Acrylic tub cleaning

[SHELCO]

We installed a real nice Duravit tub 6 months ago. Religiously cleaned it once a week with Dawn dish soap as advised by all internet sites etc.
I am getting brown staining along the lower bottom that I can not get off with dish soap. Has anyone used anything else that will not scratch?

Everywhere I read soft soap will damage tub. Even if I dilute it?

 

[Fixr]

We installed a real nice Duravit tub 6 months ago. Religiously cleaned it once a week with Dawn dish soap as advised by all internet sites etc.
I am getting brown staining along the lower bottom that I can not get off with dish soap. Has anyone used anything else that will not scratch?

Everywhere I read soap soap will damage tub. Even if I dilute it?

We get the usual soap scum and rust buildup. I'm lazy, so I spray our tub/shower unit with straight household bleach, let it sit for a while, and hose it down with the handheld sprayer. That takes care of most of it, but minerals eventually build up, so the next phase is to spray it all with CLR, let it sit and then hose it down.

That will usually get us through about a year, at which point I usually resort to spray tub & tile cleaner and scrubbing with microfiber rags and a soft scrub brush. About every 5 years I break out a power polisher and plastic polish. I've been doing this for 20 years and it still looks fine.

 

[1949 caddyman]

I had a blue/green stain in our rarely used tub. Soft spray cleaners did nothing. I pored vinegar in and it cleaned the tub. I don’t recall if it was diluted with water. I let it set 2 or 3 hours.

the stain came from copper pipes that water sat in.

 

[55bigblockcid]

Bar Keepers Friend. This stuff works fantastic. Squirt it on and wipe it around with a sponge let it sit but don`t let it dry. Rinse.

Amazon.com

 

[SHELCO]

Bar Keepers Friend. This stuff works fantastic. Squirt it on and wipe it around with a sponge let it sit but don`t let it dry. Rinse.

Amazon.com

This could be the answer? It says its very light on the harshness. I can not damage a new tube

 

[nmk_61802]

If soft soap (scub) will scratch, no way I'd get Bar Keepers Friend (or Comet) near it.

 

[carlaisle]

Bar keeper's friend is an abrasive. A pretty mild one, but if Soft Scrub is out, BKF is a no-go, too. I would try CLR first. Not the friendly, low VOC, etc one...it doesn't work. Get the original and spray it on full strength. Wait about 20 minutes, then rinse off. If the brown stains disappear or are materially reduced, you have mineral deposits and additional treatments with CLR will completely remove them. If CLR does not eliminate/materially reduce your stains, you need to figure out what is causing those stains so you can choose a means of eliminating them.

 

[rlitman]

If soft soap (scub) will scratch, no way I'd get Bar Keepers Friend (or Comet) near it.

Comet is VERY abrasive. Almost as much as Scotchbrite, since Comet uses pumice.

BKF is pretty mildly abrasive, but it only seems to be abrasive when mixed into a thick paste. Liquid BKF (same as if you mix the powder pretty thin) is hardly much more abrasive than Soft Scrub (which itself is about as abrasive as talc), which I would say is mild enough for acrylic, but you're free to disagree.

Here's the word from the manufacturer:
Is Bar Keepers Friend abrasive?
There are abrasive particles in all BKF products except for MORE Spray + Foam. The powder products contain more abrasive than the pre-diluted Soft Cleanser. For jobs that require additional scrubbing power, use one of our powder products. For more delicate jobs, consider the mildly abrasive Soft Cleanser, or the non-abrasive MORE Spray + Foam.

edit: correcting my above "recent past" self.
Looking at the SDS, it seems that BKF uses feldspar as the abrasive (6.0-6.5 Mohs, which makes it hard enough to scratch steel). Soft Scrub uses limestone, which at 3 Mohs is probably softer than acrylic (between 3 and 4). That's actually a big difference.

At work, I'm cleaning up silver plating on electrical components (mostly fuses) using straight calcium carbonate (i.e. powdered limestone), and even on flash coated parts I'm not burning through the plating with it, so I don't see how it could hurt an acrylic tub. Keep in mind that whatever cloth you're using is probably more abrasive than this.

 

[PopcornSutton]

I agree the acrylic should never have anything abrasive used. I have a full shower and wall panels from Onyx, it is epoxy/acrylic. I keep a hand towel hung on the door, and after a shower I wipe the walls down every time. No soap build up, always clean. Once you get used to wiping it down, it just takes maybe 2 minutes.

 

[jpaw]

I use goof off rust aid. I also wax mine every year or two.

