Handy Tool

[Steve@Advance]

I picked up a handy cleaning tool yesterday and it worked really well!

We have a walk in tile shower that has a problem with hard water deposits. Getting down on the floor and scrubbing it is no longer an option for me or my wife.

I found this at Home Depot, a Ryobi extendable scrubbing brush. It came with a soft bristle brush, but I bought a stiff brush with bristles out the sides for getting into corners. They also have a hand held model that I think I'll buy for the walls and door.

Now I need to find some more effective cleaners. I used Comet this time and it did OK, but getting rid of the last remains of the scum is still a bit of a challenge, I've used some acidic cleaners in the past but they took the color out of the grout, so I have to be careful. Any suggestions for cleaners that wont attack the grout or chrome?

Ryobi Scrubber

 

[tomturkey]

Steve: we have a fiberglass tub with shower walls. What is known as a 3 piece remodelers unit, since a one piece unit won't get into the house. We have been very happy with scrubbing bubbles, cleans the soap scum off and leaves the tub and walls shiny. It has a bit of acid in it, I can smell it and it will choke you, so avoid breathing it, but it cleans the fixtures without hurting them leaving them shining like new. We can't use any abrasive cleaners. I believe with weekly cleaning it will work for you. btw its been in our home for about 30 years, it does not look like new, but it looks very good for it age gobble

 

[Ralph, Ohio]

Interesting, for the same reasons I've been using the same Ryobi scrubber with the brush that came with it every few weeks for over a year to scrub our one piece fiberglass walk-in shower floor. For a cleaner I use Norwex Descaler even though I try to avoid Norwex products due to their high cost & multi-level marketing, but this stuff really works for me without noxious fumes. Spray it on the damp floor, wait about 10 minutes & then scrub. Here are a couple more tips: After scrubbing, the textured shower floor is slippery so for safety we use a rubber mat in the shower for a few days. We switched from good old Ivory bar soap to Kirk's Castile bar soap because we seem to get better lather in hard water & less soap scum build-up.

 

[jethrow4]

I picked up a handy cleaning tool yesterday and it worked really well!

We have a walk in tile shower that has a problem with hard water deposits. Getting down on the floor and scrubbing it is no longer an option for me or my wife.

I found this at Home Depot, a Ryobi extendable scrubbing brush. It came with a soft bristle brush, but I bought a stiff brush with bristles out the sides for getting into corners. They also have a hand held model that I think I'll buy for the walls and door.

Now I need to find some more effective cleaners. I used Comet this time and it did OK, but getting rid of the last remains of the scum is still a bit of a challenge, I've used some acidic cleaners in the past but they took the color out of the grout, so I have to be careful. Any suggestions for cleaners that wont attack the grout or chrome?

Ryobi Scrubber

In my experience with porcelain tubs/sinks. Ajax is more effective than Comet.

 

[Hobo,NC]

I picked up a handy cleaning tool yesterday and it worked really well!

We have a walk in tile shower that has a problem with hard water deposits. Getting down on the floor and scrubbing it is no longer an option for me or my wife.

I found this at Home Depot, a Ryobi extendable scrubbing brush. It came with a soft bristle brush, but I bought a stiff brush with bristles out the sides for getting into corners. They also have a hand held model that I think I'll buy for the walls and door.

Now I need to find some more effective cleaners. I used Comet this time and it did OK, but getting rid of the last remains of the scum is still a bit of a challenge, I've used some acidic cleaners in the past but they took the color out of the grout, so I have to be careful. Any suggestions for cleaners that wont attack the grout or chrome?

Ryobi Scrubber

The best thing I did was put a sealer on the tile I do it about once a year. My go when the grout starts to stain is a mix of bleach and water other than that I will have to ask my cleaning gal. I have epoxy grout it does not hold the stain but you have to be careful with what you scrub it with. I wipe the shower down and put a fan in it after done that's been the best help for all issues. Before the C I mixed up a cleaner that worked then the chemicals became hard to come by. I had a Scrubble bubbles shower cleaner the refile cost became insane. That's when I went to wiping it down and drying. Google how to make scrubbing bubbles shower cleaner.

 

[greenmech]

I picked up a handy cleaning tool yesterday and it worked really well!

We have a walk in tile shower that has a problem with hard water deposits. Getting down on the floor and scrubbing it is no longer an option for me or my wife.

I found this at Home Depot, a Ryobi extendable scrubbing brush. It came with a soft bristle brush, but I bought a stiff brush with bristles out the sides for getting into corners. They also have a hand held model that I think I'll buy for the walls and door.

Now I need to find some more effective cleaners. I used Comet this time and it did OK, but getting rid of the last remains of the scum is still a bit of a challenge, I've used some acidic cleaners in the past but they took the color out of the grout, so I have to be careful. Any suggestions for cleaners that wont attack the grout or chrome?

Ryobi Scrubber

Try CLR, works on rust stains. Ron MN

 

[1948CaseVAI]

The best thing I did was put a sealer on the tile I do it about once a year. My go when the grout starts to stain is a mix of bleach and water other than that I will have to ask my cleaning gal. I have epoxy grout it does not hold the stain but you have to be careful with what you scrub it with. I wipe the shower down and put a fan in it after done that's been the best help for all issues. Before the C I mixed up a cleaner that worked then the chemicals became hard to come by. I had a Scrubble bubbles shower cleaner the refile cost became insane. That's when I went to wiping it down and drying. Google how to make scrubbing bubbles shower cleaner.

