DIY Soap Scum Remover

Last week I found this idea for soap scum remover on Pinterest (My husband claims that I am a Pinterest Junkie. I, however, do not agree!) We moved into our home almost 2 years ago. For the most part the house is everything that we were looking for. The down side is that it was 9 years old and ‘used’. We built our previous home. So I had the pleasure of picking out the tile, the cabinets, the countertops, etc. Also, we did not have to ‘scrape’ off 9 years worth of stuff from previous owners. I’m not trying to make the previous owners out to be gross or anything. Soap scum and dirt and dust happen. It’s just different when it’s not your own. I must also admit that germs and dirty stuff from others may gross me out a little more than the average person. So the idea of showering in a shower with strangers’ ‘gunk’ absolutely repulsed me!

Shortly before we moved, I came across an infomercial for a steam cleaner. Well the guy on the infomercial did his job. He had me completely SOLD! My husband on the other hand, well he was a bit more skeptical. The steam cleaner was marketed to clean and sanitize your home quickly and easily without using harsh chemicals. It was also supposed to save money because it uses water rather than chemicals. This eliminates the need to purchase cleaners. I did, in fact, purchase the steam cleaner. I had to use it right away. It worked like a charm and I LOVED it, still LOVE it as a matter of fact. Using it in our old home and seeing how it worked just as they claimed it would put my mind at ease. I was going to be able to move into our new home and get rid of the ‘yucky’ stuff! I have already shared that we built our old home. I also need to inform you that we lived there for 5 years. At the time we had a 4 year old and an 11 month old. 1 of the 3 bathrooms was rarely used. The master bathroom was used the most and while it did have some build up, there wasn’t much to speak of. The point I’m trying to make is that the buildup in the old home was NOTHING compared to 9 years worth of it that we were walking into at the new house.

Well we moved into our new home. I began cleaning and yes I had to scrub more than at the old house, but I did expect this. I managed to get the kitchen, the ½ bath, and the hall bath looking and smelling great using my steam cleaner. Finally, I took on the master bath. It did not come nearly as clean as the rest of the house. I was super disappointed. My disappointment leads me to the experiment for today, using the suggestion I found on Pinterest. I did try this idea last week; however, blue Dawn was suggested. I didn’t have any blue Dawn on hand. I had blue Meijer dish soap. I thought dish soap was dish soap. The solution (with the blue Meijer soap) did help, but it didn’t completely remove the soap scum from my bathroom like it did in the pictures I saw. In a desperate effort to get rid of this filth I decided to get some blue Dawn while at the store this weekend and give it another go.

You will need these items to make the soap scum remover:

Vinegar, Blue Dawn, a spray bottle, and a measuring cup

How to make soap scum remover:

1. Heat ½ cup of vinegar in the microwave for 1 minute.

2. Pour the vinegar into the bottle.

3. Pour ½ cup of blue Dawn into the bottle with the vinegar.

4. Slowly shake the mixture up. ~When the bottle was closed it began to collapse slightly, due to the heat. I opened the bottle to allow the steam to escape.

5. Spray the mixture on the desired area(s).

6. Let it sit for 2 hours. ~I don’t typically have 2 hours to sit, as I’m sure most of you don’t either. I’m home on my maternity leave. So I just happen to have a little extra time to let things sit.

7. Use a sponge and warm water to wipe the solution off of the walls. ~I had to scrub using quite a bit of elbow grease. In the directions I read apparently the solution was removed by simply wiping the walls with a sponge and warm water.

My Review of the Process and Outcome:

The faucet, the corners of the tub, and the bottom of the tub were cleaner. Basically, my bathtub was cleaner after using the solution; however, it didn’t remove all of the stains. I was bummed because the solution didn’t completely remove the stains (As it was proclaimed to do) and I had to scrub more than I anticipated (Again, this wasn’t supposed to occur either). I also need to share that cleaning the soap off of the walls was time consuming. As you can imagine spraying a vinegar and dish soap solution creates a large amount of soapsuds! Cleaning the soapsuds proved to take quite a bit of time.