DIY or Store TUB CLEANER – Which is more Effective?

Last Updated on March 18, 2024

Have you ever had the feeling that your bathtub is still grimy and soap-scummy even after you scrub and scrub?  Wonder if it’s because you are using the wrong tub cleaner?  And if so, what is the most effective tub cleaner? 

I do.  (I promise I’m not a boring person!)

Cleaning the tub (and the whole bathroom for that matter) is a thankless job.  Therefore, if I spend precious time on my hands and knees scrubbing the tub, I want it to sparkle and shine for all to see and admire.  OK, well, maybe not for all to see and admire.  Maybe just my husband and kids.  On second thought, they aren’t going to notice. Let’s face it. I’m the only one who will appreciate it.  BUT that’s ok, I count too, right??

Why am I Testing Effectiveness of Tub Cleaners?

Let me backup for a minute.  When I got pregnant with our twins I couldn’t handle cleaning the bathroom.  I was working fulltime and feeling like utter crapola, so we hired a cleaner.  Her name was Nancy.   She was fantastic but came only once a month for 2-3 hours.  So while she did phenomenal job, she could only spend so much time cleaning the tub.  

I knew that soap scum was building up in the tub, but didn’t do anything about it.  With all that it takes to be a working parent of multiple children, the tub was not exactly at the top of my list. 

But recently I stepped away from my Corporate America job to stay home with the kids.  Our household income was cut in half.  My husband and I looked long and hard at our finances and cut back.  And while I’d love to argue that Nancy the Cleaner was an absolute necessity, I knew that it wasn’t going to happen.  Letting Nancy go may have been one of the hardest days of my life!  Sigh…… I miss her so….

So, I put on my big girl pants, grabbed a scrubbed brush and declared, “Soap scum – your days are numbered!” 

• As a side note, have you ever wondered what soap scum is???  The purpose of a bathtub is to get dirt and grime off of us (duh….).  Soap scum is a concoction of those dead skin cells, dirt and oils from our bodies plus the remnants from our beauty products (a.k.a. soap and shampoo). The fatty ingredients in these soaps and shampoos react with the minerals naturally found in our water to create a slime.  This slime clings to surfaces.   My thoughts?  Wow this is, uh, gross.

I was determined to get this tub clean and sparkling again.  It needed a good deep cleaning. And I needed the right cleaner to get it done.  But what was that product?

I decided to check out the cleaning aisle in my local grocery store, Stop & Shop.  Sure I’ve bought bathroom cleaner before, but I usually just grabbed the same product and moved on.  Let’s face it, a girl prioritizes her time appropriately in the grocery store and spends most time in the cookie and dessert aisles. 

I stopped and studied the aisle. 

Yikes!  There are a TON of products out there.  Which one is the best?   A bit overwhelming, isn’t it?  How do all these products differentiate themselves?

And on top of it, there is a growing movement to reduce toxic chemical exposure and to DIY homemade cleaners.  I’ve always used store-bought cleaners, but I was curious.  And I had friends swear by them.  How would natural homemade cleaners stack up against store products?

So I decided to find out.  Damn that curiosity! 

Tub Finishes Need Different Cleaners

 I should mention that my tub is enamel.  Tubs, in general, come in 3 types or finishes:

1. Cast iron
2. Acrylic/ fiberglass
3. Enamel

If you don’t know what your tub is, check out Hunker.com. Each material have different cleaning needs so if you have a cast iron or acrylic or fiberglass tub, my results might not apply to your tub.

So….drum roll please….  My experiment. 

If not interested in the details but you’re chopping at the bit to see who won, feel free to scroll down to “Conclusion” to see which product won.

Methodology (aka How I Tested the Bathtub Cleaners)

1. Remove items (aka kids bath toys) from tub. Wear gloves and place a rolled towel under knees to protect back.
2. Apply painter’s tape vertically at 10” intervals across the tub to create a “box” for each cleaner.  This ensures that each cleaner has approximately the same amount of area to clean.
3. Ventilate by turning on fan and opening bathroom window.  One product (Clorox) contains bleach, which gives off a noxious smell.  Let’s not pass out from the fumes!
4. Apply products.
   1. For sprays (aka store-bought products), apply 5 sprays starting with two squirts at each top and bottom corners and one in the middle of each box. 
   2. For pastes (aka homemade cleaners), use the soft side of a Scotch Bright sponge.  Starting from the top work your way down in an S-pattern down to the bottom.
5. Rub-a-dub-dub, it’s time to scrub!  Working section by section with a scrub brush (rinsing the brush in-between each product), buff in circular motions especially in the tough spots.  Using a timer, spend 30 seconds scrubbing each section.
6. Sit for 10 minutes.  [I’d like to say I took advantage on the 10 minutes by folding laundry or loading the dishwasher, but in full disclosure, I just checked my email and saw who was doing what on Facebook…..]
7. Rinse tub using showerhead.

