How to Get Your Bathtub Squeaky Clean

In this post I want to share the best tips and the best cleaning products on how to get your bathtub squeaky clean.

I have been a little quiet on here lately and here’s why:

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been obsessively, let me repeat, obsessively watching clean with me videos on YouTube. If you haven’t watched a clean with me video yet, do it. Amanda from This Crazy Life is one of my favorites!!! There is something about watching other people clean that is so satisfying. I guess it’s similar to kids watching other kids play with toys. Who knows? 

Not only are they amazing to watch, but they have inspired me to spend a fortune on new cleaning products as well as give my entire house a deep clean and guess what? I had so much fun, and there is absolutely no better feeling than being clean and organized.

Before my cleaning spree, one of my absolute least favorite places to clean was the bathtub. In fact, I despised it. When it came time to clean it I would give Carlos (hubby) puppy eyes and maybe even offer a special massage 😉 to get him to get in there and scrub out that scum. 

He would bring out the gloves and bleach and make it shine, or so I thought…

However, after a couple of showers, I would start to see those same damn marks on the shower walls. Do you know what I am talking about? It looks like dried watermarks. Well, they aren’t just dried watermarks, they are watermarks stuck to layers of soap scum.

Gross right? Well, I found the perfect cleaning process that not only made my bathtub squeaky clean but actually makes me excited to clean the tub.

It was such a satisfying bathtub cleaning experience that I am going to share my process with you. I hope it inspires you, and please let me know in the comments below if you use this same product for your bathtub and share any other products that you recommend. Happy cleaning!

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What you will need for a squeaky clean bathtub

I normally find most of my cleaning products to be cheaper on Amazon, however, for these products I compared the prices and found some of them to be cheaper at Target. I have linked the products to both Amazon and Target for your convenience.

• Multipurpose cleaner concentrate

Concentrates go along way. Stop buying individual bottles and buy the concentrate. As soon as your bottle is empty, add a few teaspoons of concentrate and fill the rest with water. Voila!

1. Mr Clean Moonlight Breeze Scent– This is my ABSOLUTE favorite cleaning scent. I can’t get enough of it!
2. Mrs. Meyer’s Concentrate. My favorite scents are the Peony, Rose and Lylac. What about you?
3.  Fabuloso Multipurpose Cleaner

• Oxo Good Grips Deep Clean Brush Set
•  Scotch Bright Stay Clean Sponges

If you don’t already use these sponges, you need to start using them now! I explain why below!

• Scotch Bright Stay Clean Sponges   
• Cleaning gloves
• Spray Bottles
• Method Daily Shower Spray Cleaner from Amazon 
• Two large bowls/cups

How to get your bathtub squeaky clean

Step 1: Make your mixture

*Updated 7/21: Since I wrote those post, Fabuloso is definitely no longer my favorite. I prefer Mr. Clean and Mrs. Meyers. They are linked in the section above!

I think I have been in the dark a while, but the main product to this cleaning process is Fabuloso. I cannot believe I haven’t converted to Fabuloso beforehand. Not only is it a multipurpose cleaner, but it leaves a lasting scent for 24 hours after you clean. It is also very affordable and lasts a long time. A little bit of this miracle solution goes a long way.

The label says to mix one cup of Fabuloso with a gallon of water. Since I like this solution so much that for my convenience, I made a spray bottle of solution. I did the math—and let me tell you, I am awful at math, so please correct me if I’m wrong—but I put 1 fluid ounce of Fabuloso into these awesome amber glass spray bottles and filled the rest up with water. You could also use an empty, washed out spray bottle. The Meyer’s bottles are great to reuse for solutions.

This mixture can be used not only for the bathtub but for the floors, toilets, countertops, anywhere. In the reviews for Fabuloso, I even read that someone adds Fabuloso to their laundry for extra scent. I’ll have to try this out next. 

Step 2: Take everything out of the shower and generously spray everywhere

Make sure you remove all of your bath products. Also, if you have a shower caddy, remove that as well so you can ensure proper cleaning of the entire bathtub.

Fabuloso has a strong smell, so make sure to turn on your air vent and keep kids out of the area while you are cleaning.

Let the product sit for 5-10 minutes.

Next, gear up in a comfy cleaning outfit. You will become one with the bathtub for a while depending on how much scum there is, so I wore comfy leggings and an old shirt I didn’t mind getting dirty. Wear a pair of sandals or go barefoot as I did. 

Bring all of your cleaning areas to the bathtub. Since the tub is such a large area, I filled up a large bowl with water and Fabuloso and placed my Oxo Good Grips Deep Clean Brush Set, and an old Scotch Bright Stay Clean Sponge in the bowl.

Side note: Scotch Bright Stay Clean Sponges are AMAZING. If you are using any other kind of sponge, throw it out right now and get these sponges. They last so long, are non-scratch, and are perfect for cleaning small dishes. We mostly hand wash dishes in our house, and I only use two sponges a month. They never rip or tear, and they do not get that nasty sponge stench. 

I love these sponges so much, hence why I used an old sponge for my bathtub cleaning. No way would I use a brand-new, glorious Scotch Bright Stay Clean Sponge for this dirty work. 

Step 3: Get nitty-gritty with your tub.

Are you ready for the cool and kind of nasty part? Here we go. Now that your product has marinated your bathtub, take your Scotch Bright Stay Clean Sponge, soak it in your solution. In small sections of your bathtub, using the scrub side of the sponge, clean in circular motions. Once you get to your 7th or 8th circular motion, you might start to see some black specks surface. Do you know that that is? Yup, scum. Layers and layers of scum that has been hiding and masked by all of the other cleaning products.

I know this is gross, but I got a weird satisfaction from witnessing all of the scum surface.

Next, fill your second bowl up with water and rinse the scum and solution off. Dip your sponge into your Fabuloso solution and move on to the next area. You can feel the difference in the now, clean section versus sections with scum.

Repeat this step all over your bathtub walls and bathtub itself.

Once you have felt you have gotten all of the scum off the walls. Take your Oxo Good Grips Deep Clean Brush Set and clean all of the bathtub’s crevices. Remove all of the pink mold around the faucet and drain. Clean in the opening of the drain.

Also, if you have a soap holder built into the bathtub, don’t forget to clean under there. You will be surprised at how nasty it is.

Don’t forget to get the outside of the tub as well. Once you are done, make sure to run water down all of the walls. Lastly, turn the shower on and let it get the last bit of solution out of your tub.

Once you have rinsed all of the scum off, with your spray solution, spray the bathtub one more time and wipe the tub down.

Are you blinded by the beauty yet? Ugh, just writing about it makes me want to go clean my tub!!

Just kidding, I’m not that crazy. Okay, maybe just a little.

Well, that’s a wrap.It might seem like a lot, but this deep bathtub cleaning doesn’t need to happen all the time. I will probably do this deep bathtub cleaning once a month, and a generic clean with Comet clean every two weeks, and daily I apply this no scrub, Method Daily Shower Spray Cleaner to dissolve and prevent soap scum buildup.

I hope you enjoyed these cleaning tips. Don’t forget to comment below with any thoughts, questions, or concerns. Also, please share your bathtub cleaning tips with me, as well. I love learning new ideas!

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