What’s the best way to keep it clean?
The definition of bliss: A luxurious soak in a hot, bubbly bath. The definition of misery: Cleaning the dirty, grimy bathtub that results. Who else hates cleaning the tub? Just about everyone, from what I hear. That’s the reason I decided to do some hands-on research into the best way to clean a bathtub. Here’s what I found. So I spent a morning trying out different methods, to determine the best way to clean my bathtub.
Melamine sponge. I’m a huge fan of melamine sponges (AKA “Magic Erasers”), which seem capable of removing all kinds of spots and stains. However, the prospect of kneeling on the cold, hard tile floor while I slowly handscrubbed the entire surface of my tub was intimidating, so I regretfully moved on.
Broom plus Always on the lookout for an easier, softer way, I liked the sound of this tip: Spritz the tub with dish liquid (to remove built-up grease), and then sweep it off with a new plastic-bristled broom. Not having a brand new broom handy, I used a long-handled brush instead, without much luck.
By this point, stuck with a tub slathered in dish soap, I decided to go with the flow, as it were, and try adding vinegar (to combat grease and scale) and baking soda (as a gentle abrasive) to the mix. I sprayed on vinegar, sprinkled on soda, and let them steep a while before wiping the goo evenly over my bath. After leaving that for a further 10 minutes, I scrubbed down the tub to reveal a nice beige color, instead of its former shade of grimy gray.
Hydrogen peroxide. One thing that the above method did not remove was a bit of staining. A few days before, I’d tried to protect the tub with newspaper before cleaning my stove hood filter, ending up with ink marks on the fiberglass. A paste of 1 tablespoon hydrogen peroxide to 1 cup of warm water took care of the stains very nicely, thank you.