As a side note, I also concluded that I hate, hate, HATE my bathtub’s hideous brown color.  Seriously, who decided THIS was the BEST color for this tub?  UGH.  Someday we will re-do the bathroom.  May your bathtub be a more pleasant color.

Analysis (aka How was the Tub Cleaner Effectiveness Determined?)

What were cleaners measured on?  I decided on 3 factors to measure effectiveness and user experience of cleaning soap scum in the tub.

• Sight – after rinsing did any soap scum still appear?  Did I still have stripes down the sides of the tub?
• Smell – how did the product smell?
• Feel – after cleaning and rinsing, did I feel any remaining soap scum/ grit when I ran my fingers across tub?

The Contenders (aka Which Tub Cleaner were Tested?)

I decided to test a diverse group of products.  I chose two DIY homemade “recipes” found on-line, two store-bought “green” cleaners and one store-bought regular cleaner. 

#1 – Bren Did:

Bren is a mom, military wife and blogger who writes about green cleaning, among other things.  I came across her blog while researching for this post.  She performed her own experiment comparing 10 homemade cleaners.  I used her recipe for Grout Cleaner #3, which she ranked first (in a tie).

Ingredients:

• ½ cup Baking Soda
• ¼ cup Hydrogen Peroxide
• 1 tsp Dish Soap (I used Palmolive)

Analysis

• Sight – Soap scum was gone, no stripes. 
• Smell – Quite pleasant.  It smelled like dish soap.
• Feel – little to no grit remained. 

Other Thoughts:

• It was thicker than the others – it felt like a thick exfoliant.  I liked that. Perhaps that it why it adhered to the side of the tub so well and removed the soap scum and grit. 
• However, since it stuck so well to the tub sides, it took longer to wash off with the showerhead than the store-bought products.

#2 – Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach Foamer for the Bathroom – Fresh Scent

Ingredients:

• The ingredient list contains a lot of chemicals I can’t pronounce   

Analysis:

• Sight – Soap scum was gone, no stripes. 
• Smell – Overwhelming bleach smell even though labeled “Fresh Scent”.  I’d say with confidence it was not fresh….. The instructions recommend opening up windows and ensuring good ventilation.   
• Feel – little to no grit remained.

Other Thoughts:

• I bought the foamer version, which I expected to adhere better to the tub side than a regular spray.  It did adhere better than the other two store-bought products, but not as well as the homemade cleaners.
• There is something about bleach that is comforting.  That may sound strange, but I was brought up that nothing kills germs and disinfects as well as Clorox.  Sure the bleach smell singes nose hair, but I was taught that’s how you know your tub was clean 😉

#3 – CLR ® Bath & Kitchen Cleaner

Ingredients:

• Per manufacturer’s website, this cleaner is part of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA’s)  EPA’s Safer Choice Program which recognizes products that are a safer alternative to chemicals and contains no phosphates, ammonia or bleach.  

Analysis:

• Sight – Soap scum was not gone. Stripes remained. 
• Smell – neutral.  It didn’t smell pleasant, but then again, it didn’t singe my nose hair.
• Feel – grit and some stripes remained

#4 – Method Bathroom Cleaner

Ingredients:

• Per manufacturer’s website, the cleaner uses a plant-based formula that harnesses the strength of naturally derived, non-toxic ingredients. 

Analysis:

• Sight – Soap scum was not gone. Stripes remained. 
• Smell – Quite pleasant.  Hard to describe but I didn’t mind it at all
• Feel – grit and some stripes remained

#5 – Melissa Maker

Melissa Maker is an entrepreneur, cleaning expert, founder of Toronto’s most popular boutique cleaning service, and star of the Clean My Space channel on YouTube. She claims she still hates to clean but she looks pretty happy in her videos…

One of her YouTube videos demonstrates the best way to clean a tub.  She uses her own homemade concoction, which I put to the test.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup Baking Soda
• ¼ cup Dish Soap (I used Palmolive)
• (Optional:  Essential oils for scent)

Analysis

• Sight – Soap scum was gone, no stripes. 
• Smell – Quite pleasant.  It smelled like dish soap.
• Feel – little to no grit remained. 

