How to Remove Lime, Soap Scum from Tub??

Updated on August 23, 2011
J.B. asks from Huntington, IN
19 answers

We are in the middle of putting our house up for sale. I am trying to get everything all nice a clean. We don't have a water softner so our hardwater keeps living stains and soap scum in our shower. What works best of removing these things? If anyone can help I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!!!

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D.K.

answers from Indianapolis on

VINEGAR!! VINEGAR!! VINEGAR! However, if you want to get rid of the vinegar smell, might want to add lemon juice and or rinse w/ some lemon water.

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S.C.

answers from Fort Wayne on

We have hard water too. I have tried bleach and several cleaners. We found that The Works works best for our tub/shower and the toilet. It seems no matter what I do, I can't get it perfectly white though. Warning: The Works smells really really strong! I have to make sure the fan is on and I always wear gloves. The nice thing is that you just spray it on and wipe it off. Good luck selling your house!

1 mom found this helpful
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C.R.

answers from Columbus on

We have well water and have dealt with really orange showers! The best thing we have found is The Works. We did not have any luck with Limeaway or CLR.

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J.C.

answers from Fort Wayne on

When I was young, we had really hard water, I'm talking rust all along where the water came out of the tub. My mom would use The Works, toilet bowl cleaner on it and it would get it totally off.

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C.R.

answers from New York on

Lime-out is the best product! I didn't know at first that i had lime in my tub so i was initially trying Clorox but it turns out no matter how much you use and scrub Clorox will never get lime out, so my cousin recommended Lime-Out and it was amazing, my tub is gleaming right now! P.s. don't try Lime-away or CLR it is less concentrated and does not have the same result.

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K.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

Several have mentioned using The Works. I'll just make a note that I use the The Works TOLIET BOWL cleaner, not the tub and showere cleaner for really tough rust stains. You can use it in your toliet and in the tub and shower. It works the best and doesn't take much scrubbing. Sometimes I can find it at the local Dollar Store and I stock up!

Good luck with the house and the move!

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T.A.

answers from Cleveland on

I have well water and I too have to say Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. I just buy the standard ones, not the ones with Febreeze. They are the best! Just be careful using them on your walls, test an area first because I have heard of them "scrubbing the gloss right off", leaving a dull spot. I also use them on my glass top stove and they work great! Good luck!

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S.D.

answers from Indianapolis on

We don't have a softener either:( Everything in our shower has a pink tint to it from the hard water and a layer of soap scum. The best thing I've found for both the bath and the toilet is to put white vinegar in a spray bottle and spray an area with it. Then put baking soda in a salt shaker and shake it over the vinegar. You're get a great effervescent effect that chews away at the crud.

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D.G.

answers from Columbus on

limeaway and elbow grease

M.S.

answers from Columbus on

I've tried several different cleaners and what I've found works is CLR for the lime and the magic erasers get the soap scum off the tub. Now, you will have to still do a little scrubbing, but the magic erasers take it off better than anything else I've tried.
Good luck with the move!! (We've been there- 6 houses, 4 states in 10 years! :)

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S.W.

answers from Cincinnati on

We like CLR. It works great at removing lime.

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K.W.

answers from Cleveland on

Hi J.,
Try the Mr. Clean magic erasers for the soap scum. It works great on my tub.
Good luck.

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M.L.

answers from Indianapolis on

Hi J.,
One of my Mom businesses is residential housekeeping. I started by working in hotels where I learned a liitle lesson on hard water and soap scum. Although tilex is a good product I found out that Pantene Shampoo is the best! I know it sounds crazy cuz I wash my hair with it. but Pantene is Awesome! It works on hardwater and soap scum great just squirt some Pantene on a scrubbing sponge and go to town. It should get rid of the problem and works miracles on glass shower doors. Good Luck.

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S.M.

answers from Dayton on

The easiest thing I've ever used for tubs and showers is Kaboom. Spray it on after you've bathed/showered (surface is wet already) and spread it around with an old shower scrubby. Wait about two minutes and use the scrubby again, then rinse. Not much elbow grease required, fumes aren't nasty, and the tub will sparkle.

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M.P.

answers from Indianapolis on

CLR or Limeaway are great. Then, use Scrubfree shower spray to clean up once or twice a week.

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M.W.

answers from Cleveland on

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser!

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C.B.

answers from Columbus on

Shaklee's Get Clean products work great! A combo of their Basic H2 and Nature Bright will clean just about everything. The products are all natural with no chemicals so they are safe around kids/pets and have hundreds of uses. It's all super concentrated so a little bit goes a long way! I'm actually a distributor and would be happy to send you some free samples if you want. Just let me know!

-C.
http://shaklee.net/carriebarta

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H.H.

answers from Elkhart on

Hello,
We just bought a house last October and the tub had the worst lime build up I had ever seen I tryed everything. The thing that worked and sounds kinda silly maybe but, the works toilet bowl cleaner. It works great but, do not let it stand in the tub for a long period of time. Put it on and scrub it off with a scrub pad. I had to repeat a couple times but it took it right off.

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L.H.

answers from Cleveland on

Hi J. :) I use either Bar Keepers Friend or Bon Ami (both are very inexpensive). After that, I use Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom spray to make it shiny. Good luck!

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