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Recipe 20 of 100 · The Country Cleans Mix Book

How to Clean a Yellowed Acrylic Tub Without Scratching It

Washing Soda Soak

Powders and melamine sponges micro-scratch acrylic and fiberglass, and that is what turns a tub dull and yellow. Stir 1/4 cup washing soda into 1 gallon hot water for a full minute until every grain dissolves, then add 1 tablespoon dish soap. Gloves on. Flood it onto the tub with a soft cloth, let it sit 10 to 15 minutes, re-wetting the walls, then wipe in long straight passes. Rinse twice and towel dry. Keep it off aluminum fixtures.

Acrylic and Fiberglass Tub Safe Scrub recipe card: 1/4 cup washing soda, 1 gallon hot water, 1 tbsp dish soap, Soft cloth, no scrub side
What it fixesYellowed, filmy acrylic or fiberglass tubs and shower pans that cannot take powder or a scouring pad.

You need

Mix it

  1. Fill the bucket with the hot water.
  2. Add the washing soda and stir for a full minute until every grain is dissolved. This is the important part. Undissolved washing soda is a gritty powder and grit is exactly what wrecks an acrylic tub.
  3. Add the dish soap and stir gently.

Use it

  1. Wear gloves. Washing soda is strongly alkaline and it will dry your hands out fast.
  2. Wet the whole tub surface with the solution using the cloth. Do not spray it, just flood it on.
  3. Let it sit 10 to 15 minutes. Re wet any spot that starts drying, especially the sloped walls.
  4. Wipe in long straight passes with the soft cloth, following the length of the tub rather than circles. Circles show as swirl marks under bathroom light.
  5. Rinse the whole tub twice with clean water. Alkaline residue left behind feels slippery and attracts new film.
  6. Dry with a towel. On acrylic, drying is half the finish.
Dale's noteAcrylic looks glossy because it is smooth, not because of a coating, so every scratch you put in it is a place for scum to grab next week. Once you go a few months with only non abrasive cleaning, the tub stays clean with plain soapy water because there is nothing for the grime to hook into.
Don'tDo not reach for a melamine sponge, Bar Keepers Friend, Comet or any powder on acrylic or fiberglass, because they micro scratch the surface and that is what turns a tub permanently dull and yellow. Do not mix this with anything containing bleach or ammonia, and keep it off aluminum fixtures, which alkaline solutions will darken.
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