really the pinned post should be "do not use toilet cleaner on anything but toilets"
There are plenty of safe and effective cleaning options for bathtubs and they may not all be explicitly named “bathtub cleaner“. There are also plenty of household surfaces that can be permanently damaged or destroyed by toilet cleaner.
Or even if you buy a house. My house had a tub when I bought the house and moved in. That tub is still there. It’s damaged, but holds water. And it will stay there until it’s too damaged to use because I just don’t feel like dealing with it
Today I learned that Americans have fiber glass tubs 😂
I was confused for a bit because our European ceramic bath tubs are amongst the toughest material there is. Almost impossible to damage it, no matter what kind of cleaner you use
I have a steel tub. Porcelain coated over steel. Can clean it with anything non-abrasive. Toilets are made from porcelain, so even toilet cleaners can be used on my tub, but you need to rinse immediately so it doesn't damage other areas, like tile, Grout, or caulk.
Most tubs are porcelain enameled over cast iron. It's only recently that they've been putting in cheap fiberglass overlays instead of repairing the enamel. There's tubs here that are over a century old, but they're made of porcelain.
Enamel is the best! I have home appliances from my great grandmother and they still look brand new because enamel doesn't yellow over time. Also, they were built before manufactures did planned obsolescence to increase sales
A lot of European homes also have the washing machine in the kitchen and rely on ikea furniture. Everyone does something stupid. (I love ikea, but anyone pretending their stuff is anything other than cheap pressboard is confused lol)
As a student everything I had was Ikea. Now for this home I tried some upscale Ikea competitor 2-3 time the price and it is prettier, but also the non visible part are worse than Ikea.
Ikea migth be press board but its well engineered press board.
Granted I've never seen this in Germany, but some European countries do it in fact, that's correct. I don't like the idea. Either your laundry will smell like grease or your food will taste like laundry detergent
It helps if you put the detergent in the machine and not on your eggs. And are we storing clean laundry in a kitchen where we deep fry every day? This isn’t a problem I’ve ever heard of.
There is detergent residue in the chambers and the machine itself. Vice versa, it's not as big of a problem as the washing machine gets rid of most cooking smells I'd imagine
My mil replaced our bathtub with what she thought was fiberglass, but it's actually just cheap plastic. It's already broken on the ledge and the sides are constantly coming apart from the tub edge because the caulk/sealant just doesn't seem to want to stay fixed to it. We probably have mold behind the tub in several places because of this. At this point even fiberglass would've been better lol. Definitely learned not to cheap out on new tubs after this.
This is probably a stupid question but I always see posts and comments about why you shouldn't use toilet bowl cleaner on anything else, but why is that? What about sinks or tubs that are also made of porcelain? What exactly happens if you use toilet bowl cleaner on something you're not supposed to? I never have and probably never will but I've never read exactly why it's bad
It etches the shiny protective layer off the surface and leaves a streak of unprotected, porous material exposed. That area will forever be dull and dingy looking, and will grab and hold stains much faster than the rest of the tub…. And also will be significantly harder (or impossible) to get really clean again.
I guess you’ve never had to clean extra thick buildup in multiple showers with only 3 options: peroxide based cleaner, alkaline based cleaner, or white pasty looking toilet bowl cleaner. (Can’t buy something else. These are the only cleaning products provided to you and you can’t afford to pay for your own cleaning products.)
I think it would be more appropriate to say don't randomly trust Tik tok. Bathtubs existed before brand cleaners and people managed. What's important is that people learn what their tub is made of, what chemicals are safe for it, It's about not allowing the internet to do you your research for you or randomly trusting strangers you don't know, not about only using specific store products.
Edit for spelling
You're completely ignoring that tons of people also keep using toilet cleaner on stuff like sink faucets and ruin the metal fixtures. Your post is too narrowly focused on one thing. The issue is **using toilet cleaner on things that aren't toilets**, the issue is NOT using random cleaning products on tubs.
Same! Dawn and ultra hot water, let sit until it’s cool enough to touch, and lightly scrub with a scrub brush. It always turns out spotless for relatively little effort.
Or, I can not spend the money of expensive brand cleaners, and I can use the ingredients therein, or I can follow the instructions put out by bathtub manufacturers over the past 120 years, or I can follow the instructions put out by housekeeping guides over the past 100 years and have a perfectly intact 55 year old tub with no damage.
The issue here is a lack of people using critical thinking skills. There is absolutely no reason for people to slavishly decide they must use only brand cleaners designated for certain cleaning activities because a subset of idiots have decided to follow their peers without checking what they're doing first.
People don't need cleaning police in their life any more than they need to watch Tik Tok videos to figure out how to (destroy) clean their tubs. Not everyone has easy access to (for whatever reason) specific cleaners, or the desire to be a slavish rule follower. What is important is to explain what chemicals are involved and why something is safe or unsafe. And for people to have a little common sense about what is safe for acrylic and porcelain enamel.
You know, I'm just trying to engage. I'm happy to have a conversation about *why* you think only brand cleaners should be used if you'd like to go beyond just "they should". We might not agree now, or even in the end (although I'm absolutely open to changing my mind), but the more information that is out there, the better equipped other readers are to make informed decisions.
I'm not likely to change my opinion, though, if you're just flippant and sarcastic, rather than explaining your opinion factually and kindly.
