What is your secret for removing hard water stains and soap scum?

[Eloise36]

I figure I'd post my question here because you guys seem to have all the answers :)

How do you remove hard water stains and soap scum from your bathtubs and showers? We have very hard water and I am getting frustrated because I can't seem to remove hard water stains and soap scum from my tub and shower other than with a lot of elbow grease, and I haven't found an environmentally and family-safe product that works well. Is anyone else dealing with this? I know we will need to install a water softener eventually, but it's not financially feasible right now.

Thanks so much!

[Piglet]

I am in Canada and I don't know if you can buy CLR in the US, but it is awesome! CLR stand for calcium, lime and rust. It works very well.

We have crazy hard water, so I know your pain!

[redhookmom]

CLR and Iron Out have worked for me but I don't think they are very friendly. We also installed a water softner but we still get the hard water stains.

[momma_boo]

Try the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
I discovered a few weeks ago that it works really well on the soap scum build-up in our bathtub. I'm not sure how it works, but there arean't any fumes involved!

[JElaineB]

I don't think it is environmentally friendly but Kaboom works really well on hard water stains. For an environmentally friendly solution you might try vinegar for the hard water stains.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[mudder17]

You may need to start with an environmentally unfriendly option to remove the hardest stains and then use the more friendly ones as a preventative in the future.

There was a recipe I need to look up again that worked pretty well on my bathtub, but it did take some elbow grease because it had been a long time since I had cleaned it. :P I can look up the exact proportions for you but it's basically baking soda, Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castille soap (can actually use any liquid soap, but I like this one) and water. I don't think there was anything else in it. Anyway, it works as a nice scrub. I squeezed it onto the surfaces, then scrubbed (the BS is a nice gentle abrasive) to get the worst off and then left it for a while. Then I sprayed with my scented vinegar to rinse clean.

Now, after my showers, when I remember (lol), I'll spray all surfaces with scented vinegar. It prevents the deposits from forming and helps rinse away the soap scum. You can spray and leave it on or you can spray, leave it on and rinse it away later. Either way works.


Eileen

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[wimama]

I gave up on trying to keep my shower clean. I would spend hours scrubing the orange stains from the grout and they would be back a week or two later. It looked horrible against the nice white tiles.

We finally broke down and bought a water softener. I haven't regretted it. Now I usually just use vinegar/water to clean the walls of the shower.

[MarisaSF]

Vinegar

[Eloise36]

Wow, thanks so much for your great advice! You guys are the best :D

I am going to bookmark this page and try the different solutions you mentioned. I never would have thought of vinegar or the Mr. Clean eraser. I can't wait to try it.

[tarabenet]

Hot white vinegar, almost boiling. Pour it into a spray it on the surface and let it sit there for 10-15 minutes. Then scrub with one of those non-scratch scrubbing sponges. I've had good luck with this one, although when we first moved in here I had to do a couple of treatments. It is stinky, but not so bad as the commercial products. (And like all my cleaning tricks, comes from "Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean".)

Huge second for the water softener. Water that is causing buildup in the tubs or in the cooking pots is also clogging the washer, water heater and ice maker, and I worry about what it might be doing to *my* pipes.

[chlobo]

I have great success with a scrub bud. It's sort of like a brillo pad but not as crumbly. It didn't seem to scratch at all.

[MrsZaz]

I second the Mr. Clean magic eraser (although I have also used the Target brand). WOW!! just did this last week to both the shower walls and glass doors. What a difference....even my husband was amazed. I may need to do it again to get any last dregs off but I think this is a cleaning system I can really stick with - no odor and very little elbow grease required.


HTH

Colleen Z.

[brittone2]

Bon Ami is a more environmentally friendly scrub (sort of like Comet) that you can try.

For soap scum, I generally scrub w/ baking soda and a microfiber towel sprayed with vinegar. That usually does the trick.

For hard water, I've found I get fewer spots on our shower stall if I use a squeegee to do the walls quickly each time I shower. It only takes 30 seconds or so. Not perfect but it makes for less work (I have an all one piece type of shower...fiberglass maybe?)

Periodically I scrub the shower walls with vinegar and baking soda as well. You can try (depending on the finish of your shower surround....you'd want to investigate this first) using lemon or orange oil...wipe it on and sort of buff it in. It makes it easier clean off of the shower walls once it is applied (start w/ an already cleaned shower). My dad told me this years ago and I also read it in a speed cleaning book I got for free through a link posted here on the boards.

[brittone2]

Bon Ami is a more environmentally friendly scrub (sort of like Comet) that you can try.

For soap scum, I generally scrub w/ baking soda and a microfiber towel sprayed with vinegar. That usually does the trick.

For hard water, I've found I get fewer spots on our shower stall if I use a squeegee to do the walls quickly each time I shower. It only takes 30 seconds or so. Not perfect but it makes for less work (I have an all one piece type of shower...fiberglass maybe?)

Periodically I scrub the shower walls with vinegar and baking soda as well. You can try (depending on the finish of your shower surround....you'd want to investigate this first) using lemon or orange oil...wipe it on and sort of buff it in. It makes it easier clean off of the shower walls once it is applied (start w/ an already cleaned shower). My dad told me this years ago and I also read it in a speed cleaning book I got for free through a link posted here on the boards.

[mommy_someday]

I'm going to try this on my shower since I just bought two packs of the magic erasers. Do you just get them wet, or do you add any kind of cleanser? Also, can you reuse the eraser? If so, how many times can you use it?

Thanks! :)

[JElaineB]

Don't worry about drinking hard water. If anything it may actually be beneficial to heart health:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3396141.stm

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02