How to clean a bath at home: simple and effective ways

Snow-white plumbing gives the bathroom a cozy and even festive look. How to clean a bath at home? In fact, unfortunately, the primordial whiteness very quickly dims. Often we use a bath not only for its intended purpose, but also for other purposes: washing, washing large items, bathing animals and so on. How can I clean an old bath and how to whiten the surface so that it shines with the same cleanliness? To do this, there are many household chemical products sold in stores, and you can also resort to simple compounds that are always at hand - soda, acetic acid and the like.

But before you start cleaning the surface of the grime, you need to determine the type of contaminants. Some cleaning agents cope with almost all problems, while others are used only for certain types of plaque - for example, lime.

Why is the bath dirty?

The surface of the bath is contaminated for various reasons. Here are the main ones.

• Simple plaque .This is the kind of dirt that forms during washing. It is a part of the skin and skin discharge, mixed with a soap solution. From such a plaque, the surface is cleaned very simply - every time after bathing, rinse it off with hot water using a sponge.
• Soap scour .The compounds that make up soap, shampoos and shower gels, over time, form a gray coating, eating into the surface of the enamel. It will not be possible to get rid of it by simple means.
• If in your area hard water , the salt from it will be deposited on the surface of all plumbing. White or yellowish crumbling plaque should be removed with the help of special products containing acids that dissolve calcium compounds.
• Rust .It appears because of the high content of iron in water. Also refers to hard-to-remove dirt.
• The old enamel .Old baths are difficult to clean, since their surface is covered with small cracks in which various contaminants are eaten.
• Yellowness on the enamel settles in the presence of old water pipes in the house, from which various oxides and tap water biofilms go.
• Specific pollution .Here you can include paint, other products that hit the surface of the bath after repair, mold. Fight them with special means( solvents, antifungal solutions).

How do I clean a bath?

How to clean the bathtub so as not to damage the surface? At once we will make a reservation, that all told refers to steel and pig-iron products with the enameled covering. On how to clean acrylic plumbing, we'll talk just below.

Start cleaning the bath yourself, use the following tips.

• When selecting a product, be guided by the degree of surface contamination. If the bath is cleaned regularly, use weak solutions and gentle cleansers, preferably gel. But the old dirt and yellowness will have to be removed with strong acids, which can damage the enamel. Therefore, strictly adhere to the required time and rinse the composition well with water.
• Do not forget about the means of protection. Even the most harmless at first glance chemical substances can cause irritation of the skin of hands and respiratory tract. Use gloves, do not cover doors and windows indoors, do not use hot solutions unnecessarily( to avoid inhaling chemical vapors).When working with chlorine-containing fluids, wear a respirator.
• Do not rub the bath with hard brushes and metal washcloths, sponges of fiberglass. So you damage the top layer of the enamel, and as a result, the surface will become more dirty, and it will become more difficult to bleach it.
• It is not recommended to use toilet cleaners for the bathroom - they are too aggressive.

Corroded enamel agents that contain in their composition such chemicals:

• hydrochloric acid;
• oxalic acid;
• alkali;
• aldehydes.

Also do not use various abrasive powders to remove yellowness. Modern household chemicals provide a wide range of products in the form of pastes, gels, creams and liquids - choose from them.

Household chemical products

How to wash a bath without difficulty? The easiest way is to use special household chemicals that are sold in stores. It will cost a little more expensive and not so safe for health, but with the right selection of a chemical, even an old cast-iron bath will not be difficult to clean. Here is a characteristic of the most popular products that can be bought in household chemical shops.

• Domestos is well suited for regular maintenance, although it contains chlorine. It will easily clear spots of medium complexity, but will not remove lime scale or deeply stale dirt. In addition, it is unpleasant to work with it because of the sharp odor.
• Cillit Bang is the best tool for regular cleaning, but it is not very effective against rust.
• Cif .Use a cream or gel remedy. Whitening yellowness will help the Ultra White series.
• "Pemolux" is a soda-based product that is effective and safe enough. It can be used to remove contaminants from old baths, where the enamel is already slightly damaged.
• Comet as a gel is used to whiten the surface and remove hard-to-remove impurities. The best series is "7 days of cleanliness" with prolonged action.

Folk remedies

Household chemistry can replace folk remedies. Of course, they can not cope with old pollution, and to return the bath to the original whiteness, you will have to work hard with a sponge. But it is simple methods that many people prefer that do not want to use modern chemistry( the reasons can be health care, allergies in the home, small children, money saving).Also, such cleaning agents do not damage the enamel coating of cast iron and steel baths, which prolongs the period of their use.

• Soda .This is an excellent and undeservedly forgotten tool for cleaning almost any dirt, except lime. It perfectly removes fat, yellowness and eliminates unpleasant odor. This is a very cheap and safe substance for the health of the household. How to clean a bath at home with soda? It can simply be applied to the surface with a sponge, or you can use the following recipe. Food soda is mixed with calcined in a ratio of 1: 1.The bath is moistened and the composition is applied for 20-30 minutes. Then the surface should be cleaned with a sponge soaked in table vinegar, without washing off soda. After half an hour carefully rub the surface with the resulting mixture and rinse with warm water.

• Vinegar .Table vinegar( 9%) copes well with the usual dirt and rust. In order to clean the surface, it will take time. Wet paper towels or towels in a solution of vinegar and cover them with the entire surface of the bath. Leave for 3-5 hours. After removing the paper and rinse the bath with water. Most likely, it will be possible to bleach a surface on some tones.
• Citric acid .Solutions of citric acid are removed and rust, and lime scale. Apply it like this. Two tablespoons of citric acid is dissolved in half a liter of hot water. Using a sponge, apply the solution to the surface of the bath and stand for half an hour. Then rinse with water. Mustard powder .A paste is made from it, which is also used to clean the contaminated areas of the enamel.

For lazy there are recipes easier. The water is collected in the bath and dissolved in it one and a half liters of vinegar or 100 g of citric acid. Leave for the night, in the morning the water is drained and rinsed with water.

Cleaning lime plaque

From home remedies, you can make a mixture that will help whitewash the bath yourself and clean the lime scale and rust.

Here are some useful tips for removing lime scale from the enameled surface of cast iron and steel baths.

• Mix borax( sodium tetraborate, sold in pharmacies) and table vinegar in equal proportions.
• Preheated vinegar mixed with salt to make a gruel.
• Mix salt and turpentine in equal proportions.

Mixtures are applied to the stain and carefully wiped with a cloth.

Remove rust

How to clean the bath at home from rust? Here are a few recipes.

• Ammonium alcohol is dissolved in water and applied to the problem site for 10-15 minutes, then it is washed off with water.
• On the stains of rust squeezed out lemon juice, aged for 10-15 minutes.
• Rub rust with a mixture of vinegar and salt.

A little bit about acrylic baths

Than to wash a bath of acrylic? It is best to use special gel or cream products: Acrylan, Pani Bath, Ravak, San Klin, Tim Profi, Mr. Chister, Acryl Polish, Triton.

Do not use products containing:

• acetone;
• ammonia;
• chlorine;
• alcohol;
• formaldehydes;
• alkali;
• acid.

Clean the surface no more than once every two weeks, and disinfect - once a week. If you do not have a special means for disinfection, then use ordinary household soap. Apply soapy solution to the surface of the acrylic bath, and then rinse.

Now you know a lot of ways to clean the dirty bathroom. For each type of pollution come their own cleaning products. It can be ordinary soda or an expensive whitening gel for plumbing. The main thing is that it should be effective and easy to use.