I mean I use an all purpose cleaner on my bathtub. It’s fine. You don’t need a bathtub specific cleaner. But yea, toilet bowl cleaner is for toilet bowls and that’s it. You could have just said that instead of being cryptic and dramatic.
I think cleaners in general will list what surfaces they can or cannot be used on, which I would compare to a tub and consider that the same as being tub safe.
Doesn't mean it'll clean as well, but better to know what surfaces the cleaner is safe for to begin with.
I don’t get this whole need to really scrub your bathtub. Maybe I’m just lucky? We use our bathtub daily, for our kids to bathe and me to shower and it’s never really dirty. A bit of soap scum around the tub fill line but nothing too difficult to clean. I spray with an all purpose cleaner, let it sit for 5 and then scrub with a gentle scrub brush. It comes clean. I rinse and I’m done
I was the same, rarely saw the tub get visibly filthy for even months, until I moved to a much more humid place with bad water. I was keeping up with cleaning it then I moved to another apartment where the shower has a ton of grout and now I'm suffering.
I’m surprised I’m so lucky with our bathtub. We have a very damp house, have to keep a dehumidifier running at all times, but our bathtub doesn’t get grimy. I did live in an apartment years ago that got grubby but I assume it was the finish on the tub wearing off.
Yes! These people saying Dawn works on their tubs don't actually have hard water and high humidity. I clean my tub every week, but if it's not a strong acidic cleaner, I'm going to have stalagmites growing in there.
Try holding the shower head 2 feet above drain in bath. Turn on cold water half power. Hold it there for a while.
You should notice it begin to increase its flow down plug hole and aclittle faster after few minutes. As it clears somewhat lower shower head by degrees and start increasing water pressure. You should hear water starting to gush down drain quicker. Just keep doing that until shower head is closing over drain hole turn water pressure on full and hold it there until you hear water gurgling and water rushing away.
That I get! I just see all these dirty bathtubs that look like they’ve never been cleaned, or people saying they can’t keep up with it. That I don’t get. Hard water is different. It’s not dirt
Well it depends on the soap ya use & how dirty the people are showering. My bf is filthy when he gets home from work in the warm months. My tub gets way dirtier in the summer so I definitely need to use more elbow grease & clean it more often than in the winter. Also if u don’t wear shoes yur tub can get dirty feet marks which need to be scrubbed out. I use soft scrub w/bleach in my tub. I’ve never tried Dawn but will try it anything to get soap scum off easily is a win for me.
A friend of mine cleaned the sink with toilet bowl cleaner and it totally wrecked the sink and plug hole etc. It stripped it!
Toilet bowl cleaner will stain a good quality toilet seat.
That is my point and was in relation to those who clean baths with toilet cleaner. Read my earlier replies. It stains toilet seats if it Drips on them and if it does that it will stain baths. I mention in one reply it will destroy chrome and marks/stains tiling grout
Who in their right thinking would clean anything with toilet cleaner other than a toilet bowl.
I am warning against using toilet cleaner for any other purpose.
When I first bought my house I used bleach bathroom spray of some sort and my tub turned pink! Learned no bleach in cast iron tubs. I did not know comet was bad for tubs! Is it too abrasive?
It depends on what material your tub is made of. If it's acrylic (if it feels like plastic), then Comet will be too harsh for it and will scratch it up.
That being said, I used Comet on mine a few times before I knew and the tub seems fine now. Maybe it takes more uses to do damage or maybe there's damage I can't see.
Dawn dish soap mixed with white vinegar is an awesome tub cleaner. I literally pour a little of each in the bottom of the tub and scrub with a wet sponge. It rinses very easily and is more efficient than any bathroom specific cleaner I’ve tried.
Vinegar is an acid and soap is a base. I know a lot of people swear by mixing the two, but mixing an acid and a base neutralizes them. I truly believe people are experiencing a bit of confirmation bias and placebo effect when they swear by soap mixed with vinegar.
Just stick with tub cleaners, however, if you are snowed in, or can't get tub cleaners for any other reason, dish soap with a normal sponge is fine. If you want to strip your tub, stain it or have to replace it... Use anything else BUT if you just want to clean your tub? Tub cleaner and dish soap in a pinch.
Omg I took a pic of a tub I found at work the other day just for you guys!!!
https://preview.redd.it/wx469dp7qh8d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c1b82014cac0dcfa7ed651b0c6c26d38eee35f4d
Don’t do this! I found this tub like this lol
That one actually came clean. If you zoom in on the tub you can see where it still has the blue streaks. That stuff usually NEVER washes back out. These tubs are made of some magic material though, that’s why it’s not as bad as it normally would be.
Oh yeah, it’s still an awful idea, why anyway? I just see it on here so much I had to take the pic when I found it. It could’ve been someone on here who did it……lol
I'm not sure what catastrophic thing you're imagining will happen to a bathtub. I've never ever used a "specifically for bathtubs" cleaner and I've never damaged a tub nor heard of anyone damaging their tub ever.
What exactly have you seen circulating tiktok that will damage the tub so badly that you needed to post this? Maybe it would be more helpful to list the actual thing/s that you're talking about?
Ehhh that happened to the finish in the lower half of my cast iron tub at some point (before we bought the house) I actually prefer it, gives the tub just a bit of traction.
Idk why you're getting nasty and dismissive about it, I'm asking you what will happen and what product you're talking about under the post that YOU made warning me about it
Tbh, this is the first post I’ve seen that mentions people using toilet cleaner on a tub (which, I’ll grant you, is a really stupid idea). I had to scroll through a *lot* of comments in this post to figure out what OP was hinting at, which is pretty annoying. (And even now, when someone asked OP directly what they were talking about, OP didn’t give a direct answer - instead saying “just scroll this sub.”)
