How to Disinfect a Bathtub

Are you adequately sanitizing your bathtub to kill germs and mold and guarantee your family is bathing in clean water? Explore step-by-step directions on how to disinfect a bathtub for total peace of mind.

We use tubs to get clean, yet our bathtub and shower cubicles are often shockingly dirty. The mess we wash off our bodies reaches the bathtub floor, while bathroom conditions make mold growth a strong possibility. Combine this with pet fur, human hair, soap scum, and dust, and the tub gets nasty. Rinsing out your bathtub after use isn’t enough to ensure it’s clean.

Are you suddenly wondering how to sanitize my bathtub shower? Despite seeming daunting, disinfecting a bathtub is straightforward with the correct information and equipment. You don’t need expensive store-bought bathroom cleaners or caustic chemicals to ensure your tub is sterile. You can make your own cleaner for a bathtub and shower to disinfect your tub and bathe with confidence.

How to Sanitize My Bathtub Shower

Do you know how to disinfect a bathtub? A filthy-looking bathtub is just gross. Nobody wants to bathe in a grimy tub or shower, and bacteria or mold build up on these surfaces if not regularly sanitized.

Discover hacks for disinfecting a bathtub with chlorine bleach, white vinegar, baking soda, and a Magic Eraser. You may also use liquid dish soap, oxygen bleach, DIY paste, natural bathtub cleaner, hard water deposit remover, hydrogen peroxide, and more.

Importance of Bathtub Cleaning

Your bathtub needs more than a spring cleaning to serve your family well. We climb into our bathtubs to wash several times a week; if the tub is dirty, we are bathing in water filled with mold and bacteria. A dirty bathtub goes beyond a cosmetic issue.

An unclean tub looks unappealing and makes your bathroom appear shabby, yet it also has implications for your health. Taking a bath in contaminated water can lead to dermatitis or skin infections. Washing your dirty body in water from a filthy tub only worsens matters and is detrimental to good hygiene.

Why Bathtub Stains Occur

We rely on our bathtub for personal hygiene, yet a dirty tub is inefficient for cleaning. Bathtubs are surprisingly prone to stains and mold.

Although the tub is where we go to get clean, it becomes dirty quickly. The grime we wash from our bodies ends up in the tub, along with hair and skin cells. Soap scum and constant moisture predispose baths to mold growth, making for a not-so-sanitary bathing setting without regular cleaning.

What Are Bath Tubs Made From?

The first step in cleaning up your tub is finding out what it’s made from. Porcelain bathtubs are a trendy and affordable choice. A porcelain tub is a little heavier than acrylic or fiberglass and far lighter than traditional enameled cast iron.

Acrylic tubs are acrylic sheets with fiberglass reinforcement that are portable and reasonably simple to install. Fiberglass is similar to acrylic but cheaper and less durable. Many homes feature an acrylic tub as they’re adaptable, durable, and offer a variety of affordable design possibilities.

Pricey tubs include enamel cast iron, a traditional and durable bathtub material, and engineered stone or solid surface tubs. Some cleaners are safe and efficient on one kind of tub and destructive to another.

Determine the type of tub in your home before proceeding with cleaning. Then, follow our easy solutions to clean a fiberglass tub and walls to keep your bathroom free from bacteria.

How to Disinfect a Bathtub With Bleach

Traditional chlorine bleach is a staple cleaning product in most households. Chlorine bleach is widely available and cost-efficient, and it destroys mold, bacteria, and fungus as it cleans and brightens. Eliminate grime quickly and kill microbes using bleach’s caustic cleaning power.

Chlorine bleach is an excellent cleaner, yet it’s dangerous if mishandled. Wear rubber gloves to protect yourself, and open the windows to ventilate the bathroom as you work with bleach.

Measure out the bleach and cold water into the basin and swirl the rag through it to blend. Use the liquid to scrub the bottom of your tub or shower, leave it to rest for up to ten minutes, and wash it away.

Disinfecting a Bathtub With White Vinegar

Distilled white vinegar is a food-grade and all-natural option for cleaning and sanitizing your shower, bathtub, or your kid’s bath toys without worrying about toxic compounds.

White vinegar, or cleaning vinegar, contains acetic acid. This acid destroys microorganisms, including mold, as it dissolves grime. Craft your own safe and efficient tub cleaner with this pantry staple.

Measure and transfer the distilled white vinegar and warm water into the spray bottle, twist on the cap and shake. Spritz your entire tub or shower, leave it for five minutes, and scrub stains with a soft, damp cloth.

Alternatively, pour the white vinegar and water into a bucket to craft a disinfecting soak for bath toys and other shower accessories.

Baking Soda Will Deodorize a Smelly Tub

Baking soda is famous for its role in baking the best desserts as well as for its cleaning and deodorizing prowess. You might think you have no cleaning supplies, but if there’s baking soda in the pantry, you’re all set to clean and deodorize your bathtub.

Baking soda is an odor eater, so it takes in bad smells and carries them away. Use baking soda as a mild abrasive cleaner by sprinkling it into a damp cloth and scrubbing your shower floor. Or, oust an unwanted odor from your tub or shower cubicle by covering the floor with a fine layer of baking soda powder, leaving it overnight, and rinsing it off.