Other Thoughts:

• It was thicker than the store-bought products and stuck well to the tub sides, but not as thick as Bren Did (Product #1).  Maybe because this recipe calls for less baking soda it felt more soapy than Product #1.     
• However, since it stuck so well to the tub sides, it took longer to wash off with the shower head than the store-bought products.

Results  (aka The Good, The Bad and the Scummy)

In all 3 categories, the two homemade products performed the best.  Both did an excellent job at removing soap scum, and provided a pleasant smell while cleaning. 

But who was the winner? 

WINNER: Melissa Miller (i.e. Product #5).  Both products shared similar ingredients (baking soda and dish soap) but with a different ratio.  Melissa used a 1:1 ratio of baking soda to dish soap (Bren Did had a 2:1 ratio).  Melissa’s had a soapier feel and was slightly easier/faster to rinse out of the tub. 

Here’s the video that Melissa where shows her homemade cleaner and how she applied it to clean a tub.

SECOND PLACE:  Bren Did (Product #1):  While ranked second, I admit that I’m intrigued by Bren Did’s inclusion of hydrogen peroxide, which acts as a disinfectant without bleach.  Next time I make a batch of Melissa’s cleaner, I might add in some hydrogen peroxide and see what happens….

What about the store-bought cleaners? 

THIRD PLACE: Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach Foamer for the Bathroom – Fresh Scent (Product #2): When it came to the Sight and Feel categories, Clorox did the job as well as the homemade products.  And pro – you don’t have to prep/mix ingredients.  However, that smell.  PHEW!  But I have to admit there is something about bleach that is comforting.  That may sound strange, but I was brought up that nothing kills germs and disinfects as well as Clorox.  Sure the bleach smell singes nose hair, but I was taught that’s how you know your tub was clean 😉  I think I’ll stick with the homemade option unless I’m totally lazy and don’t want to mix up a batch of cleaner.  Or maybe in the summer when I have all the windows open and the kids are playing outside. 

FOURTH PLACE:  Method Bathroom Cleaner (Product #4): This was the clear winner for Smell out of the store-bought products.  And depending on your opinion, you might think it smells better than the homemade.  Under the Sight and Feel categories, Method didn’t cut though soap scum as efficiently as the homemade and Clorox cleaners.  

FIFTH PLACE: CLR ® Bath & Kitchen Cleaner  (Product #3):  This one failed in the Sight and Feel categories, and was a “Meh” in the Smell category.  So, this one carried up the rear in the rankings.   

Conclusion (aka Which is the Most Effective Tub Cleaner?)

If you scrolled through the details, here’s where you stop scrolling!

The two homemade cleaners were clearly the most effective.  Both did a great deep-clean, cutting through soap scum, and provided a good user experience (i.e. pleasant smell). The winner (Melissa Miller’s DIY) was slightly easier to rinse off the tub.  However, it was a close call.  And I’m intrigued by Bren Did’s addition of hydrogen peroxide to disinfect.  The next time I mix up a batch of Melissa Miller’s recipe, I’m going to add hydrogen peroxide and see what happens.  

One store-bought product (Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach Foamer for the Bathroom – Fresh Scent (Product #2) also effectively cut through soap scum, but gave off a strong bleach smell that could singe nosehair.  Another store-bought product (Method Bathroom Cleaner – Product #4) had a pleasant smell, but didn’t deep clean enough to remove soap scum. 

After the experiment was finished, I did a second application of the two products that failed soap scum removal – CLR® Bath & Kitchen cleaner (Product #3) and Method Backroom Cleaner (Product #4).  In both cases, with some extra elbow grease, the grit and stripes disappeared.

BUT The Winner Isn’t the Cleaner I Use The Most…..

Between conducting this experiment and writing this post, surprisingly I find myself using Method the most.

WHAT?!?!?

Let me explain. While it didn’t make the top cut for deep cleaning the tub, it works perfectly with my new cleaning schedule.  Now that I’m home full-time, cleaning is a bit more frequent.  I use Method weekly to clean my vanity and tub.  And as long as I don’t let the soap scum accumulate, Method is perfect.  Its smells great and I like the idea of using environmentally-friendly products.

But I can see mixing up a batch of Melissa or Bren’s DIY tub cleaners.  Maybe every other month to do a deep clean of the tub.  Check back with me in a few months.

Note that I only experimented with cleaning only the tub basin and not the tile and grout.  It’s quite possible that rankings may change. 

Maybe I should re-do the experiment on the tile and grout?  What do you think?  Let me know in the comments below what you thought about this experiment and if you would like to see more! 

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Photo credits by Emily Austin and Kirsten Marie Ebbesen on Unsplash.com