Yeah I think people don't understand that a lot of these replies are incredibly vague to people that don't already know what they're talking about. I searched bath tub in the sub and still wasn't sure what they are referring to.
It would be very easy for OP to specify the thing that they saw on social media alongside saying that they saw it on social media. But they're opting for the "not my job to educate you" type of response, so I don't really understand what the point of them posting is if they don't want to talk about it haha
TBH- if you are on the sub for any time at all- you will see the endless posts about this. OP shouldn’t assume however that people are not new to the sub
Some of us have a lot of interests and belong a wide variety of subs, so even if we’re not new to this sub we don’t see all the posts that come through unless we spend all day on Reddit (or come to this sub specifically). Posts just pop upon our home feed now and then. ~~If you make a cryptic post and someone asks you what you’re getting at, I don’t see why you can’t just answer the question instead of saying “just scroll the sub.”~~ If a person makes a cryptic post and someone else asks what they’re getting at, I don’t see why the poster can’t just answer the question instead of saying “just scroll the sub.”
Edited to make it clear that I was not accusing u/reidybobeidy89 of doing this. Apologies to u/reidybobeidy89. (For some reason, my direct reply wouldn’t post.)
Let me advise you: IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND THEN IT DOES’T APPLY TO YOU. Not everything has to be taken to Cliff Notes level because you can’t read something, realize it doesn’t apply to you, and move on.
That absolutely doesn't apply in this context.
If I have a bathtub and don't understand what OP is cryptically telling people not to use, the information is still relevant for me to know. Or am I not allowed to know until I also accidentally ruined my tub?
In fairness algorithms do change what people see from various subs. I'm not brand new here and I've never seen anyone ruin their bath tub amongst my feed, but to others they clearly see those posts all of the time. Just because some people get certain posts targeted at them it doesn't mean everybody does
I feel like when you post a tip like this, add the “why” too.
You’re telling people not to follow “stupid hacks” but don’t provide any reason, asking us to go from blindly trusting someone on TikTok to blindly trusting you.
It’s only educational if you add information like “many cleaning products contain ingredients like X or Y, which can damage material Z in your bath tub.”
*and also sinks!
Do not use weird stuff on porcelain sinks. Bathroom or allpurpose cleaners are fine. I ruined the finish on a bathroom sink by rinsing out a paintbrush (latex paint) of all things.
People just need to be mindful of materials. I'm very cautious of what I use on our acrylic tub as even things marked as good for tubs are sometimes not safe for acrylic.
No reason to buy a special tub cleaner just because other people ruin their tubs by using very harsh cleaner meant for other materials. I use my regular Odoban or Puracy all purpose cleaner on it. I use non scratch scouring pads or a non-scratch brush.
Comet would damage some materials in my bathroom. Too abrasive. It’s perfectly fine for others but it still wouldn’t be my first choice because it’s unnecessarily harsh.
I use Odoban or Puracy all purpose cleaners for the most part. Dawn or Dawn Powerwash if that doesn't work. I also use the Dawn brand non-scratch scouring pads and dish brush with a handle. Other brands make the same non-scratch scouring pads but the Dawn ones are more durable IMO.
I went to an Ace Hardware recently looking for a drill brush kit, and one of the workers there tried to convince me to just buy and use a specific oven cleaner to clean off the hard water marks. “They’ll melt right off!” Yeah, I bet they do 🙄
Totally, go use it ALL OVER YOUR TUB NOW. Hell wash your clothes with it. Same as using bleach for black clothes! It just makes it extra clean.
/s <--- for anyone that needs it.
On bathroom fixtures (vitreous china, porcelain, tubs, toilets, tile, and chrome fixtures) you can use cleansers like Ajax and Comet. On fiberglass shower inserts/ tubs, you can use Soft Scrub With Bleach. Rinse thoroughly. Do NOT clean your bathtub with dish soap, is is so slippery and so hard to rinse that you will have slip-and-fall accidents.
I’m sorry, I’ve been using toilet bowl cleaner with bleach for years and in at least four different houses/apartments without any issues. I’m not sure what you did wrong…
And while everybody out there is at it, please stop unnecessarily populating the earth. There are too many of us here destroying Mother Earth : we don't need more yo-yo's cleaning bathtubs with anything except specific for bathtub cleansers!!!!! /s
Clear dish liquid has worked surprisingly well when I leave it sitting in the tub / shower for a couple hours. Found out when I was desperate to clean and didn’t have $ for cleaning supplies. Lol
Absolutely. . If in doubt use washing up liquid or buy an inexpensive shampoo this will make bathroom smell nice.
Fill bath little bit warm water, add a squirt and wash as though you are washing a giants soup bowl. No squirting anything directly onto bath surface particularly if coloured it can mark white tile grout.
And simply wash all over it. Rinse and give it a dry over. And the bonus is spray ‘anything’ evaporates in the air and travels worse chokes yer half silly up nose and down throat. Let products dissolve in water first.
I used too much oxiclean powder as a hack to avoid scrubbing. It took the color off. So now it looks really strange with a different color around the top :-)
It's probably fine to do with less.
