
However, avoid harsh powdered cleansers and colored nylon scrub pads.
Also, be careful not to use heavy pressure with even a mild cleanser,
or it will eventually dull the surface.
Fiberglass tubs must be treated much more gently. Avoid any kind of abrasive
cleaner (including the liquid type) or anything that can scratch or dull
the surface. Scrub lightly only with a white nylon-backed sponge and,
if absolutely necessary, a mild cleanser approved by fiberglass manufacturers
for use on their products. For general cleaning, opt for a neutral cleaner,
not a specialized fiberglass cleaning.
Here are some specific tips:
- To avoid bathtub rings, don't use oily bath preparations. Use a water
softener if you live in a hard-water area. Rinse the tub immediately
after bathing.
- However, if a ring does form, wipe it off with undiluted ammonia – and be
sure to wear rubber gloves. Depending on the type of tub, you
may also use a wet sponge generously sprinkled with baking soda. Rinse
clean and wipe dry.
- For a more stubborn stain on certain types of tubs, scour with automatic
dishwashing detergent or rub with a cloth dipped in vinegar.
- To clean caulking around bathtubs, you can use rubbing alcohol or
liquid chlorine bleach (1/4 cup to one gallon of water).
- To remove mildew from the corners of the tub, dip cotton balls in
bleach and let them sit in the corners. When you finish cleaning the
bathroom, remove the cotton and rinse well. The mildew will be gone.
- Never use strong acids like toilet bowl cleaner or hydrofluoric rust
remover on your tub; also avoid strong alkalis and solvents, such as
acetone, oven cleaner, or lacquer thinner.
To make bathroom cleaning even easier on yourself, schedule maid service
from the professionals at Merry Maids.
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To make bathroom cleaning even easier on yourself, schedule maid service
from the professionals at Merry Maids.
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