How can I clean a textured bathtub?

Question

My bathtub has a textured non-slip surface on the bottom, which is in the form of a fine grid of raised and lowered areas, forming thousands of tiny squares about 1mm on a side. So each square is a little indentation in which dirt and grime tends to accumulate, and you can't wipe it away with a sponge.

So far the only way I have found to clean it is to spray it with a cleaning product (currently using Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Foamer) and then scrub it hard with a very stiff brush. It seems that the spray softens the dirt a little, and the brush bristles eventually dig into the indentations to scrape it out. But this is quite laborious - you have to scrub quite vigorously for a while in the same place to get it clean. I can only keep this up for about 5 minutes before my wrists start to hurt and I have to quit, and at the end of that time I've cleaned an area perhaps 10 cm on a side. At this rate it will take days.

There must be a better way. I'm open to chemical or mechanical suggestions, or any combination thereof.

I am not exactly sure of the material of which the tub is made - it's some sort of plastic or acrylic, or possibly fiberglass. It is definitely not porcelain, stone or enameled metal. Since I rent, I am not in a position to replace the tub with something more practical.

Answer 1

I realized that I was getting the bathtub and shower with textured floor clean, cause you could see an obvious difference while scrubbing. I would proceed to rinse them. And one day it hit me.... The trick to this is to keep things moving....while rinsing with hot water continue to scrub with a brush in all directions.. Clockwise,,,counter clockwise....left....right....this prevents the loosened dirt from going back into the texture and resetting. So just remember....keep the water rinsing and moving while you keep the dirt moving also by scrubbing in all directions until you have worked your way to the drain. ...I hope that my discovery will help to make someone's cleaning ritual easier. And it doesn't take years to discover.

Answer 2

You need a limescale remover, but you need to select one that won't harm the surface - something like Limelite (available as a gel, spray or liquid) should do it if its available where you are (see link below), but there are others available. Apply and wait the requisite time, then try rinsing or wiping off some to see if its done the job - if not, leave it for longer. So long as its one that's suitable for plastic or acrylic, it won't cause damage even if you leave it 3 times as long. I know, I've done it...

http://www.lime-lite.co.uk/products.php?id=3

Answer 3

An oscillating brush will work a lot better than a rotary brush to get into tiny indentations. I'd suggest an electric toothbrush as an experiment (obviously, use a head you won't use in your mouth again); if that works well, you may be able to find a brush attachment for a "multi-tool" oscillating head (a cordless type is safer, though a corded tool is okay if you have a GFCI -- Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter -- to connect it to mains power).

Answer 4

I also have a textured tub, and have had similar difficulty cleaning it easily. Previously my best approach was to use Vim Cream with Bleach and a drill brush, and that works OK but is still pretty laborious.

This past weekend I went in with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It worked phenomenally well for me, though I suspect the exact texture of the bottom of your tub will determine whether the eraser works well or gets prematurely shredded. (My tub's texture can best be described as "pebbled.")

Answer 5

I'd say your best bet would be to find a product containing potassium hydroxide (normally used in oven cleaners and fat removers). I'm using a concentrate called "Concentryl" which I dilute und put in a sprayer. You can use it on just about anything except aluminium. Let it work a couple of minutes and then lightly brush and wash off. Should be a doddle, to get the tub clean!

(Only work with rubber gloves as the product is highly alkaline.)

Answer 6

Whitening Toothpaste will do the trick quickly and without much work. Can also be used on clothing instead of bleach to get stains out.

Answer 7

The build-up on a composite tub is often body oils and dirt. In my experience, what worked best was a cleanser like Comet with bleach, Simple Green cleaning solution and a very stiff nylon brush.

Sprinkle the cleanser on the wet tub surface. Add a few tablespoons of the liquid Simple Green. Scrub until you have remove all the dirt trapped in the patterned floor. Rinse, repeat.

Once you have FULLY removed trapped dirt and oils, the surface will be easy to keep clean. A weekly cleaning with a few sprinkles of cleanser and a sponge, will keep the build-up from happening. I think the “scrubbing bubbles” are pretty ineffective unless your using it daily.

Answer 8

Just finished mine and got it back to all white. First use a generous amount of soap scum remover. Then while it is still wet add no scratch Comet. Need to add a little water so it is sloppy wet but not so much it rolls down the drain. Let sit a while to do some bleachy thing. Then a generous amount of Dawn and now you can get a brush but can't be too small or too stiff or too soft. Now scrub. To rinse I have a handheld shower nozzle and use hot water but still scrub to make sure it doesn't settle back. Probably won't but just in case.

Answer 9

As a variation on Shaelyn Hunt's answer, what I'm now doing is the following.

Put the bathtub plug in, and run a couple inches of hot water. Add several squirts of dish soap, and let it soak for an hour or two. Then, with the soapy water still in the tub, scrub hard with a stiff brush, using a circular motion. Having the surface under water means the dirt disperses as you scrub it off, so you can see more clearly when it has gotten clean. You can spread out the scrubbing over hours if you want. Finally, drain the tub and rinse.

Answer 10

Based on a comment above, I tried oven cleaner (Easy-Off). I sprayed it on my brownish soap scummed, textured tub and waited 15-20 minutes. Then I wiped off to bright white tub with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (bath). Only light scrubbing was required, however for the really tough stains, I simply reapplied the oven cleaner (this time overnight) - so great! I finally found a solution. Be sure you have plenty of ventilation in the bathroom, and definitely wear gloves.