“I love cleaning the shower and tub!” said no one ever. That’s because there’s one major culprit that makes the chore really difficult and not fun at all – soap scum.
On a scientific level, soap scum is what happens with the calcium and magnesium particles in water combine with soap you’re using. In layman’s terms – it’s a headache. Over time, it builds up and becomes extremely difficult to remove.
Luckily, we have 8 awesome tricks for you to clean soap scum in a flash.
Although you might not love cleaning the shower after learning these tips, it will at least make the chore a bit less daunting for you.
1. Use Bar Keepers Friend
Bar Keepers Friend is one of those miracle-cleaning products. No, really, it’s amazing. The canned, powdered cleaning product was originally introduced in 1882 and has been a hit ever since. It’s also a dream for cleaning soap scum.
Simply sprinkle a bit of Bar Keepers Friend on a damp sponge and wipe away the soap scum on your shower doors. Rinse and reveal a beautiful, shiny, clear glass door.
2. Make a non-toxic, wonderful-smelling cleaner
Since soap scum can be difficult to remove, you might think your only option would be a toxic, stinky, hardcore type of cleaner – thankfully, that’s not true. You can make your own non-toxic, pleasant-smelling cleaner that removes soap scum just as easily.
Oily Rockstars has a great tutorial on how to make this all-natural cleaner using 4 ingredients: baking soda, Thieves Household Cleaner, vinegar, and essential oils. Head over to their blog for the full instructions.
3. Grab a grapefruit and salt
Speaking of all-natural cleaners that smell great, citrus and salt are an awesome combination. Scrub away soap scum from your bathtub (not glass!) by halving a grapefruit and dipping the flesh in a bit of kosher salt.
“Scrub your grapefruit around your shower or tub, making sure to slightly “juice” the citrus over each fixture and lifting it every few seconds to pick up fresh salt from around the tub instead of just pushing it around. You can also use the rind on stubborn areas,” Apartment Therapy says.
4. Use a Magic Eraser
Like the name says, the Magic Eraser by Mr. Clean is quite literally ‘magic.’ You can use these wonderful sponges (and their generic brands, well) on just about anything. Removing crayon stains from a wall, cleaning stains from countertops, and – removing soap scum.
According to How Stuff Works, “the secret behind these types of erasers is a material commonly called melamine foam. With just a little water, melamine foam can dig in and destroy stains that other products can’t touch.”
5. Use Dawn and vinegar
If you don’t have a Magic Eraser, this simple mixture is also known to be pretty magical as well. All you’ll need to do are these 4 easy steps:
- Heat a cup of vinegar in the microwave for 30 seconds
- Pour a cup of Dawn into a spray bottle
- Add the heated vinegar to the spray bottle
- Shake!
Head over to the Yummy Mummy Club for her full tutorial and step-by-step instructions.
6. Add some cornstarch
To take your Dawn and vinegar cleaning solution up a notch, cornstarch can do the trick. Fabulessly Frugal tried this easy trick and found that it reduces the soapy suds from the Dawn, that means – less rinsing! Head over to the blog for a full tutorial.
7. Try a dryer sheet
Did you know dryer sheets are super versatile outside of the laundry room? If you moisten a dryer sheet and gently scrub your shower doors, tile, and porcelain, the soap scum will disappear right before your eyes.
8. Prevent soap scum from building up
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
Now that you’ve worked so hard on removing all of that stubborn soap scum, try these simple solutions to prevent it from coming back. The Family Handyman suggests applying Aquapel or Rain-X to your shower doors.
Both of these products are meant to repel rainwater from windshield glass, but they will also do the same for your shower. The water will bead, and instead of staying on your glass, letting the soap scum develop, it will simply repel, fall down the glass, and into your drain.