A Magic Eraser Is an Abrasive Cleaner

A Magic Eraser is a multipurpose stain remover to tackle difficult residue or discoloration. Magic Erasers are blocks of melamine foam with many tiny air bubbles. The foam is scrubbed back and forth over a blemish to abrasively slough it off one layer at a time.

Magic Erasers are tough on stains, including rust, hard water marks, dried-on scum, and discoloration, but safe for most tub and shower varieties. Purchase a Magic Eraser at your neighborhood hardware store. Check the product label to ensure you choose an eraser marked as appropriate for the kind of tub you’re cleaning.

Follow the manufacturer’s directions closely, as some erasers are used dry, and others are dampened and squeezed out. Work with light pressure and gradually use the eraser harder. Keep the friction over just the stain and not the clean regions of the tub.

Dish Soap for Porcelain and Acrylic Bathtub Cleaning

We rely on dish soap to safely eliminate tough stain marks from plates or cookware. The detergent and surfactant molecules in dish soap also erase greasy buildup or discoloration in the bathtub. We associate it with dishes, yet liquid dish soap is a versatile cleaner for everything from your shower curtain to your tub or bathroom floor.

Blend a few tablespoons of liquid dish soap into a bowl of warm water until bubbly. Dip a microfiber cloth into the warm soapy water, wring it out, and clean your shower bottom or bathtub. Work with a soft-bristled scrub brush to lift particularly tricky blemishes. Rinse your bathtub with warm water, and dry it with a towel.

Clean Bathtub Surfaces Using Oxygen Bleach

Take advantage of the cleaning ability of bleach without the harmful side effects of chlorine bleach. Oxygen bleach is an environmentally safe alternative to traditional bleach; its byproducts are oxygen and water. Oxygen bleach cleans by releasing oxygen bubbles to loosen and eliminate grime and destroy microorganisms.

Stir the oxygen bleach powder and water together in the bowl, use it to clean your tub or shower bottom, and rinse. Choose a color-safe oxygen bleach to avoid fading dark-colored materials.

Bath Tub Cleaner Paste

Craft an extra-strength paste to eliminate tricky stains from your tub. The cleaning power of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda lifts persistent blemishes without damaging your bathtub or shower base.

Mix the baking soda powder and peroxide in the bowl to make a thick paste. If the paste is too runny, add a little more baking soda. If it’s too stiff, add peroxide to achieve a thick, spreadable consistency.

Slather the peroxide and baking soda paste over the stain and let it dry for an hour. Wipe the paste and discoloration away with a damp cloth, rinse in warm water, and allow the region to dry.

Erasing Rust Stains on the Tub

Rust stains happen anywhere there’s water. We’ve all forgotten to remove our shaving razor and returned to find a rusty color where the blades contacted the tub.

Lemon and boric acid eliminate rusty marks effortlessly. Citrus fruits, including lemons, contain citric acid. Combined with the cleaning properties of boric acid, this cuts through rust. Cut a lemon in half, sprinkle it liberally with boric acid powder, and scrub the rust. Rinse your tub thoroughly with hot water, and leave it to dry.

Removing Hard Water Stains

Hard water stains are more than just unsightly; they are an ideal environment for mold growth. Erase calcium deposits stuck to the tub and shower walls and kill mold spores with undiluted distilled white vinegar. Soak some paper towels or old cloths in white vinegar and lay them over the mineral deposits.

The acetic acid breaks down the mineral structures, so they rinse off. Check the residue every few hours to see if it’s dissolved, for up to 24 hours. Lift the towels and use a scrubbing brush and warm water to remove the vinegar and hard water marks.

Sanitizing the Bathtub Shower – Peroxide

Turn to your first aid cabinet if you’re short on cleaning supplies and want to sanitize your tub. A staple for wound care, 3% hydrogen peroxide is also an effective bathtub cleaner. Dilute peroxide with water for a convenient tub-cleaning rinse.

Swirl the peroxide and water in the basin, dip your cloth or sponge, and scrub your tub or shower bottom. Rinse the tub clean. Peroxide may lighten dark natural stones like granite. Try a test patch before using hydrogen peroxide on dark shower floors.

Tips for Cleaning a Jetted Tub

Jetted tubs require extra attention to detail to clean the nozzles. Whereas a regular tub is smooth and accessible with just a cloth, the nozzles create spaces to harbor mold if not properly cleaned.

Inspect your jet nozzles regularly for signs of corrosion or hard water buildup. Treat them quickly to prevent water flow disruptions. Use an old toothbrush to help get into the crevices around the jets.

Precautions for Acrylic and Porcelain Bathtub Cleaning

No matter what type of bathtub or shower you have, always be cautious as you introduce a new cleaning method. If you’re uncertain if a new cleaner is safe for your tub, make a tiny test spot in a hidden region first to check the result.

Never use hard abrasive tools such as steel wool or a wire brush, regardless of the tub material you’re working on. The stiff bristles and steel tendrils scratch, scuff, and degrade the finish, leaving unsightly marks and an uncomfortable rough patch.

Did this article answer your question of how to sanitize my bathtub shower? Sanitizing your bathtub or shower floor should be part of your weekly cleaning routine. Depending on how much use your tub sees and how dirty it typically gets, it may require additional cleaning between uses.

Don’t use toxic chemicals in your tub and risk your family’s sensitive skin or overall health. Clean up your tub with simple home remedies using everyday products.

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