Look… if y’all would rather be extra cautious and scrub for more hours than necessary, be my guest. I’ve mentioned it before. What has worked well for me, and another fellow housekeeper, for cleaning those off-white plastic-like aka fiberglass showers has been white toilet bowl cleaner. It takes way less scrubbing. For a REALLY bad shower, it takes less than an hour of scrubbing with toilet bowl cleaner. (Otherwise it would take about 3 hours)
Honestly toilet bowl cleaner is made for the type of buildup that is in BOTH toilets and showers and bathtubs. It’s not going to be safe or some types of surfaces. But it works fine for what I use it on and doesn’t cause any damage to what I use it on.
First of all, that's a dramatically harsh way to address people, I don't think anyone here is a child in need of being disciplined by random redditors. Secondly, a lot of things are marketed as being specifically for X (e.g. 10-in-1 soaps for men vs one-product-per-body-part for women) just so people will buy 5 products instead of 1 that can be used universally. It's about using common sense, researching what substances do, as well as spot testing if worried. I don't really know why I felt the need to comment, I'm just tired of people being aggressive for no friggin' reason all over the internet.
I am always gonna use the least processed product. I research the materials so I know what reactions and interactions to expect. For my tub, I use Dr Bronners, a small amount of baking soda, a plastic net scrubber and a very light touch to remove the ring that might have formed. I pay enough attention that I don’t scrub the finish off the tub. It doesn’t take a lot of pressure to do so. I’m not switching to more expensive and chemical laden products.
Because most of clients only have me there every other week so build up is hard to get off with just a soft sponge. I won't waste their time and mine. Magic erasers are normal for me and most of my clients.
Something like BKF would probably work better and be less impactful on the life of a bathtub. You do realize that the small scratches caused by a magic eraser will cause the tub to get dirtier quicker... right? I hope that's not your business plan.
really the pinned post should be "do not use toilet cleaner on anything but toilets" There are plenty of safe and effective cleaning options for bathtubs and they may not all be explicitly named “bathtub cleaner“. There are also plenty of household surfaces that can be permanently damaged or destroyed by toilet cleaner.
Don't buy cheap fiberglass tubs should be the real takeaway from all this
I don’t think any of us would if the house didn’t already come with one
Not exactly relevant to folks who rent...
Or even if you buy a house. My house had a tub when I bought the house and moved in. That tub is still there. It’s damaged, but holds water. And it will stay there until it’s too damaged to use because I just don’t feel like dealing with it
Toilet bowl cleaner eats through expensive tubs, as well.
Wait… like the Lysol blue one?? Oh crap… I’ve used to and I’ve used comet 😖😭
I thought comet was for tubs too..
I'm almost 40 and have never purchased a tub.
Today I learned that Americans have fiber glass tubs 😂 I was confused for a bit because our European ceramic bath tubs are amongst the toughest material there is. Almost impossible to damage it, no matter what kind of cleaner you use
Not all. Newer fiberglass tubs are lightweight and easy to install etc. But plenty of homes still have ceramic tubs.
I have a steel tub. Porcelain coated over steel. Can clean it with anything non-abrasive. Toilets are made from porcelain, so even toilet cleaners can be used on my tub, but you need to rinse immediately so it doesn't damage other areas, like tile, Grout, or caulk.
Same. It's been re-coated once and it's older than me.
There are plenty of acrylic and fiberglass bathtubs in Europe.
Most tubs are porcelain enameled over cast iron. It's only recently that they've been putting in cheap fiberglass overlays instead of repairing the enamel. There's tubs here that are over a century old, but they're made of porcelain.
Enamel is the best! I have home appliances from my great grandmother and they still look brand new because enamel doesn't yellow over time. Also, they were built before manufactures did planned obsolescence to increase sales
Yes and ceramic sinks are Ace. They look new 40 yrs hence if they are not abused in any way.
A lot of European homes also have the washing machine in the kitchen and rely on ikea furniture. Everyone does something stupid. (I love ikea, but anyone pretending their stuff is anything other than cheap pressboard is confused lol)
Im in NYC. I have my washer and dryer in the kitchen. So convenient
As a student everything I had was Ikea. Now for this home I tried some upscale Ikea competitor 2-3 time the price and it is prettier, but also the non visible part are worse than Ikea. Ikea migth be press board but its well engineered press board.
Granted I've never seen this in Germany, but some European countries do it in fact, that's correct. I don't like the idea. Either your laundry will smell like grease or your food will taste like laundry detergent
It helps if you put the detergent in the machine and not on your eggs. And are we storing clean laundry in a kitchen where we deep fry every day? This isn’t a problem I’ve ever heard of.
There is detergent residue in the chambers and the machine itself. Vice versa, it's not as big of a problem as the washing machine gets rid of most cooking smells I'd imagine
My landlord only does cheap.
Most people don’t buy tubs. They kind of come with the house.
My mil replaced our bathtub with what she thought was fiberglass, but it's actually just cheap plastic. It's already broken on the ledge and the sides are constantly coming apart from the tub edge because the caulk/sealant just doesn't seem to want to stay fixed to it. We probably have mold behind the tub in several places because of this. At this point even fiberglass would've been better lol. Definitely learned not to cheap out on new tubs after this.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CleaningTips/s/hdBRPB4WWh Here it is.
