How to clean plastic bathtub is an ordinary problem in your bathroom. Dirt comes to all of your furniture including the bathtub. Don’t worry!
Bathtubs are great to enjoy a relaxing bath whenever you feel tired. However, over time due to everyday use, bathtubs can get dirty and stained.
You do not want a dirty and moldy bathtub in your house, since it does not only affect the appearance of your house, it is also unhygienic.
Plastic bathtubs can be stained and dirty easily because they’re in contact with water and water alone.
Sometimes, chemicals and other treatments will be added to the water in order to help with the cleaning process and help treat injuries and wounds. The dirt caused by these chemicals and treatments could stick to the tub and become a permanent stain.
Cleaning your plastic bathtub and other surfaces in and around your bathroom is critical to your health.
You never know what bacteria could breed in the damp and humid surfaces in these areas.
By cleaning regularly, you can control the growth of microbes and remove bad odors. Otherwise, you could get sick and potentially make other members of your family sick as well.
Plastic bathtubs are durable and long-lasting. However, they tend to accumulate stains over time. Plastic bathtubs can be cleaned thoroughly with the right cleaning tools and proper technique.
Do you have a bathtub that is discolored and stained? Do you want to get rid of all that unattractive residue? Here you will learn more about how to clean a plastic bathtub.
Contents
What you need to do before cleaning plastic bathtub
1. Wear your protective gear
It’s important to wear the proper safety equipment when cleaning with a chemical in a plastic tub in order to protect yourself from potential damage.
Wearing protective gear such as gloves, goggles, and masks will decrease the chances of your skin getting irritated or damaging your vital body part such as the eye.
Always remember to wear protective gear when using harsh chemicals!
2. Empty your bathtub
When you clean your bathtub, you should start by emptying your bathtub. By emptying the tub first, you will be able to access all the corners of your bathtub and clean it thoroughly.
By emptying your bathtub first, you’ll be able to see the stains clearly, so you will know what areas to scrub harder.
How to clean plastic bathtub
1. Alcohol
For cleaning your plastic bathtub, rubbing alcohol is the best you can use.
To clean your tub, start by flushing it out with hot water. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
Then, rub or wipe the surface of the tub with some rubbing alcohol on a wet paper towel or cotton ball to remove stains or mildew.
Wipe gently and slowly and don’t apply pressure or use any sharp and hard objects and materials to rub the tub.
Make sure to rinse the tub off afterward so any remaining rubbing alcohol doesn’t dry onto the surface of your tub.
2. Chlorine
Chlorine isn’t just used to disinfect water. Chlorine could be an effective solution for getting rid of those stains from the bathtub. This is possible because the oxidizing effect of chlorine could get rid of most of any stains on your plastic bathtub.
To use chlorine to clean a bathtub, you can simply sprinkle chlorine to a bathtub that has stains. Wait 15 minutes for the chlorine to work on the stain. Scrub with a brush to loosen the stains, then flush all of it off with water.
Chlorine destroys stains by further dissolving them into smaller particles that will then be easier to flush or scrub off. The chemical reaction will continue until the stain is almost entirely gone.
Remember, It’s important to know the right way of using chemicals. Chlorine is very harmful if it’s not handled properly. When cleaning with chlorine, always wear protective gear like masks, hats, gloves, and glasses.
3. Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide produced more oxygen than plain water does, which is why it’s often used to unclog drains and toilets. The bubbles produced by hydrogen peroxide also make it more efficient at removing dirty stains than using just water would.
In particular, it could be used to remove mildew from plastic bathtubs.
Hydrogen peroxide can also be used to remove wine stains from ceramic bathtubs.
In order to do so, pour a generous amount of peroxide into the bathtub.
Let it sit on the surface for 10 minutes. Then, use a scouring brush to scrub off the moldy spots.
Flush the area with water after you’re done.
If you want the best result, you can mix hydrogen peroxide with baking soda. By doing this, you can create a paste that you can use to scrub your bathtub.
Create a paste by adding 3 tablespoons of baking soda and 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide to a bowl.
Apply this paste onto the stained area of the tub and leave it for about 10 minutes. Scrub until the stains disappear. Then, rinse it all with water.
4. Baking soda and vinegar
Another tip of how to clean plastic bathtub is using your home ingredients.
Baking soda and vinegar are both common household ingredients. Baking soda has strong de-greasing properties that can be used to clean oil or grease stains.
Vinegar is commonly used to clean tubs because its acidic properties soften soap scum, allowing it to be easily brushed away.
Mix baking soda with water to make the paste, then sprinkle it into the bathtub especially in the stained area. Let it stand for 10 minutes. Then, mix vinegar with water into a spray bottle and spray it on the stained area of your bathtub. Scrub with a brush until the stain is gone. Then, flush with water to clean it all up.
5. Lemon water
Lemon remains to be an excellent natural cleaner. The acidic content in lemon water actually cleans the tub most effectively; also, the anti-bacterial property of lemon juice prevents unpleasant odor after cleaning.
Spray the lemon water on the tub and leave it there until evening, or for a whole night. Then, scrub the stain and mold away.
Repeat this procedure until the tub is clean.
Finally, flush it with water to get rid of any residue left by the acid in the lemon.
6. Hand sanitizer
Cleaning your bathtub is easy with hand sanitizer. The active ingredient in hand sanitizer is alcohol, which easily removes stains on the plastic.
Fill up your bathtub with two inches of hot water, and add one cup of hand sanitizer. Allow the mixture to dissolve. Then, take an old toothbrush (or whatever your preferred brush is), and scrub the sides of your bathtub.
The hand sanitizer will dissolve the mildew stains, and get rid of them for good.
7. Dish soap
Dish soap is another effective cleaning solution for your plastic bathtub.
To apply it, mix the dish soap with water and spray it on your bathtub. It’ll foam, so scrub it all over using a sponge or brush. The bubbles will loosen any dirt and grime.
After that, flush the bathtub with plenty of fresh running water.
8. Cleaning liquid
Cleaning liquid, or bathroom cleaner, is a very common cleaning agent. There are so many brands available in the market. They can do a wide range of things: removing grease and grime, removing rust, and so on.
Just make sure to choose a cleaning liquid made for plastic bathtubs, in case the chemical in the cleaning liquid is not compatible with plastic.
Mix the cleaner with water and spray it all over the tub. Using a scrubbing brush, scrub the tub until it’s cleaned. After that, flush it with water to remove any stains from the bathtub.
9. Call a professional cleaner
It can be really frustrating to attempt to clean the bathtub yourself. If there are stains, you might not know what can remove them.
The last thing you want to do is cause more damage to the tub by trying to clean it yourself. Instead of doing that, call out a professional cleaning service to handle it for you! They will come to your home and give it a quick thorough cleaning!
Professional cleaners can help you get rid of the dirt in your bathtub, and keep it looking great. They will be able to bring your bathtub back to its previous condition, without causing any damage.
Conclusion
You might think that cleaning your bathtub is something you can do on your own, but you’re wrong. Bathtubs are covered in dirt and germs, which can cause all sorts of nasty problems.
Here are a few tips for a quick and easy oh how to clean plastic bathtub:
- Alcohol
- Chlorine
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Baking soda and vinegar
- Lemon water
- Hand sanitizer
- Dish soap
- Cleaning liquid
- Call a professional cleaner
If you want to clean another bathroom part, you can check how to clean toilet stains or how to get rid of urine smell in bathroom article!
