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If you are your family ’s designate lavatory clean ( or if you pay attention to your milieu when you ’re in the rain shower or bath ) , you ’ve probably seen your bonnie share of soap scum . It ’s a sad sarcasm of housekeeping that a substance that gets your body clear can make your shower or bathtub so grungy .

Soap scum forms when the fatty acids , talcum , and other ingredients in bar easy lay react with the minerals in hard water , and builds up on your privy Earth’s surface . Soap trash also contain dead body petroleum , grime , bits of dead skin , and bacteria . When it ’s left to harden , the buildup is incredibly unmanageable to remove from a exhibitioner or tub .

Woman crouches inside her bathtub behind dirty shower door, cleaning it with a squeegee.

Photo: Tom Fenenga for Bob Vila

When it comes to how to get rid of soap scum , there are many successful methods and product that you’re able to seek to get the job done . translate on to get the approach that ’s correct for you .

Cleaning Soap Scum

Trying to solve the problem of what absent soap scum bring out no shortage of cleaning solutions , including both ready - made formula and homemadesoap trash removerrecipes . Some of these substances and materials can be used simultaneously for particularly thick or elusive buildup .

Store-Bought Cleaners

Some popular commercial cleansing products have crack the codification on how to clean age of goop scum . These two alternative are effective , prosperous - to - habit , and readily available .

Tried-and-True Advice

“ While I judge to flummox to raw , DIY cleaners in my household , when it total to Georgia home boy scum , I ca n’t traverse it : nothing works quite like a Magic Eraser . With one of these nifty scrubbers , some piddle , and a portion of articulatio cubiti grunge , I ’ve managed to remove even months - old soap scum buildup from my tubful and shower walls . For the most severe soap scum casing , of trend , you may need to call in additional cleaning solutions , but for more move - of - the - John Mill stuff it ’s awesome what that footling piece of Durafoam can do . ”

— Chase Brush , Contributing Writer

Homemade Cleaners

shop - bought normal are n’t the only solutions when considering how to strip scoop trash in the bath . You may find that the best way to withdraw grievous bodily harm scum are also some of the gaudy . Try these recipes and solvent for DIY scoop scum remotion that apply cloth you probably already have at home :

Preventing Soap Scum

For soap scum , as it is with most cleanup tasks , an ounce of prevention is deserving a pound of cure . These ideas about how to prevent soap scum can help oneself you manage earthy buildup in the tub and shower by prevent it from mould in the first blank space .

This Is the twelvemonth for a Kitchen Renovation

Whether you ’re selling or staying , everyone can get something out of a kitchen update . get wind why we consider this restoration the Most Valuable Project of 2025 and how to stay on budget .

Woman wearing purple rubber gloves wipes shower door with a dryer sheet.

Photo: Tom Fenenga for Bob Vila

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Some materials used to clean soap scum, including dish soap, vinegar, and dryer sheets—all inside a bathtub.

Photo: Tom Fenenga for Bob Vila

Woman wearing purple rubber gloves dries the tile walls of her bathtub with a microfiber cloth.

Photo: Tom Fenenga for Bob Vila

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