Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Soap scum? How I hate thee.

My friend Megan (like, real life friend, I've known her since I was 15) pinned this the other day, and I gave it a try today. 



"Remove obstinate soap buildup from glass shower doors by sprinkling a few drops of water onto a used fabric-softener sheet and scrubbing."

I'm actually surprised to say it works. It's not "just bought the house" super sparkling clean, but it did make a difference. Rubbing in circles worked a lot better than up and down.

Now, every now and then (probably not often enough if you asked my OCD clean freak husband), I'll decide that the soap scum is pissing me off, and I'll attack it with Kaboom and a scrub pad. But, it's still not as clear and clean like when we first moved in. 

Granted, we have more glass than a normal shower door. Plus, the shower door is right next to two bigger windows (hello neighbors!), so the sunlight really highlights the soap scum. Yuck. 

PLUS, we have really hard water, so I have hard water stains. Hmmmm. I wonder if I'm buying products to fight soap scum, when hard water stains are my problem. 





Before I go out and buy the entire cleaning aisle at Walmart, what works in your home for banishing soap scum/hard water stains?


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Kris @ everywhereorange.com said... [Reply to comment]

ooohh what a fantastic tip! i am definitely trying this. i have a hard water problem on top of soap scum and the magic eraser works pretty well but it takes a lot of scrubbing. I like to scrub while my conditioner is sitting.

I hate spraying cleaners in the tiny shower and then standing in that yucky smell while i scrub. i am going to try the dryer sheet tomorrow!

Shellyhectic said... [Reply to comment]

I use one of those daily spray cleaners that you spray everyday after you are done showering. It works great!

Life, Crafts and Whatever said... [Reply to comment]

Yeah, we have really hard water too. Maybe I'm fighting hard water stains, instead of soap scum and that's why it never goes away (since I'm buying products for soap scum). Going to edit my post, thanks!

OurForeverHouse said... [Reply to comment]

I have this awesome scrubbing bubbles scrub pad (they don't seem to make it anymore). when I am showering, I put a bit of comet on it and scrub the glass. I try to do this once a week to stay ahead of it. Works great! We also use a squeegee after every shower.

Janice said... [Reply to comment]

I'm going to try the fabric softener trick! We rent an older home and the soap scum is just beyond my powers to get rid of completely!

Janice said... [Reply to comment]

I'm going to try the fabric softener trick! We rent an older home and the soap scum is just beyond my powers to get rid of completely!

Lesley said... [Reply to comment]

You know I'm going to try this!

Come get your award...Oh God, another award?...from my blog.

http://sofabulouslyflawed.blogspot.com/2011/08/really-me-really.html

Pam said... [Reply to comment]

That is interesting...I had NO clue. Thanks for sharing.

Leeann said... [Reply to comment]

You're lucky you have windows, I don't and it means heavy cleaners like Kaboom are not an option for me. I know the bottle states that the smell is inoffensive but I beg to differ. I'm adamant about the family squeegee-ing when they're dine but if course they don't but I find that me doing it once a day helps a lot too. I also own a steam shark and it's my bestie even though I can only handle using it for about 10 minutes at a time before the room gets too hot (remember no windows?). My most secret weapon is my manly man who can scrub really well with comet and puts up with me standing there coaching him as he does it. I need to try the dryer sheet method... I heard you can also use them for pots and pans by putting them in the water while it soaks and it gets the stuck on stuff off. All that and sweet smelling wash? Life is good :)

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

Hi Jennifer, take it from a gal who has lived in 22 homes in the last 23 years, many of which have hard water. The best product for getting the glass just-moved-in-clean is Lysol Cling Toilet Bowl cleaner. It sounds weird, but just last week I used it on the glass shower doors to take off the hard water stains. I actually used the toilet scrub brush to scrub it around. Give it a few minutes to eat through the hard water build up and then rinse it well. Don't leave it too long on any metal parts, but you'll be very happy you used this.

SkinnyMeg said... [Reply to comment]

so glad you tried it! I've been meaning too.....ha ha!

Hi I'm Amanda said... [Reply to comment]

MR. CLEAN MAGIC ERASER SHOWER...
Hands down is the best, fastest and cheapest way that I have found. I got my mom hooked on it too with her glass doors.
For only about $3.00, what is it going to hurt to try? It's in my "top 3" favorite products.
http://www.mrclean.com/en_US/magic-eraser-bath-scrubber.do

MinaAriel said... [Reply to comment]

When we bought our house, there were horrible hard water and soap scum deposits all over the shower door. I tried all kinds of stuff, including the fabric softener sheet. What got it looking brand new was Bar Keeper's Friend and a scratch free scrubby. It took a bit of elbow grease that first time but it was literally spotless by the time I was done and now touch-ups are a breeze.

Amanda said... [Reply to comment]

I use cheap shampoo for soap scum. Works wonders, smells nice, and is a lot less expensive than "real" cleaner. I also like baking soda and a scrub brush, but the shampoo is quicker. Try soaking hard water stains with a can of Coke or some other soft drink (must contain phosphoric acid).

Erin said... [Reply to comment]

Try putting some regular old vinegar into a spray bottle. 2 parts water 1 part vinegar. Spray the hard water stains and scrub with a nylon scrubber.

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Try using liquid body washes rather than bar soaps to use on yourself...I find bar soaps leave a film. That might help to avoid some of the soap scum even forming. Kiss my Face makes awesome smelling all natural body washes.