How To Clean A Porcelain Tub: Remove Stubborn Stains With These Tips

The bathtub can really bring the whole bathroom together. The thing is after a while it can get a little grimy. Along with my other half, we also have two kids so our bath sees a lot of use, but even a person on their own will notice that dreaded ring that appears.

Not just the ring, but general stains and yucky spots, even though you rinse and give what you think is a good cleaning to the bath every once in a while. Well, worry no more as today we are keeping your tub clean as I share with you how to clean a porcelain tub.

How To Clean A Full Porcelain Tub

Now having a tub that is actually fully made of porcelain in 2018 is actually pretty rare. They were huge back in the day, but they are not so common now. What is more common is porcelain enamel tub. However, do not worry. If you are one of the few who does have a full porcelain tub, this is how you clean it.

How Do I Know If I Have A Full Porcelain Tub?

This is a great question and the easy way to find out is to use a magnet. Stick it to the side of your tub. If it sticks to it, you do not have a full porcelain tub, you have a metal one with a porcelain enamel finish.

Step 1: Get yourself a nice large bucket (5 gallons) and mix in it, 2 gallons of water and ¼ cups of white vinegar. Give it a really good mix together.

Step 2: Get an old towel, shirt, or rag and dampen it. Using this, give the inside of the tub a really good wipe down. The idea here is that you are getting rid of all the dust and dirt, so you know exactly what is welded on there!

Step 3: Use a sponge and soak it in the white vinegar/water mix you made and I mean soak it. You now want to start at the very top of the tub, working your way around all the way to the bottom of the bathtub. Give it a really good wiping down, if some stains are really stubborn, use a sponge that has a rougher side for these. Make sure you often wet the sponge with the mixture and note you may need to go over it a few times. For those extra stubborn ones, use a toothbrush.

Step 4: Once you have given the tub a good scrubbing, you can if you want, give it another going over with the water/vinegar solution. Or you can just jump straight to rinsing the tub with warm water if you feel all the stains and dirt are gone.

This will take you no time at all and if you do it once a week if you have a large family or once every couple of weeks if the tub does not see that much action, you will never have to worry about stains in the tub again!

How To Clean A Porcelain Enamel Tub

This is the kind of tub that most of us have and here I will show you how you can clean your tub and make sure there is no evil ring right around it! These kinds of tubs are not capable of dealing with harsh things like vinegar, bleach, and other cleaning chemicals so please never use those.

Step 1: You will need a good-sized bucket so that you can pour into it, a gallon of hot water. Use your dishwashing soap and pour in two tablespoons and give it a good mixing. You know it is mixed enough when the bubbles appear.

Step 2: Using a sponge that is soaked with your soapy warm water. Give your bathtub a really good working over. Start at the top, work your way around and then do the basin last. You may have to go around a few times, but it should not take you too long. A toothbrush or the rough side of the sponge can get rid of most tougher stains.

Step 3: If you find that there are parts of the ring of doom or stains in general that are just not budging, no matter how much elbow grease you apply. You can use hydrogen peroxide on that stubborn area. Apply it, leave it for five minutes and then wash it off. I find this a little extreme and usually, if you have a rest, come back and give the tub another clean with the soapy warm water, you can get it off, but hydrogen peroxide is an option, just be careful when using it.

Step 4: Give the tub a really good rinsing and I mean really good. If you have kids they will get in there and start slipping all over and think that they are part of the slip and splash show… which results in water all over your bathroom…. Trust me I am speaking from experience here! So make sure you rinse it really, really good.

Clean Your Tub With Fruit

This is not a joke, you can actually use lemon with some salt or even a grapefruit (although a lemon would be way cheaper) to get rid of really tough and stubborn stains.

Pro-tip: Use some gloves as if you have any little cuts on your hands or fingers, lemon stings really bad.

Step 1: Cut the lemon in half and get rid of any seeds that are inside it.

Step 2: Use salt to cover the top of the lemon. In theory, any salt will do, but if you have salt that is made of thick granules use that. You want the whole of the lemon (both halves) covered.

Step 3: You now use the lemon as a sponge (again I am not joking) to scrub down those really tough stains. You want to push the lemon into the stain a little bit so that the juice and salt are both rubbing on it. Keep on doing it until the lemon is flat or there is no more juice. One whole lemon should be enough.

Step 4: Give the bathtub a rinse with water. The tub will have a nice sheen to it thanks to the lemon and your bathroom will also smell lovely.