How to Keep a Sparkling Bathtub

To make cleaning the tub easier, install a showerhead with a hose.

Keeping your bathtub sparkling at all times might take some intense scrubbing at first. After that initial cleaning, a light scrub and rinse does the job. Instead of purchasing an expensive cleaning product for scrubbing your bathtub, make your own inexpensive earth-friendly cleaner.

Things You'll Need

• Vinegar
• Baking soda
• Shampoo
• Squeegee
• Sponge

Instructions

1. Mix a paste of vinegar and baking soda together and scrub the tub and shower door. The baking soda contains the abrasive property needed to lift the dirt, and the vinegar contains acetic acid needed to cut the grease and grime. Rinse the tub thoroughly when you're finished.

2. Take your shower after everyone else in the house takes theirs. Place a bottle of cheap shampoo in or near the shower. At the end of your shower, pour some shampoo on a washcloth and wash the tub down quickly and rinse. After you get out of the tub, take a dry towel and wipe the tub dry. The shampoo adds the sparkling shine that you want.

3. Put a squeegee in the shower if a shower door is attached to the tub. Ask the family to squeegee the door after they turn off the water, and before they get out of the tub. This keeps water spots off the shower door.

Tips & Warnings

• If you use the sponge, purchase the nonabrasive kind made specifically for cleaning tubs and sinks.

• Make sure the sparkling shine isn't too slippery for elderly members of the house. Keep a bathmat close by the tub.

References

• "Clean House Clean Planet"; Karen Logan; April 1997

Resources

• "The Naturally Clean Home"; Karyn Siegel-Maier; December 2008