Soap scum can be among the most disgusting and difficult problems to clean. Lurking in bathrooms the world over, it is a common result of improper bathroom cleaning and maintenance. In this article we answer the pressing question, how can one effectively clean off soap scum?
A variety of effective cleaning treatments and processes exist for soap scum. There are some wonderful home made cleaners that can be utilized. These natural cleaners are easier on the finish of the bathtub or shower in question.
Contents
Soap Scum Pre-Cleaning Starting Point
Before you plunge right in to the soap scum cleaning challenge, you should start with a good preparation. Since soap scum melts in heat and humidity, you ought to warm up for the big event by taking a very hot shower. Alternatively, you could simply put the shower on hot water setting for a full fifteen minutes and close the shower and bathroom doors. Once this is done, the dreaded soap scum will have softened up. You can then focus on the areas of thickest soap scum concentrations with a puddy knife to literally begin scraping it away. Take care not to scratch or damage your shower or tub walls in the process.
Move On To Baking Soda
Now you are ready for Stage II in the war against the soap scum. Begin by pouring yourself a big bowl of baking soda. Start slowly adding water and stirring. Your goal is to reach the consistency of toothpaste. Once you have achieved this ideal mixture, begin applying it, utilizing a soft sponge, to the areas of the tub or shower containing the soap scum. Leave it to sit and work on these troubled spots for a full thirty minutes.
The Home Made Soap Scum Remover
While the baking soda solution is working its magic on the soap scum, you may start whipping up your next weapon. An effective home made soap scum remover formula is very simply made. Just pour two cups of plain white vinegar into a microwave safe container and put them on high heat for a good forty-five seconds. Once this is completed, pour the warm solution into a spray bottle and head back to the bathroom for the next battle in the soap scum struggle.
The Scrubbing Process
Taking a moist sponge, and begin scrubbing in circular movements each of your places to which you applied the baking soda paste. Next spray your home made vinegar solution generously over the places that you are cleaning, allowing it to stay for several minutes for the vinegar and baking soda mixture to fizz up. Once this reaction is complete, begin scrubbing again just like before. We suggest beginning up at the top and working your way finally down to the tub or shower bottom. This fizzy reaction actually serves to loosen the soap scum’s grip on the surfaces, so that you do not have to kill yourself scrubbing away all day. After you have scrubbed yourself all out, simply get a pitcher or take a shower head with a hose and rinse off the worked in vinegar and baking soda mixture. After this is all rinsed off, do not fail to dry the tub and shower walls completely and well.
Taking Soap Scum off of Shower Glass Doors
Create a toothpaste like consistency of corn starch, as you did with the baking soda mixture previously. Apply this paste directly on to the shower doors and carefully, gingerly scrub it with a sponge. After you have scrubbed the whole surface, use a moist rag to remove the corn starch. Then rinse off the shower doors. Lastly, spray the shower doors with a plain white vinegar solution, then wipe them down with a rag. After the shower doors have dried, you will have better future prevention against the return of the hated soap scum if you put on a water repellent. Although Rain-X is effective, we prefer the use of Green Earth Technologies’ G-Glass Rain Repellent.
For more helpful information on winning the war on soap scum, click on the links: eHow and wikiHow.
