Safe Homemade Shower and Tub Cleaner

If your home is anything like ours, you have a household chore that is not on the top of the list and that is cleaning the tub and shower! When we cleaned the tub or shower, we felt like it took forever! And it seldom ended up feeling or looking as clean as I’d have liked it to, even after repeated scrubbing. After a while, I was starting to suspect that our hard water was combining with the soap scum to form an impenetrable layer of super-scum that simply couldn’t be cleaned. Our water is so hard, you can drive nails with it! 

Then I came across an easy homemade shower/tub/tile cleaner that promised to erase tough stains, soap scum, and hard water deposits. It was also safe for fiberglass tubs and showers.  And it wasn’t just one person’s opinion; I found dozens upon dozens of reviews for this cleaner all over the web and even from some friends who had been using this mixture for years! We had everything on hand, so I gave it a go.

This is what you will need:
Homemade Shower Cleaner and Soap Scum Remover:

• a spray bottle (I did buy a better spray bottle after my first use)
• 1-part Dawn dishwashing liquid (I start with 1 cup)
• 1-part white vinegar (After the first batch, I changed to “Cleaning” vinegar. It has a little bit higher acidity and really cleans well!)

 Next:

• Measure out equal amounts of Dawn soap and white vinegar. (Somewhere between one and two cups of each should be plenty.)
• Heat the white vinegar in your microwave until hot, then pour it into your spray bottle.
• Pour the Dawn soap into the bottle with the vinegar, then put the lid on and gently shake to mix.

Spray liberally around your tub and/or shower. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes to an hour, then scrub (if needed) and rinse well. We use a plastic Scotch Brite pad to avoid damaging the tub's fiberglass finish. 
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When using, make sure your bathroom is as well-ventilated as possible.  The first time I used it, my wife had a fit that the odor was going to stay around for days!  Turn on the fan and open any windows, because this stuff is POTENT. It smells really strongly of vinegar right after spraying it, but the smell does dissipate fairly quickly.  But the end result is well worth your home smelling like a pickle jar for an hour or so, I promise!

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Author

Scott Patterson, as a home inspector, has the opportunity to visit hundreds of homes a year and see firsthand what a clean bathroom can do for the sale of a home! If you are planning on selling your home, those bathrooms must look like a 5-star hotel bathroom—sparkling Clean!