Dawn + Vinegar = Soap Scum KILLA

So, you might remember this post from a while back. And if you do, you'll remember that I cannot stand soap scum. Like, it actually bothers me. I hate that we have this gorgeous bathroom, and all I can see is the soap scum that threatens to take over. And God help me if hubby and I are in the shower together (hey, we're in a water shortage) and I accidentally touch the walls. Ugh, gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

I've tried it all. Kaboom. 409. Every bottle that promises to get rid of the soap scum. And I'm left disappointed every. single. time. 

So when I saw this post on pinterest, I was a bit skeptical. Magic in a bottle? Yeah, okay. But I figure, what did I have to lose? So the next time I went to Walmart, I figure I could drop $3 on a bottle of Dawn and a spray bottle. We already had a huge bottle of white vinegar, thanks to Lover cleaning his stinky Vibrams (those weird 5 toe shoe things that make him look like he has swamp creature feet).

My oldest daughter asked me if I bought the Dawn just because it had a penguin on it (I collect penguins). 

So it's pretty simple. Heat up some vinegar (I used a cup of vinegar and nuked it for 2 minutes). Then pour it in your spray bottle, add an equal amount of blue Dawn (the website comments were pretty specific about getting the blue kind), shake gently, and voila! 

Again, that's a one to one ratio of white vinegar to blue Dawn. I measured out a cup of each originally, but only used about half of my bottle. So next time I'll just do a half cup of each. The whole point is that the white vinegar is heated up, and while I haven't used it with it being room temperature and don't know if it'd work just as well, I'd rather just make it fresh each time. Especially if it's going to give me super clean results.



Here is what we're dealing with. Gross, right? You can't tell me you'd want to touch that in the shower either. EWWWWW. 

Do you know how hard it is to take a pic of soap scum? I finally figured out that I had to place the camera on the door and face it down with the flash on. 

Isn't that gross? I know I already said that, but man. Ewww. 

So the website said that you can spray it on and leave it overnight for tough stains. But have you ever tried to spray on a cleaner on a vertical surface? What's the first thing that happens? It all slides down. BUT, with the vinegar Dawn spray, it's a bit thicker, almost like a watery gel, and it stayed on the glass where I sprayed it. Yeah, a few places dripped, but it was staying. Holy crap. 

I let it sit for 2 hours, came back in with a sponge and some warm water, and wiped it off. And holy crap. 

Yes, that is an unedited (except for the watermark, obviously) photo of the same area. And that isn't soap scum at the bottom, it's the reflection of the shower floor (you can see the drain). Isn't that crazy? Lover came in to see it when he got home from work, and he said "Holy crap, it looks freaking new!". It totally shocked me when I walked in the bathroom this morning when hubs was taking a shower. Usually it looks like he's standing behind a frosted glass door where all you can see is his head. But this morning, it was completely clear. Like brand spanking new.

So if your nemesis is soap scum, give it a shot. It'll cost ya under $5 even if you have to buy everything, which is cheaper than the other cleaners that aren't working. I will warn you that it stinks to high heaven and I'd recommend putting on the bathroom vent. But for results like these, it was worth it for me.

No, I'm not getting paid to post this. I wish I was! But ya know, Dawn making people, feel free to send a big ole check my way.

Update! I did have a nice reader send me this. Thanks Herb! "Today, I called P&G - NO ammonia or ammonia producing ingredients in Dawn Blue.  I also asked was there a difference between Original Blue Dawn, Dawn Original Scent & Dawn Ultra Original Scent.  The P&G person said Original Blue Dawn is referred to as Non Ultra (not concentrated) while Dawn Ultra (2X) Blue Original Scent is concentrated.  The non Ultra is hard to find so most of the folks in your blog comments that complain the mix is too soapy are probably using Ultra & need to halve the Dawn."

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