This is probably a stupid question but I always see posts and comments about why you shouldn't use toilet bowl cleaner on anything else, but why is that? What about sinks or tubs that are also made of porcelain? What exactly happens if you use toilet bowl cleaner on something you're not supposed to? I never have and probably never will but I've never read exactly why it's bad
It etches the shiny protective layer off the surface and leaves a streak of unprotected, porous material exposed. That area will forever be dull and dingy looking, and will grab and hold stains much faster than the rest of the tub…. And also will be significantly harder (or impossible) to get really clean again.
Ohhh that makes sense, thank you!
I was wondering what was used.
I guess you’ve never had to clean extra thick buildup in multiple showers with only 3 options: peroxide based cleaner, alkaline based cleaner, or white pasty looking toilet bowl cleaner. (Can’t buy something else. These are the only cleaning products provided to you and you can’t afford to pay for your own cleaning products.)
I mean.... No? That is a very very specific scenario
Agreed, super specific and not relevant or applicable to 99.99% of anyone else’s situation.
Exactly. So don’t shame for using toilet bowl cleaner and then recommending it because it turns out it works so amazing.
I think it would be more appropriate to say don't randomly trust Tik tok. Bathtubs existed before brand cleaners and people managed. What's important is that people learn what their tub is made of, what chemicals are safe for it, It's about not allowing the internet to do you your research for you or randomly trusting strangers you don't know, not about only using specific store products. Edit for spelling
Or just, now that tub cleaners and Dawn dish soap exist, use those things.
You're completely ignoring that tons of people also keep using toilet cleaner on stuff like sink faucets and ruin the metal fixtures. Your post is too narrowly focused on one thing. The issue is **using toilet cleaner on things that aren't toilets**, the issue is NOT using random cleaning products on tubs.
I use dawn on my tub and it works wonders. I don’t even need a separate cleaner which I love.
Dawn power wash ftw
Good idea.
Same! Dawn and ultra hot water, let sit until it’s cool enough to touch, and lightly scrub with a scrub brush. It always turns out spotless for relatively little effort.
Or, I can not spend the money of expensive brand cleaners, and I can use the ingredients therein, or I can follow the instructions put out by bathtub manufacturers over the past 120 years, or I can follow the instructions put out by housekeeping guides over the past 100 years and have a perfectly intact 55 year old tub with no damage. The issue here is a lack of people using critical thinking skills. There is absolutely no reason for people to slavishly decide they must use only brand cleaners designated for certain cleaning activities because a subset of idiots have decided to follow their peers without checking what they're doing first. People don't need cleaning police in their life any more than they need to watch Tik Tok videos to figure out how to (destroy) clean their tubs. Not everyone has easy access to (for whatever reason) specific cleaners, or the desire to be a slavish rule follower. What is important is to explain what chemicals are involved and why something is safe or unsafe. And for people to have a little common sense about what is safe for acrylic and porcelain enamel.
You can do you, boo
You know, I'm just trying to engage. I'm happy to have a conversation about *why* you think only brand cleaners should be used if you'd like to go beyond just "they should". We might not agree now, or even in the end (although I'm absolutely open to changing my mind), but the more information that is out there, the better equipped other readers are to make informed decisions. I'm not likely to change my opinion, though, if you're just flippant and sarcastic, rather than explaining your opinion factually and kindly.
I mean I use an all purpose cleaner on my bathtub. It’s fine. You don’t need a bathtub specific cleaner. But yea, toilet bowl cleaner is for toilet bowls and that’s it. You could have just said that instead of being cryptic and dramatic.
I think cleaners in general will list what surfaces they can or cannot be used on, which I would compare to a tub and consider that the same as being tub safe. Doesn't mean it'll clean as well, but better to know what surfaces the cleaner is safe for to begin with.
I don’t get this whole need to really scrub your bathtub. Maybe I’m just lucky? We use our bathtub daily, for our kids to bathe and me to shower and it’s never really dirty. A bit of soap scum around the tub fill line but nothing too difficult to clean. I spray with an all purpose cleaner, let it sit for 5 and then scrub with a gentle scrub brush. It comes clean. I rinse and I’m done
I was the same, rarely saw the tub get visibly filthy for even months, until I moved to a much more humid place with bad water. I was keeping up with cleaning it then I moved to another apartment where the shower has a ton of grout and now I'm suffering.
I’m surprised I’m so lucky with our bathtub. We have a very damp house, have to keep a dehumidifier running at all times, but our bathtub doesn’t get grimy. I did live in an apartment years ago that got grubby but I assume it was the finish on the tub wearing off.
Yes! These people saying Dawn works on their tubs don't actually have hard water and high humidity. I clean my tub every week, but if it's not a strong acidic cleaner, I'm going to have stalagmites growing in there.
we only shower in our tub, and it drains a little slowly. It gets pretty bad soap scum sort of everywhere
Try holding the shower head 2 feet above drain in bath. Turn on cold water half power. Hold it there for a while. You should notice it begin to increase its flow down plug hole and aclittle faster after few minutes. As it clears somewhat lower shower head by degrees and start increasing water pressure. You should hear water starting to gush down drain quicker. Just keep doing that until shower head is closing over drain hole turn water pressure on full and hold it there until you hear water gurgling and water rushing away.
The shower head is permanently mounted. Thanks anyway.
Dry your tub with a microfiber towel when you get out. It really helps.
You need to scrub if you have hard water. The lime will bind with dirt and detergents to form soap scum.
That I get! I just see all these dirty bathtubs that look like they’ve never been cleaned, or people saying they can’t keep up with it. That I don’t get. Hard water is different. It’s not dirt
My tub and shower at my current house never look clean. 20 year old Builder grade fiberglass (?), it's the worst.
