It’s Earth Day.
We’re not doing anything to celebrate, but I thought it was a good day to write this post that has come to mind at least once a day for the past few weeks.
It comes to mind while I’m in the shower.
I could have titled it: Why I Keep a Giftcard in My Shower.
Because keeping one in there (a used-up one) reminds me to do a little scraping each time I take a shower.
As I shared on the Home Depot site recently, you can scrape off soap scum with a plastic gift card. In case anyone was under the impression that I share cleaning tips because I’m awesome, this should explain that I share them because I need them.
I need tricks to help me remove soap scum that’s gotten out of hand. Soap scum that escaped my Slob Vision for way too long. Soap scum in a shower that I chose to delete from my bathroom cleaning list too many times.
Oh, the four short weeks part? It’s a joke. Not a joke because it isn’t true, but a joke because four weeks isn’t short.
But a minute or two of somehow-extremely-satisfying scraping each day while taking a shower is short.
Way shorter than the hour-or-so it would take to get it all done at once.
Oh, and if you put off cleaning your shower because you don’t like getting your clothes wet, try this.
We keep a magic eraser in the shower for the same reason. A quick wipe while you’re having a shower and glass, tiles and tapware all look like new.
Great ideas as usual. Thanks Nony!
I’ve read in multiple places that like dissolves like and one of the best things to use on soap scum is shampoo! So I got a cheap loofah and designated it cleaning only, and whenever I think about it I use a small squirt of my (also cheap) shampoo on it and rub a wall or two down. And yup, while I’m in the shower. Totally works!
That is a helpful tip, since showers to get caked fast with soap scum. I usually put my husband on shower duty. His arms are stronger!! 🙂
My miracle soap scum remover cleaned up our horrible buildup on our master bath glass wall shower. It is a 50/50 mix of warmed up white vinegar and original (not concentrated) blue Dawn dish soap. I put 8oz of each in a spray bottle, I spray spray spray the walls of the shower and fixtures, wet a nylon bristle scrub brush and scrub away to disperse the miracle concoction and loosen up all the goop. Once the entire shower is done being scrubbed (really is it not even elbow grease used, just moving it around) I douse everything with water (hand nozzle on shower) then squeegee. It is amaze-balls! Then of course you see that you need to get out window cleaner for the outside of the glass walls to remove those little hand prints that your slob vision never seem to see. This works great on counters and sinks as well. Vinegar kills bacteria, mold and germs.
I use a fabric softener sheet to clean my shower curtain, shower stall walls and bath tub. It cuts and cleans the soap scum right off without all the harsh chemical. I don’t recall where I first learned of this but it works and I’ve using softener sheets for years. Don’t have to be expensive ones either. I’m all about cheap.
It works great on shower door also.
Dear Nony the Slob,
You ROCK! Will you be my best friend?
When I first moved into our house the shower stall was so bad and caked with hard soap scum. I used a glass scraper like the ones you used for cleaning a flat stove top. Had the problem areas done in 15 minutes and that was after scrubbing them for weeks with little success.
I definitely need to start doing something like this. The rest of my bathroom is usually clean but I hate doing the shower :/ I need to get it cleaned up though so it’s in good shape when we move in a few months.
I have a kitchen sponge with kitchen soap in the handle (it has a bleach alternative) that gets my walls while my conditioner works.
Hi there, just a point to ponder. Who told you that pink stuff is soap scum? I come from The Netherlands in Europe where the only thing they have is lime scaling in the showers because of the concentrations of calcium in the water, as opposed to NZ the country where i’m living in now which have high concentrations of chlorine and fluoride in the tap water. BTW, the only reason i believe that pink stuff is NOT soap scum is because our toothbrushes have the same pink stains on them and i can assure you we don’t use soap as tooth paste. Also dutch people use much more soap than kiwis do and i’ve never seen pink stains there. We also clean our showers so frequently and thoroughly that such soap build up would not be possible, yet the pink stains persists, so then what is it? Any thoughts?
Used gift cards can also be used to scrape ice from car windows. You know, on those 3 mornings during the winter that we actually have ice on the cars.
But what usually happens is that the gift cards end up back in my purse, minus the receipt that says it now has a balance of 30 whole cents, which leads to unpleasant surprises when I go shopping with them.
I’ve gotten in, fully clothed, in a dry shower & taken a razor blade scraper to the whole thing. Ribbons of scum coming off & falling at your feet is very satisfying. Just scoop and trash or wash down.
Now. How to get a textured fiberglass shower pan clean??
I have a cleaning service that comes in once a month. I learned a trick from one of the gals. She came with a dish scrubber that you would normally put dish detergent in the handle. It holds about ¼ cup. She mixes 1 part Dawn to 1 part white vinegar. She scrubbed down my shower – which was relatively clean, except for a greying floor, that I never could get white because the soap scum settled into the pebbled texture. She left the foamy soapy stuff on the surfaces she scrubbed for about 30 minutes while spiffing up the rest of the room. I was dumbfounded to see how white and clean the shower stall was.
I wipe my shower stall now, whenever I take a shower. I wipe my sink & faucets after washing my face & brushing my teeth. It only takes a few seconds when I do this daily. I pump a squirt of liquid soap into the commode and swish it daily.
These small habits are done now without paying much attention to it. Instead of the horror of a weekly cleaning, my cleaning day involves running a damp cloth over dusty surfaces, sweeping & mopping the floor, and changing out towels and mats. (And fine tuning anything that needs doing.)
Texas dust is no joke. It’s everywhere. Always. Most of my cleaning routine involves dusting & sweeping. At least I don’t need to deal with soap scum buildup anymore.
My standing shower stall was a disaster! I accidentally stumbled onto a life saver for me. I have a 5 N 1 tool, my gosh! I wish I’d had one years ago. It’s a miracle for me. 😆
Thank you for this site!!
I am a slob and am grateful for your website. Don’t know if you’re still around or not, hope so. 😊