You gals are amazing so I thought some of you would have a solution to my problem. I have taken up cleaning my mother's house for her and am having trouble with soap scum. I wipe down my bathroom every day so I have never had the build up. My mom and dad on the other hand do not, so soap scum has accumulated.
There is a bit more detail that I need to share, they have a newer house and the builder used a new composite plastic material for the bath tubs and the shower pans, they not only hold soap scum but they hold stains too! Aack! They also have the clear glass shower doors that they squigy every day but there is still build up at the bottom of the doors. Then the faucets are fine but the drains are soap scummy. I have tried everything I can think of to no avail.
Now here is the kicker, I am pregnant. While a bit of cleaning agent smells do not bother me so much, heavy chemicals can be pretty dangerous so I want to avoid those if possible.
My mother says that the magic eraser works so I tried it and indeed I get some good results but the elbow grease behind the success is massive. I am hoping for something a bit more user friends that won't wear a poor pregnant chick out.
Thanks in advance for all your advice!
A quick edit to my post, I am cleaning my parents house in exchange for them paying tuition on my kids' private schooling. They were going to hire a maid and since I am not working much right now, I have become their maid. = ) So hiring a professional service doesn't really work. My parents also already use an after shower spray on the glass and it only helps a bit.
Use Insight Unlimited's "Radiance." It is a mild acid cleaner that is industrial strength, not watered down like the junk you get in the grocery store. You can get it at insightllc.net or call ###-###-####.
I recently heard that Tilex does the job. I tried it and it worked great. I was shocked. I typically don't use harsh cleaners, but we inherited a mess of a bathroom when we bought this house. I was stunned. I had tried so many other things, but this is what worked best for me.
I live in the country & have hard water, so my shower is hard to keep clean, but this is what i have found works best with minimal effort. I take plain old lemon juice and put it in a spray bottle. I then take cheap toilet paper, single ply, & I unroll it lengthwise up & down the walls & doors and spray with lemon juice to keep it up. Basically wall papering the inside of the shower using the paper & juice. It is quite a quick process once you get it down. Then clean rest of bathroom. then back to shower, paper should be kinda dry in places, if not wait longer. I usually let it sit 15-30 minutes and have gone a full hour. Anyway, once ready, I grab paper at top and wipe it downto bottom and then throw it in trash. the lemon juice removes soap scum, and hard water buildup, plus it bleaches stains well too. Once all the paper is removed, rinse shower down. Now to keep doors beautiful, spray WD40 on a rag and wipe over the faucet & doors. You need to still squigy, but it causes the water to disperse so much quicker. To freshen up drains, I use baking soda and peroxide and vinegar. Peroxide is also a very good germ killer and bleacher too and you can mix it with the lemon juice if you like having the germ killer aspect for your shower. Hope this helps you. I do this just once every two weeks. Best of luck. Oh & worst inhalant is the WD-40 portion. otherwise, none.
try either a baking soda paste or vinegar. I would not use them both together- all this does it make it bubble canceling out the effect of both- although it is useful for a clogged drain. You might have to just get a rag soaked in vinegar and place it where your soap scum is for 5-10 mins. Baking soda works best for me, though if you don't rinse it all off good, you will end up with a film of baking soda! I sprinkle it on- spray on some water and then let it sit for a little bit. Much better then all the harsh chemicals.
Good luck!
~C.
I use straight white vinegar. We have EXTREMELY hard water, and no matter how hard I try, we still get hard water stains, soap scum, etc. I'll close the drain and pour vinegar directly into the sink. Let it sit while I clean the toilet, wipe down the walls, clean the mirrors, etc. I'll also soak some paper towels in vinegar and wrap them around the faucet, the drain release in the tub, in one corner of my tub that always seems to be the worst, etc. Good luck!
I also like the idea that one mom posted about using lemon juice and toilet paper. It sounds like a great idea. I think I might try it!
Shellie
Borax and a plastic scrubby (the orange ones, I think they make them in blue now too)! All natural, no smell and I just used it on a shower which I believe has had soap scum building for about six years - very gross. And it looks brand new! I swear Borax, baking soda and vinegar are the only cleaning products necessary. Good luck! :)
Hi T.! As a prior professional housecleaner, right up to 2 weeks before the birth of my son in April- I hear ya! I can't believe some of the things people wanted me to use, and then some of the smells that came from the 'green' products.
