Homemade Tub Scrub

From the day that we bought our house, almost 5 years ago, I have been trying to find a way to clean our bathtub. I mean, really clean it. It is a cast iron tub that has 50+ years of watermarks and normal wear showing on it. I had tried everything to get it clean! I tried tons of different cleaners that family and friends had suggested. I had tried simply letting hot soapy Clorox water sit and then scrubbing. I had finally just given up and thought the bottom line was going to be that the tub needed repainted. It was something that I had heard from others about these old tubs, that from time to time, they just need to be repainted. I have also heard that repainting doesn't always work. That is also something that I didn't want to keep with.

While I was on Pinterest one day, I came across a recipe for a homemade cleaner that says their bathtub has never been whiter! It is a recipe from Martha Stewart for a tub scrub that is nontoxic - which is great! The recipe uses ingredients that most people have in their house - liquid soap, antibacterial essential oil (the only ingredient I did not have), baking soda and some water. I made mine without the antibacterial essential oil - I am not even sure where to purchase something like that. Anyway, I used a Scotch-Brite pad and started scrubbing the worst parts of the tub first. To my surprise, IT WORKED!!! I did not think it would, but it did! I had to use some good old fashion elbow grease, but that part of my tub is white again! My tub is now the whitest it has been since we bought the house! I am so glad that I took the leap of faith on this one! I only wish that I would have taken before and after pictures! (That's how much I didn't believe that it would work! I didn't even bother to take before pictures!) Please, trust me, if you have a tub that you are having a hard time getting cleaned, try this!! It worked for us! :)


Here is the recipe:

Add one teaspoon of liquid soap and several drops of an antibacterial essential oil (such as tea tree, eucalyptus, rosemary, or peppermint) to one cup of baking soda. Add just enough water to form a paste, and use it with a sponge or brush to scour bathtub surfaces.



If you have the same problem we had, you will be very pleased with the results of this homemade cleaner! If you try it, please, let me know how it worked for you! :)