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My bath tub is impossible to clean! Help!  

post #1 of 14
1/29/08 at 3:27pm
Thread Starter 
Ok-

I have a very old bath tub- you know the super porous sort. I have tried to bleach it, I have left an ENTIRE bucket of oxyclean in water to soak the dirt away, I have used simple green, I have scrub scrub scrubbbbbbbbed with no give.

It was clean when we moved in to the house a year ago, but I can tell now upon further investigation that they had painted it with bath tub paint. I suppose I could do that again, but what a pain! I just wish I knew how to get the darn thing clean.

If you have a similar tub (I know I'm not the only one- my girlfriend used to live where there was an older and impossible to clean tub), please tell me what worked for you!!!!!!!!


post #2 of 14
1/29/08 at 3:52pm
I used to clean apartment turnovers. I'd usually use powdered tide and a scrub brush. Something about the tide works into the the little pores and dissolves away. If it's particularly nasty, oven cleaner will work. My only concern is the fact that it has been painted.

Good luck
post #3 of 14
1/29/08 at 4:51pm
If you haven't tried it, Borax is fantastic at this. Make a damp paste - not too wet - and scrub with a cloth or sponge. Good luck!
post #4 of 14
1/29/08 at 5:28pm
Thread Starter 
Sounds like I need something gritty

I will try it tonight and report back!!!!
post #5 of 14
1/29/08 at 6:35pm
Our bathtub gets really nasty really fast. DH found a great solution. I make a nontoxic, homemade version of Soft Scrub. He squirts it liberally into the tub and then attaches a scouring sponge to his cordless drill and scrubs. It takes almost ZERO elbow grease and works so much better than the old P.O.S. Scum Buster that we used to use. I feel like an infomercial but the results are truely amazing!
post #6 of 14
1/29/08 at 7:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by papschmitty View Post
Our bathtub gets really nasty really fast. DH found a great solution. I make a nontoxic, homemade version of Soft Scrub. He squirts it liberally into the tub and then attaches a scouring sponge to his cordless drill and scrubs. It takes almost ZERO elbow grease and works so much better than the old P.O.S. Scum Buster that we used to use. I feel like an infomercial but the results are truely amazing!
How do you attach the sponge to the drill without the drill bit going through it? I have a drill...hmmm.
post #7 of 14
1/29/08 at 7:43pm
When you get it clean, you can wax it with car wax. It helps return a smooth surface to the tub. I wax my kitchen sink after I bleach it.
post #8 of 14
1/29/08 at 7:46pm
I think he uses the sander attachement . It's definitely not a regular drill bit. It's a flat, circular attachment that you'd attach a piece of sandpaper to. He just puts a little pressure on the sponge with the drill and viola! If there's any sort of cleaning that he's even half way motivated to do on his own, I like to stand back and let him do the work!
post #9 of 14
1/29/08 at 7:57pm
I had a tub like that.
I was convinced that the stains were permanent and there was nothing that could be done.


Then my Mom came to visit, took one look at my tub, went to the store to pick up Comet with bleach, and a good scrub later (by her), I had a sparkling clean tub.
post #10 of 14
1/29/08 at 9:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apricot View Post
When you get it clean, you can wax it with car wax. It helps return a smooth surface to the tub. I wax my kitchen sink after I bleach it.
Oooooh!!! Hardcore

If it helps keep it clean, I'm all for it!!! Not a bad idea....
post #11 of 14
2/1/08 at 11:22am
My main concern with old tubs is the lead and other heavey metals that are probably in both the tub itself and the paint. While you're having a bath they can leech into the bath water and into your body pretty easily. And using abraisive cleaners can apparently make it worse. I was reading about this in this book called "Ecoholics" I can't remember for the life of me who wrote it but it's really good. I believe she suggested getting some kind of insert for old tubs although I know they can be expensive. She had another suggestion but I have to admit I wasn't paying that close attention because we have a new tub and now I've given the book to my parents so I can't check.
post #12 of 14
2/1/08 at 3:46pm
I had a tub with a textured bottom.NOTHING cleaned it until I used one of those cleaning erasers.It got it out of the texture without scratching. It was so easy.
post #13 of 14
2/1/08 at 4:17pm
the time i had a tub like that, i scrubbed and scrubbed it for about 3 hours to get it clean. it was not fun, but i didn't know of any other options. :P
post #14 of 14
2/1/08 at 4:18pm
A paste of cream of tartar and hydrogen peroxide left on the tub, then scrubbed.
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