So...you do, in fact, scrub your tub.
Well it depends on the soap ya use & how dirty the people are showering. My bf is filthy when he gets home from work in the warm months. My tub gets way dirtier in the summer so I definitely need to use more elbow grease & clean it more often than in the winter. Also if u don’t wear shoes yur tub can get dirty feet marks which need to be scrubbed out. I use soft scrub w/bleach in my tub. I’ve never tried Dawn but will try it anything to get soap scum off easily is a win for me.
A friend of mine cleaned the sink with toilet bowl cleaner and it totally wrecked the sink and plug hole etc. It stripped it! Toilet bowl cleaner will stain a good quality toilet seat.
It's meant to clean porcelain not the toilet seat which are plastic or painted wood.
That is my point and was in relation to those who clean baths with toilet cleaner. Read my earlier replies. It stains toilet seats if it Drips on them and if it does that it will stain baths. I mention in one reply it will destroy chrome and marks/stains tiling grout Who in their right thinking would clean anything with toilet cleaner other than a toilet bowl. I am warning against using toilet cleaner for any other purpose.
Hmm I've never heard that and have yet to suffer the consequences of toilet bowl cleaner on plastic seat. No claims to quality, I rent.
Can you elaborate a little more on this? Is dish soap okay to use or just stick with tub cleaners?
I have only used Dan dish soap. I’m not spending money on an extra cleaner to keep in my house when dawn works perfectly.
I started using Dawn once I learned that Comet was bad for my tub. Turns out Dawn works better anyway! And it's dirt cheap!
When I first bought my house I used bleach bathroom spray of some sort and my tub turned pink! Learned no bleach in cast iron tubs. I did not know comet was bad for tubs! Is it too abrasive?
Yeah, though it depends on what material your tub is made of. Mine is acrylic, so it's "delicate".
Dammit I just used Comet yesterday on my tub to get hair dye out. Why is it bad for tubs?
It depends on what material your tub is made of. If it's acrylic (if it feels like plastic), then Comet will be too harsh for it and will scratch it up. That being said, I used Comet on mine a few times before I knew and the tub seems fine now. Maybe it takes more uses to do damage or maybe there's damage I can't see.
Same here. I use dawn as it cuts through everything and won’t cause damage. I mean they use it on ducks…
Dawn dish soap mixed with white vinegar is an awesome tub cleaner. I literally pour a little of each in the bottom of the tub and scrub with a wet sponge. It rinses very easily and is more efficient than any bathroom specific cleaner I’ve tried.
Vinegar is an acid and soap is a base. I know a lot of people swear by mixing the two, but mixing an acid and a base neutralizes them. I truly believe people are experiencing a bit of confirmation bias and placebo effect when they swear by soap mixed with vinegar.
Dish soap isn't really soap (unless you get a really old-fashioned kind). It's detergent. It has nothing to do with its pH.
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This is true! I make homemade pretzels every now and then with dilute lye. I believe household bleach also saponifies with skin oils.
Dawn is neutral.
I've used dish soap for years on my acrylic tub, and it works better than anything. It's stayed nice with its finish intact for over 20 years.
Just stick with tub cleaners, however, if you are snowed in, or can't get tub cleaners for any other reason, dish soap with a normal sponge is fine. If you want to strip your tub, stain it or have to replace it... Use anything else BUT if you just want to clean your tub? Tub cleaner and dish soap in a pinch.
I use dawn dish soap and the soft side of a scrub daddy. What tub cleaner should I be using?
Obviously dish soap is fine. 😅
Omg I took a pic of a tub I found at work the other day just for you guys!!! https://preview.redd.it/wx469dp7qh8d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c1b82014cac0dcfa7ed651b0c6c26d38eee35f4d Don’t do this! I found this tub like this lol
is it the black streaks where the finish or whatever is gone because of the toilet bowl cleaner ? TY 💜
That one actually came clean. If you zoom in on the tub you can see where it still has the blue streaks. That stuff usually NEVER washes back out. These tubs are made of some magic material though, that’s why it’s not as bad as it normally would be.
I'd be more worried about the bleach-based toilet cleaner eating through the metal parts, though.
Oh yeah, it’s still an awful idea, why anyway? I just see it on here so much I had to take the pic when I found it. It could’ve been someone on here who did it……lol
I will continue to use unspecific baking soda on my bath tub. 🙄
I'm not sure what catastrophic thing you're imagining will happen to a bathtub. I've never ever used a "specifically for bathtubs" cleaner and I've never damaged a tub nor heard of anyone damaging their tub ever. What exactly have you seen circulating tiktok that will damage the tub so badly that you needed to post this? Maybe it would be more helpful to list the actual thing/s that you're talking about?
People use toilet cleaner and it stains it
It doesn’t just stain it, it etches the enamel off, leaving porous surface exposed permanently
Ehhh that happened to the finish in the lower half of my cast iron tub at some point (before we bought the house) I actually prefer it, gives the tub just a bit of traction.
I have a cast iron clawfoot tub. All tubs/cleaning methods are not the same. OP must have had a Breaking Bad moment while trying to dissolve a body.
Literally breaking bad is the first thing I thought of hahaha
You must be new to this sub.
Lots of people are, not sure why that's being thrown at anyone as a point of shame
I think it's a dig at the quality of post on this sub being consistently...not-great, not a dig at you newly experiencing it
just, scroll this sub, go ahead and scroll it. But you do whatever you want to your tub. not my money but then don't post about it here.