I now use safer products and specifically for the tub- a cleaner that utilizes the citric acid from lemons to clean-not a bad smell and works great! I also use a safer daily no-work spray after my shower. Is this something your parents would bother with? Check out some of the products I use at
www.livetotalwellness.com/themillers
T.,
I set up accounts for a green Manufacture. What they do is they manufacture about 400, “green” household consumable products. They have a product Tough and Tender that works amazing for soap scum!!! Please respond to my ad for more info - **Absolutely no pressure - just the facts, so you can make an educated decision.
Please visit - http://www.workathomeunited.com/LaurieS
- And click on “get more info”
You don't have to set up accounts like I do, I have been a customer for 2 years, and I love the products, I just now started setting up accounts for extra money.
Take Care,
L.
I would definitely get the info, you don’t want to expose yourself to harsh chemicals while you are pregnant.
I had the SAME ISSUE when we moved into a new house. I googled and found out about a product called "Bar Keepers Friend."
Several benefits: it's very CHEAP and has absolutely NO SMELL. Sprinkle a bit on a washcloth and add a small amount of water, to form a paste. Wipe down the glass and metal surfaces in the shower, then rinse. THAT'S IT!
Little to no elbow grease needed. I LOVE THIS STUFF!
Good luck :)
Dishwasher detergent diluted with water and a dash of vinegar might work. That's what the manufacturer said to use on our whirlpool tub to get soap scum out of the jets. Good luck!
Magic Eraser + Comet Cleaner (powder) = Holy Cow!!!!
Good luck!
Well, this is a chemical answer, but my sis in law just told me that she gets low-fume oven cleaner..Sprays in on and leaves for at least an hour. Comes back and Tahdah! Soap scum gone! She said you can google it- oven cleaner for tubs to find out more info
Have you tried plain old lemon oil? I use it on the glass doors, and it works really well to get the scum off. You could also use it on the shower walls. Just be sure to not get it on the floor as it does make it slick. It also acts as a repellant. Be careful using anything abrasive on the shower walls or tub as it will scratch the surface and exagerate the problem. I have cultured granite in my home and once a week I scrub them down with a nylon bath scrubbie and a clarifying shampoo. The manufacturer of the cultured granite also recommends Gel-Gloss or Pledge. It won't work to clean the build up off, but will help to keep it off. The Gel-Gloss is like waxing a car, just time consuming. I make a homemade daily shower spray and it does seem to hellp. 1 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide, fill the remainder of the bottle with water then add 1 drop Dawn dish soap and 1 tsp. Jet Dry. DO NOT use anything containing bleach. It is a carcinogen! Hope that this helps.
Soft Scrub with bleach is awesome! I would wear a mask & gloves and you should be ok.
You're pregnant so for this one heavy project I would hire a professional! I have had a cleaning service come in every once in a great while to do my heavy cleaning. It's well worth it.
We have a glass door and we squeegee everyday. I also spray with vinegar and that helps with scum. I also spray with the scrubbing bubbles foam and I LOVE that. It might be too smelly for you though.
My all time favorite is Clorox but I would not ask a pregnant person to use that. It is the best cleaner and kills germs.
I clean glass with vinegar and get no streaks, LOVE it.
I also like Pine-sol blue and I use it everyday.
Maybe you mom could help you out a bit since you are pregnant. It is nice of them to work a deal but make it fair so everyone wins.
I have a Shaklee business http://jenniferhart.myshaklee.com/us/en/ and these are non toxic cleaners and they work! Take a look at my website and if you have any questions, I would love to talk/meet with you -- The cleaning products are all very concentrated -- as you pay for the cleaning products and they don't ship the water -- you mix with water. It is completely biodegradable. I switched when my kids were having horrible asthma and even in the house...no matter what we kept the temperature. I switched and the asthma attacks have reduced greatly! And this stuff is safe enough that I can give it to my kids to help me!