Good job. Many people have no idea how porous grout is (even the epoxy grouts) and they fail to seal, then wonder why their tiles are loose after 8 or 10 years with water and mold behind them.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Good job. Many people have no idea how porous grout is (even the epoxy grouts) and they fail to seal, then wonder why their tiles are loose after 8 or 10 years with water and mold behind them.

How often do you think it should be sealed ?. I got a new cleaning gal she does high dollar houses so gets to see quite a bit of tile she is the one that put me on the sealer. I spec cuzz it makes it easier to keep clean. I tell folks about the epoxy its on the high side I brought it I had $800 in just the grout SHOCK! To be honest I never knew what I was getting into the tile man keep sending me to get MORE : (

My cleaning gal gets more out of me than I do her my next gal has to have a new car not a pile of junk.

 

[stevieb49829]

I picked up a handy cleaning tool yesterday and it worked really well!

We have a walk in tile shower that has a problem with hard water deposits. Getting down on the floor and scrubbing it is no longer an option for me or my wife.

I found this at Home Depot, a Ryobi extendable scrubbing brush. It came with a soft bristle brush, but I bought a stiff brush with bristles out the sides for getting into corners. They also have a hand held model that I think I'll buy for the walls and door.

Now I need to find some more effective cleaners. I used Comet this time and it did OK, but getting rid of the last remains of the scum is still a bit of a challenge, I've used some acidic cleaners in the past but they took the color out of the grout, so I have to be careful. Any suggestions for cleaners that wont attack the grout or chrome?

Ryobi Scrubber

Steve, we have a squeegee in the shower. After each shower we squeegee the water off the glass doors and the tile. It seems to go a long way to not having much lime or scum to clean off periodically. steve

 

[zuhnc]

Best thing I did for all the calcium, etc., deposits left behind by 22 GPG hard water was install a water softener. Clothes seem to get cleaner, less detergent usage, no spots or calcium deposits on the dishes, etc. $1,000, self-installed, and working like it is supposed to. Had the water tested; before the softener 22GPG, after the softener 0 GPG. Well please with it. zuhnc

 

[cityboy]

Not sure if it will work on tile, check the label on Dollar Generals Awesome cleaner.
Did my 1 piece fiberglass surround before Christmas. Sprayed on. Wiped off w/a wet rag.
In my case, I let it dry a day. Put car wax on a good portion of it to prevent junk from building.
Jury is still out on how well car wax will be.
HTH...Don.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Different cleaning lady brought back my 60 year old fiberglass tub with a Mr clean Magic Eraser. It was not Magic as it was over time maybe 10/12 cleanings.

 

[MarkB_MI]

Kaboom is a non-abrasive product that works pretty well removing hard water scum from tubs and showers.

 

[Walston]

Kaboom will screw up your fiber glass tubs. Be careful with it.

 

[Dave G9N]

You have to read the labels on the shower cleaners carefully to avoid acid and there aren't many. Look for EDTA in the fine print. Seems every time I go to buy some the store has a different brand. I used travetine tile in my shower, which is a limestone type material like marble and grout. Any acid for cleaning lime, eats limestone. Right now, I have Scrub Free Clean Shower (some off brand stuff?) and Brillow Basics. Both have EDTA which is a chelating agent. A chelating agent will dissolve calcium (lime), but not as aggressively as an acid.

I painted the travertine in the bathroom with a solvent based low sheen concrete walkway sealer. Also sealed the grout on the ceramic tile floor in several bathrooms. You can't see it on the grout, but it doesn't soak up any water. The sealer fumes were horrendous. Maybe worse than that, but profanity is not allowed. Not so bad if all you are sealing is grout, but not pleasant.

After 15 years there is still no mildew. When I made a mistake and used an acidic cleaner nothing happened to the travertine. It is horrible to work with indoors, but with enough fans on a warm day, you can do a small area and leave for a while. Water thin and very fast drying. It's made for full sun outdoor exposure on concrete walking surfaces, so it is pretty bulletproof. It also hardened the surface of the grout on a glass block wall. The grout tends to be a little crumbly for a long time until it sets fully. The sealer hardened it nicely and had no apparent effect on the appearance or eventual full cure. No dust and no mildew in the shower for 15 years and counting.

I finally found out why molasses cleans rust. It is also a chelating agent, but I would not try it in the shower. This is a tractor site, so rust is a thing here. It works like evapo rust, but evao rust doesn't mold by the time the rust comes off. So it works, but has its drawbacks.

 

[Marcellus]

Different cleaning lady brought back my 60 year old fiberglass tub with a Mr clean Magic Eraser. It was not Magic as it was over time maybe 10/12 cleanings.

It's upsetting when cleaning procedures fail to produce the intended results, especially on older surfaces such as a 60-year-old fiberglass tub. Looking into alternate cleaning products or expert services may help restore its appearance.Magic 8 ball online