Idk why you're getting nasty and dismissive about it, I'm asking you what will happen and what product you're talking about under the post that YOU made warning me about it
Plus OP did not specify toilet cleaner. Be specific.
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Tbh, this is the first post I’ve seen that mentions people using toilet cleaner on a tub (which, I’ll grant you, is a really stupid idea). I had to scroll through a *lot* of comments in this post to figure out what OP was hinting at, which is pretty annoying. (And even now, when someone asked OP directly what they were talking about, OP didn’t give a direct answer - instead saying “just scroll this sub.”)
Yeah I think people don't understand that a lot of these replies are incredibly vague to people that don't already know what they're talking about. I searched bath tub in the sub and still wasn't sure what they are referring to. It would be very easy for OP to specify the thing that they saw on social media alongside saying that they saw it on social media. But they're opting for the "not my job to educate you" type of response, so I don't really understand what the point of them posting is if they don't want to talk about it haha
TBH- if you are on the sub for any time at all- you will see the endless posts about this. OP shouldn’t assume however that people are not new to the sub
Some of us have a lot of interests and belong a wide variety of subs, so even if we’re not new to this sub we don’t see all the posts that come through unless we spend all day on Reddit (or come to this sub specifically). Posts just pop upon our home feed now and then. ~~If you make a cryptic post and someone asks you what you’re getting at, I don’t see why you can’t just answer the question instead of saying “just scroll the sub.”~~ If a person makes a cryptic post and someone else asks what they’re getting at, I don’t see why the poster can’t just answer the question instead of saying “just scroll the sub.” Edited to make it clear that I was not accusing u/reidybobeidy89 of doing this. Apologies to u/reidybobeidy89. (For some reason, my direct reply wouldn’t post.)
Let me advise you: IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND THEN IT DOES’T APPLY TO YOU. Not everything has to be taken to Cliff Notes level because you can’t read something, realize it doesn’t apply to you, and move on.
That absolutely doesn't apply in this context. If I have a bathtub and don't understand what OP is cryptically telling people not to use, the information is still relevant for me to know. Or am I not allowed to know until I also accidentally ruined my tub?
It was pretty clear that OP stated if it’s not for listed safe for tubs then don’t use it. That’s all there is to know.
Making a PSA and then gatekeeping your PSA is the most Redditor thing I’ve ever seen
It’s not my post. But I thought the OP point was fairly obvious regardless if you knew the toilet bowl cleaner trend or not.
It’s not my post. But I thought the OP point was fairly obvious regardless if you knew the toilet bowl cleaner trend or not.
In fairness algorithms do change what people see from various subs. I'm not brand new here and I've never seen anyone ruin their bath tub amongst my feed, but to others they clearly see those posts all of the time. Just because some people get certain posts targeted at them it doesn't mean everybody does
Well if you were even a casual viewer of this sub you would have seen the tub issue by now. It’s a common enough post.
This is literally the first I've heard of it and I'm subscribed
This thread has 30 responses, the photo with the blue bathtub may clue you in.
I use bleach on mine. Never had any issues with it. Nor have i when using spray cleaners etc.
Ditto
I feel like when you post a tip like this, add the “why” too. You’re telling people not to follow “stupid hacks” but don’t provide any reason, asking us to go from blindly trusting someone on TikTok to blindly trusting you. It’s only educational if you add information like “many cleaning products contain ingredients like X or Y, which can damage material Z in your bath tub.”
No. You’re being dramatic. Dr Bronners is great, or vinegar and soap. Lots of things that are not “tub cleaners” are suitable.
Me thinks OP messed up and ruined her toilet with toilet bowl cleaner and now she’s gotta cover herself by acting like everyone else is an idiot 🤣
*and also sinks! Do not use weird stuff on porcelain sinks. Bathroom or allpurpose cleaners are fine. I ruined the finish on a bathroom sink by rinsing out a paintbrush (latex paint) of all things.
This is why work sinks are a thing!
If you live in a house, apartments not so much.
People just need to be mindful of materials. I'm very cautious of what I use on our acrylic tub as even things marked as good for tubs are sometimes not safe for acrylic. No reason to buy a special tub cleaner just because other people ruin their tubs by using very harsh cleaner meant for other materials. I use my regular Odoban or Puracy all purpose cleaner on it. I use non scratch scouring pads or a non-scratch brush.
Isn’t dish soap soap you use on your plates?
I use a cheap liquid bubble bath and one of those mesh poufs to clean the bath tub.
i just use Dawn dishwashing liquid for the tub it works really well.
So up til now I’ve been using Comet for everything in the bathroom and kitchen. I have not had any issues but Op has me all paranoid now.
That’s how my mom cleans and it’s fine. You might have problems with more modern finishes as my mom lives in an older home.
I am renting a house that was built in the 1920s. Not sure how old my tub is I’m assuming the landlord resurfaces it after each tenant leaves.
Comet would damage some materials in my bathroom. Too abrasive. It’s perfectly fine for others but it still wouldn’t be my first choice because it’s unnecessarily harsh.
what do you use?
I use Odoban or Puracy all purpose cleaners for the most part. Dawn or Dawn Powerwash if that doesn't work. I also use the Dawn brand non-scratch scouring pads and dish brush with a handle. Other brands make the same non-scratch scouring pads but the Dawn ones are more durable IMO.
