Two Best Ways to Remove Bath Rings
If you want to give yourself a little flair, you can see rings in the bathtub as a sign that you are a person who at least takes baths regularly. Unfortunately, this does not make the rings any less attractive. Getting rid of them is unfortunately not an easy task, but I have found two of the best ways to do it with the least amount of effort.
Why do you need a bath ring?
Every two weeks or so I pour some water into the tub, splash some Fabuloso in there and scrub it down to clean and refresh the tiles, but since I started using the new body scrub the ringing has become too bad for this to be an effective all-rounder in my bathroom cleaning routine. So, I did a little research on what bathtub rings are and how to get rid of them.
Rings around the bathtub can occur for a number of reasons: they can be caused by oils, mineral deposits from hard water, soap, or a combination of these. My new body scrub is oily, like the human body in general, so that’s probably why I’ve been getting more buildup lately.
As for removing the bathtub ring, several tricks came up when I was looking, but the two that made the most sense to me were baking soda paste and isopropyl alcohol since I knew they both dried out the oil that was causing the rings to stick.
Isopropyl alcohol helps remove rings from the bathtub.
The first thing I tried was a mixture of equal parts water and isopropyl alcohol, which I applied two ways: First, I dipped a melamine sponge into it and gently rubbed it over part of the tub ring. Slowly—very slowly—it worked, seeming to gradually dissolve the residue. However, this was time-consuming and labor-intensive, so I tried a different approach: I applied the mixture to most of the ring and let it sit for five minutes.
When I went back to the alcohol-soaked areas with the melamine sponge, the ring disappeared much faster. Some of the soap scum and dirt ended up in the tub basin, where I was able to easily remove it by hand, but most of it liquefied, which was even better because it made it easy to remove with a paper towel.
Baking soda is also great for removing bathtub rings.
Even though isopropyl alcohol worked well, I knew it wouldn’t be cost-effective to use it on the entire bathtub; this bottle cost me $13 and I will need it for other things around the house. Baking soda is cheaper, and based on what I know about how it absorbs oils and removes dirt, it seems like it could potentially be an even better solution to this problem.
There are several ways to apply baking soda to your bathtub ring. You can make a paste by adding some paste to a bowl, then gradually adding water and stirring until you get the thick consistency you want, then apply it to the dirt and let it do its thing. However, I did something much lazier and simpler: I sprayed water on the nasty marks in the bathtub and then sprinkled baking soda over them, allowing it to stick to the moisture. It didn’t form a paste, but it definitely formed a grainy layer. I then left it alone for five minutes and returned to it with the melamine sponge when the time was up. The rings were removed immediately , but the mixture of powder, water and soap suds created a cloudy substance, similar to dirty wet snow, which was a little harder to scoop out of the bathtub at the end of the process.
General Tips for Removing Bath Rings
After seeing how well baking soda worked, I sprinkled it around the tub and left it there for a while. I went back, wiped it all down into a pile of slush, removed it, and ended up wiping it down with the alcohol/water mixture again to remove any remaining dirt. It worked flawlessly.
What you don’t want to do is flush scale or baking soda down the drain—you don’t want to accidentally clog or damage the pipes—so close the drain before you start, and keep a few paper towels on hand to manually wipe down the basin as you go. Be careful with how you clean your hair, too. You don’t want a sponge or brush that is too abrasive as it may scratch the tile or ceramic, especially if you are using baking soda that is already abrasive. I used Mr. eraser. Clean Magic Eraser, but did it carefully. You may want to consider using a microfiber cloth, especially if your bathtub is made of a delicate material such as acrylic.