Goof Off 22 oz. Bathroom Rust Stain Remover Spray ESX20005 - The Home Depot

Remove calcium and lime deposits from bathtubs and coffee pots with the help from this RustAid Trigger Indoor Rust Stain Remover.

www.homedepot.com

 

[rd65]

Have you tried using a Magic Eraser type sponge?

 

[rlitman]

Have you tried using a Magic Eraser type sponge?

Magic Erasers are melamine foam. That has a Mohs hardness of 4, and WILL scratch acrylic. It's softer than glass, but will scratch coatings on glass, so it's not necessarily safe on glass either.

 

[johnre]

Mineral spirits easily removes soap scum, with no abrasives. Get the odorless kind since it's being used indoors.

 

[tarmy]

We tried everything to get the black scum ring off our jacuzzi. My BIL asked if we had any liquid toilet bowl cleaner…
we tested it to see if it worked and if it would be ok on the surface…worked fantastic. It has something in it that easily removed all the **** and didn’t screw up the finish.

 

[PWC Repair]

I have found that the ZEP purple degreaser works great on soap scum. Diluted 3:1...........in fact, it cleans up ALL KINDS of stuff. I recently soaked my older sneakers, sprayed them liberally, let it sit about 5 minutes, then rinsed well.......they look new! I did my filthy old work hat too. You know that funky smelly line that builds up along the edge of the bill from brow sweat. A bit of scrubbing with a nylon brush and BAM.....all gone!

 

[Shiftless]

I used this stuff to polish a plastic convertible top back window and old tail light lenses, It removed the cloudiness and did not scratch.

 

[grissom]

Gel Gloss Original Gel Gloss RV One Step Polish and Protector 16 oz. Liquid GG16 - The Home Depot

Original Gel Gloss RV One Step Polish and Protector - The complete RV detail product originally designed for use on fiberglass, acrylic, tile and cultured marble. One step application polishes, protects,

www.homedepot.com

 

[Skyman]

If you haven't tried Bon Ami, I would try it before considering anything that's either more abrasive, acidic, or alkaline.

 

[rlitman]

If you haven't tried Bon Ami, I would try it before considering anything that's either more abrasive, acidic, or alkaline.

Bon Ami SDS shows a combination of feldspar AND limestone. But once the harder abrasive is present, it has the ability to scratch like the harder abrasive, so Bon Ami is in the same class as BKF.

 

[roc_on_the_rocks]

Bon Ami SDS shows a combination of feldspar AND limestone. But once the harder abrasive is present, it has the ability to scratch like the harder abrasive, so Bon Ami is in the same class as BKF.

Aren't there two versions of Bon Ami?

The regular one (more abrasive), and the 'scratch-free'?

 

[Death Row Dave]

I have used car wax on mine from day 1 it’s over ten years old and 4 grand daughters , looks as good as a new .

I clean shower tile with wet it and for get it . Maybe this on the tub ?

 

[captaindiode]

Baking soda wetted to a paste is a mild scrubbing cleaner. Baking soda is 2.5 mohs.

 

[crguy]

My wife uses baking soda on her Jacuzzi tub.

 

[PlanB]

The "scrubbing bubbles" spray - it's liquid so no abrasives.

 

[rlitman]

Baking soda wetted to a paste is a mild scrubbing cleaner. Baking soda is 2.5 mohs.

+1 It's a VERY mild scrubbing cleaner. I happen to have a 50lb bag of blasting soda, which is just a coarser form of baking soda, and more often scoop from that when I'm using it for sensitive cleaning jobs like this.

 

[dcg9381]

I am getting brown staining along the lower bottom that I can not get off with dish soap. Has anyone used anything else that will not scratch?

Brown like rust color? Use a 50/50 mixture of lemon juice or vinegar and water. Wash it out when done.

 

[Jon h]

We tried everything to get the black scum ring off our jacuzzi. My BIL asked if we had any liquid toilet bowl cleaner…
we tested it to see if it worked and if it would be ok on the surface…worked fantastic. It has something in it that easily removed all the **** and didn’t screw up the finish.

That’s what I use, works great! I’ve been doing it for years

 

[SHELCO]

I use goof off rust aid. I also wax mine every year or two.

Goof Off 22 oz. Bathroom Rust Stain Remover Spray ESX20005 - The Home Depot

Remove calcium and lime deposits from bathtubs and coffee pots with the help from this RustAid Trigger Indoor Rust Stain Remover.

www.homedepot.com

WHAT DO YOU WAX IT WITH?

 

[jpaw]

WHAT DO YOU WAX IT WITH?

I just use whatever car wax i have on hand.
A coat of wax and daily shower spray keeps it looking pretty good. I only need to clean it monthly to get rid of the built up soap in the soap trays.
Thanks for the reminder, mine is probably due for a wax.