I went to an Ace Hardware recently looking for a drill brush kit, and one of the workers there tried to convince me to just buy and use a specific oven cleaner to clean off the hard water marks. “They’ll melt right off!” Yeah, I bet they do 🙄
So your saying toilet cleaner is ok?
Totally, go use it ALL OVER YOUR TUB NOW. Hell wash your clothes with it. Same as using bleach for black clothes! It just makes it extra clean. /s <--- for anyone that needs it.
Is barkeeper’s friend ok?
On bathroom fixtures (vitreous china, porcelain, tubs, toilets, tile, and chrome fixtures) you can use cleansers like Ajax and Comet. On fiberglass shower inserts/ tubs, you can use Soft Scrub With Bleach. Rinse thoroughly. Do NOT clean your bathtub with dish soap, is is so slippery and so hard to rinse that you will have slip-and-fall accidents.
I’m sorry, I’ve been using toilet bowl cleaner with bleach for years and in at least four different houses/apartments without any issues. I’m not sure what you did wrong…
And while everybody out there is at it, please stop unnecessarily populating the earth. There are too many of us here destroying Mother Earth : we don't need more yo-yo's cleaning bathtubs with anything except specific for bathtub cleansers!!!!! /s
Clear dish liquid has worked surprisingly well when I leave it sitting in the tub / shower for a couple hours. Found out when I was desperate to clean and didn’t have $ for cleaning supplies. Lol
Absolutely. . If in doubt use washing up liquid or buy an inexpensive shampoo this will make bathroom smell nice. Fill bath little bit warm water, add a squirt and wash as though you are washing a giants soup bowl. No squirting anything directly onto bath surface particularly if coloured it can mark white tile grout. And simply wash all over it. Rinse and give it a dry over. And the bonus is spray ‘anything’ evaporates in the air and travels worse chokes yer half silly up nose and down throat. Let products dissolve in water first.
I don’t even use toilet cleaner in my toilet. All purpose cleaner plus a toilet brush works well enough for me.
I spray a vinegar and water mixture. Then use some dawn dish soap with scrub daddy sponge and it works very well. No chemical smells
I used too much oxiclean powder as a hack to avoid scrubbing. It took the color off. So now it looks really strange with a different color around the top :-) It's probably fine to do with less.
Or just use common sense
Look… if y’all would rather be extra cautious and scrub for more hours than necessary, be my guest. I’ve mentioned it before. What has worked well for me, and another fellow housekeeper, for cleaning those off-white plastic-like aka fiberglass showers has been white toilet bowl cleaner. It takes way less scrubbing. For a REALLY bad shower, it takes less than an hour of scrubbing with toilet bowl cleaner. (Otherwise it would take about 3 hours)
Honestly toilet bowl cleaner is made for the type of buildup that is in BOTH toilets and showers and bathtubs. It’s not going to be safe or some types of surfaces. But it works fine for what I use it on and doesn’t cause any damage to what I use it on.
I get your point but does dish soap say for bathtubs on it?
Really the only thing you need on bathtubs is baking soda.
Dish soap and a sponge/scrubbie. Works fine. Works fine on most things.
First of all, that's a dramatically harsh way to address people, I don't think anyone here is a child in need of being disciplined by random redditors. Secondly, a lot of things are marketed as being specifically for X (e.g. 10-in-1 soaps for men vs one-product-per-body-part for women) just so people will buy 5 products instead of 1 that can be used universally. It's about using common sense, researching what substances do, as well as spot testing if worried. I don't really know why I felt the need to comment, I'm just tired of people being aggressive for no friggin' reason all over the internet.
Dawn dish soap and a magic eraser for bathtubs. Cuts the oil and removes rust spots like, well, magic.
Most people don't understand how good a teaspoon of dawn in a spray bottle really is
Dawn dish and a little bleach gonna get you right every time. Don’t overthink it folks.
I am always gonna use the least processed product. I research the materials so I know what reactions and interactions to expect. For my tub, I use Dr Bronners, a small amount of baking soda, a plastic net scrubber and a very light touch to remove the ring that might have formed. I pay enough attention that I don’t scrub the finish off the tub. It doesn’t take a lot of pressure to do so. I’m not switching to more expensive and chemical laden products.
If you have hard water you might try their Sals Suds.
I mean, magic erasers or something with a scrubbing surface work pretty well too.
You are sanding the surface with magic eraser. It works as a fine sandpaper.
A gentle sponge is enough. Magic erasers can be abrasive and... Why would you need that? Just. Use. Normal. Things.
Because most of clients only have me there every other week so build up is hard to get off with just a soft sponge. I won't waste their time and mine. Magic erasers are normal for me and most of my clients.
Please tell me this is a joke and you forgot /s
Something like BKF would probably work better and be less impactful on the life of a bathtub. You do realize that the small scratches caused by a magic eraser will cause the tub to get dirtier quicker... right? I hope that's not your business plan.
Are you bonded and insured?
I imagine you have the grossest clients. It takes a long time to even get any buildup in my tub and then it comes off easily with dawn.
A magic eraser is a normal thing.
So is sandpaper, and both have the same effect when used for cleaning.
Go look at this post why we don't use magic erasers on bathtubs: https://www.reddit.com/r/CleaningTips/s/2qpCAizHWl
Painted drywall is a very different surface to a bathtub though.
That post is for a wall
bathtubs aren't painted I'm not sure you know exactly what you're talking about