Let’s be honest. Unless you’re very consistent with housekeeping, soap scum is the kind of thing you probably only tackle once it becomes visible enough or have someone visiting. However, aside from looking very unpleasant, these build-ups have bacteria that could become airborne and inhaled, posing a threat to your health.
Unfortunately, the only way to completely stop soap scum from forming is to stop taking showers altogether, which doesn’t sound like a practical solution at all.
With a little bit of consistency, the right products, and the proper technique, you can make sure every part of your bathroom is entirely scum-free.
What Is Soap Scum?
Depending on where you live, the water coming from your shower could be rich in different minerals like magnesium, calcium, and sodium. These minerals are harmless and very common in what is known as hard water. In fact, just by themselves, these are the cause of another kind of build-up, known as lime or calcium deposit.
Nevertheless, once hard water makes contact with the fatty acids from soap, it becomes soap scum – with a little help from an assortment of unpleasant things, like dead skin, hair, body oils, and dirt.
How to Identify Soap Scum
Soap scum takes many shapes and forms because of the diversity of the gross stuff in it, but you don’t need to dig too much into it to identify it. Basically, anything that starts to build up from the interaction of hard water and soap can be considered soap scum.
These build-ups are very common to find on floors, faucets, bathroom doors, and between tiles. You can recognize it by its brownish color. This is a constant problem because you won´t find many bathrooms without soap. That means that, just like death and taxes, soap scum build-up may very well be another certainty of life.
Can One Cleaning Method Work for Everything?
Not every method of cleaning is the most effective for the different spots where soap scum grows. For example, what may work for floors and tiles may not be the best for bathroom glass doors.
You need to evaluate your situation and decide what will work better for you. However, you’ll realize that each method offers a set of benefits for different areas. Take a look and decide for yourself what would be the most appropriate for your bathroom.
Five Best Soap Scum Removal Methods
1) Vinegar and Baking Soda
Staples of home cleaning, white vinegar and baking soda are some of the most reliable, effective, and widely available products out there. One of the biggest benefits of using them is that it’s relatively safe because vinegar and baking soda are not toxic like other commercial products can be.
Things You’ll Need:
- A bucket or a bowl
- Hard bristle brush
- Cleaning towel or a sponge
- Hydrogen peroxide (for long build-ups)
Before cleaning anything, prepare one-part baking soda to two-parts vinegar in separate containers. Start by combining and stirring the baking soda with some water. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a foaming mess all around you.
Proceed to mix both vinegar and baking soda in the bucket or bowl you’re going to use for cleaning. Use a sponge or a rag to thoroughly clean the soap scum build-ups, but don’t worry if some of it doesn’t come out.
Let the mix soak on the spots you’re cleaning for 15 minutes, then wipe everything down again with a stiff bristle brush and some water. The soap scum should come out easily, which you can further clean with some water and a rag so your bathroom shines like a pearl.
Note, if you have years of build-up, you will need to add hydrogen peroxide instead of vinegar. Be careful using this product and take appropriate precautions. Mix two parts baking soda to one part hydrogen peroxide for this more powerful agent, and leave it to sit for an hour before scrubbing it off.
2) Store-Bought Products
There’s a wide range of store products specifically designed to remove soap scum and other types of build-up we may find in the bathroom. Their only downside is their cost compared to other products you may already have in your house, like vinegar.
Things You’ll Need:
- A bucket or a bowl
- Your favorite store-bought product
- Cleaning towel or a sponge
- Rubber gloves
- Water
As a rule of thumb, always read a product’s label, as these contain the specific instructions related to that product and other considerations. Be extra careful before combining the product with anything other than water.
For example, mixing bleach and vinegar creates chlorine gas, which is highly dangerous for your health. Generally speaking, these products work better for specific parts of the bathroom. For example, window cleaner may only be appropriate for glass bathroom doors and mirrors.
Rejuvenate Scrub is good at removing soap scum if this is the route you choose.
3) Dish Soap and Vinegar Method
A mix between homemade and store-bought methods, this mix has the advantage of being quickly available. It’s also quite powerful when dealing with most build-ups, especially oily-looking ones. It serves as a great well-rounded solution for any place affected by soap scum.
Things You’ll Need:
- Spray bottle
- Dish detergent
- White vinegar
- Cleaning towel or a sponge
- Water
First, fill a third of a spray bottle with water and then mix vinegar and dish soap with a one-to-one ratio. After filling the bottle up, move it a little bit but don’t shake it too much.
Proceed to generously spray the affected areas so that everything is covered by the cleaning mix. Let the solution do its magic and sit for about 15 minutes.
Then, rinse the area with some water and a rag, and you’re done!
4) Bleach for Soap Scum on Bathtubs and Floors
While cleaning soap scum is by no means a complicated task, some methods do work better than others. Depending on the build-up’s stubbornness and location, it may be better to tackle it with something that packs a bigger punch, like bleach.
Things You’ll Need:
- A bucket or a bowl
- Your favorite brand of bleach
- Rubber gloves
- A sponge
Bleach is another staple of everyday cleaning, thanks to its abrasive qualities, which makes it perfect for bathtubs and floors. While most over-the-counter products for soap scum work wonders, bleach is a disinfecting agent. It’s ideal for surfaces where bacteria thrive and contact our skin, like floors and bathtubs.
However, using bleach for disinfecting does require a bit of caution, especially if someone in your house has delicate health. It’s generally better if you dilute the bleach with some water. Also, make sure to take frequent breaks outside of the area you’re cleaning and use rubber gloves as it can cause chemical burns or allergic reactions.
5) Soap Scum on Showerheads and Faucets
Because of their corrosive nature, abrasive solutions could damage certain finishes in your bathroom that are made out of bronze, chrome, or mixed metals. Therefore, you need to approach items like showerheads and faucets from a different angle.
Things You’ll Need:
- A bowl
- Flour
- Salt
- Cleaning towel or a sponge
- Water
For faucets and showerheads, it’s better to employ a minimalistic approach. If the build-up is not too severe, stick to just using water and a sponge. However, if we’re talking about almost biblical proportions of soap scum, then it’s time to improvise a little bit.
One of the best homemade ways to safely clean bathroom finishes is with a mix of water, salt, and flour. Apply this mix to your faucets, showerheads, or any other part of your bathroom that requires extra care. Let the paste sit for an hour, and then rinse thoroughly with water.
The Difference Between Lime Build-ups and Soap Scum
Lime build-ups are produced by the minerals contained in hard water. They usually look like white powder, like a thin coat of chalk. You can also find these build-ups in kettles and pots where water has been boiled.
Although they actually don’t look alike, they’re sometimes confused with soap scum, mainly because they both occur in kitchens and bathrooms. The good news is that most cleaning methods that deal with soap scum will easily take care of lime build-ups. Knowing the difference between the two may give you an idea of what you’re dealing with, providing a more permanent solution to your problems.
How to Prevent Soap Scum
While it seems like soap scum is an ever-present problem in our lives, dealing with it boils down to consistency. Follow these steps to consistently keep any trace of soap scum at bay:
- Clean your bathroom once a week.
- Have the necessary cleaning products and tools available.
- Consider installing a water softener in your shower to catch all the minerals contained in hard water.
- Make sure your bathroom is consistently dry after every time you use it.
Final Thoughts
While cleaning soap scum itself is not glamorous at all, the results of consistent hard work do pay off. Not only is having a clean, organized, and shining space great for our mental health, but the feeling does translate nicely into other areas of our lives. It gives us that fulfilling sensation of knowing we have our act together.