Jump to content

Menu

Dirty shower floor - Update in Post #32


Night Elf
 Share

Recommended Posts

Ok, I'm a loss. The floor of my shower is dirty. I mean dirty. I've tried numerous cleaners including a Brillo pad. The floor is a no-slip floor that is bumpy and it's like the dirt is stuck in between the bumps. Any suggestions?

Edited by Night Elf
Link to comment
Share on other sites

what is it made of? Is it tile or stone? 

be super careful if it's fiberglass or acrylic because the rough pads and cleansers will scratch and etch the finish and then it will always look dirty as the dirt will collect in the small scratches. 

I'd try dry baking soda and a nylon brush dipped in water.  

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

what is it made of? Is it tile or stone? 

 

be super careful if it's fiberglass or acrylic because the rough pads and cleansers will scratch and etch the finish and then it will always look dirty as the dirt will collect in the small scratches. 

 

I'd try dry baking soda and a nylon brush dipped in water.  

 

It's just the plain jane shower the builder puts into a new house. I have no idea what material it is. I was willing to end up with some scratches if I could get it white again. I don't see any scratches on it where I scrubbed it with the brillo pad. By then I was getting desperate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never would have thought to use oven cleaner. Do you mean the low fume kind?

 

Our shower pan is like this also. I have tried a lot of different things. The one I had the most faith in was Bar Keepers' Friend but honestly, even that was not great.

 

Yes, normally I use Fume Free Easy Off in my tubs for the soap scum. I spray it on, let it sit for 30 minutes and then use a soft brush and scrub it right off. Works like a dream. It's not working on this dumb shower floor though!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our white, bumpy shower floor was looking dirty, too. I planned to use oven cleaner, but was also doing some repair to grout, and used straight bleach in a spray bottle for some tiny areas. And accidentally discovered that it cleaned the floor, too.

 

Probably not eco friendly or healthy, and I had to wear a mask and open all the windows, but I bleached our shower floor. I let it sit, and then used a stiff bristled scrub brush (plastic).

 

If all else fails, that might be an option, too.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a tub like that, with the little bumps.  The best thing I've found is a mixture of blue Dawn, along with either bon ami, barkeeper's friend, or borax (none of these scratch as far as I know), and enough water to make a paste.  Smear that around and scrub with a stiff brush.   

Edited by marbel
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The shower floor in our previous house was bumpy, Oven cleaner was useless. I've never found it to work on showers/tubs at all, but that could be due to our water or the shampoo and body wash we use--I'm a firm believer in what works in one place might not work in another for any number of reasons.

 

What worked best on our shower floor was mostly elbow grease and a firm bristled scrub brush. You need something with bristles to get down in all those little divots. I had good luck with both Barkeeper's Friend and bleach.

 

Like Hornblower said, it's possible the Brillo pad scratched the finish, and if that happened it will be much harder to get and keep clean.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We’re thinking about selling our house so I’ve been cleaning like crazy.

 

My new favorite heavy duty cleaner is Kaboom (purple spray bottle). It does amazing things to grout and I’ve tried many, many other things for grout over the years. And it cleaned the greasy grime off the shower floor. I sprayed on there, let it sit for about 10 minutes, scrubbed with a cloth then repeated the whole process. It was very clean after the second round.

 

 

I will say though that if oven cleaner didn’t work I would be doubtful about anything else working. 😕

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do they still sell Tilex?  I used to use it daily.  After spraying it after each shower over an extended time period, all those stubborn colors were gone.  Just don't expect immediate results.  It might have taken a month or so in my case.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Online I found a suggestion to mix equal parts of vinegar and Dawn. I wonder if that would work?

 

I'm going to the store and am buying several things to try. There just has to be some way to clean that floor!

 

I never thought to try a steam cleaner. 

If you're going to buy several different products, please make sure you rinse thoroughly between scrubbings and vent the room (open windows, vent running) during cleanings. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My MIL bought me this Clorox Scrubtastic for Christmas (cleaning supplies from my MIL.....ok, I get the hint!) https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Brushes-Sponges/21202/subcat.html?featuredproduct=15950407&featuredoption=30311218&cid=209797&fp=F&track=cseshopzilla&utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=shopzilla&countrycode=US At first I was mildly offended, but considering how easily my shower floor got clean I decided I puffy heart love her.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried Kaboom and the fumes were totally awful. The smell went up my nose and stayed with me for quite a while even after I left the room. It also made my eyes water. I threw it straight out.

 

Plain baking soda didn't work.

Baking soda and vinegar didn't work.

Barkeeper's Friend didn't work.

 

I've got two scrub brushes. One has hard bristles and the other soft. I've tried using both. I'm scrubbing until my arm aches.

 

The dirtiest part wasn't where I used the brillo pad so it can't be scratched.

 

I just sprayed it with oven cleaner and closed the door. I'm going to let it sit for 2 hours and then go back and scrub it. If it doesn't work, I'll try some of these other things again by letting them sit and soak.

 

I tried bleach using white rags and laying them on the dirty spots then soaking them with bleach. I figured if I poured the bleach straight onto the floor it would all go down the drain. There was no noticeable difference with my method.

 

The dumb shower has a crack in it so needs to be replaced anyway, but we don't know how to do it. We tried finding someone through Home Depot but that guy wanted to remodel our bathroom to the tune of $5,000. All we want is another builders $200 shower installed. I thought about Home Advisor but I don't know what specialist to ask. I don't want to ask a contractor because that is who we got through Home Depot and he told us people like him didn't do cheap shower installs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried Kaboom and the fumes were totally awful. The smell went up my nose and stayed with me for quite a while even after I left the room. It also made my eyes water. I threw it straight out.

 

Plain baking soda didn't work.

Baking soda and vinegar didn't work.

Barkeeper's Friend didn't work.

 

I've got two scrub brushes. One has hard bristles and the other soft. I've tried using both. I'm scrubbing until my arm aches.

 

The dirtiest part wasn't where I used the brillo pad so it can't be scratched.

 

I just sprayed it with oven cleaner and closed the door. I'm going to let it sit for 2 hours and then go back and scrub it. If it doesn't work, I'll try some of these other things again by letting them sit and soak.

 

I tried bleach using white rags and laying them on the dirty spots then soaking them with bleach. I figured if I poured the bleach straight onto the floor it would all go down the drain. There was no noticeable difference with my method.

 

The dumb shower has a crack in it so needs to be replaced anyway, but we don't know how to do it. We tried finding someone through Home Depot but that guy wanted to remodel our bathroom to the tune of $5,000. All we want is another builders $200 shower installed. I thought about Home Advisor but I don't know what specialist to ask. I don't want to ask a contractor because that is who we got through Home Depot and he told us people like him didn't do cheap shower installs.

You have to let Kaboom sit for a little bit. You don’t get in when the fumes are still there.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried Kaboom and the fumes were totally awful. The smell went up my nose and stayed with me for quite a while even after I left the room. It also made my eyes water. I threw it straight out.

 

Plain baking soda didn't work.

Baking soda and vinegar didn't work.

Barkeeper's Friend didn't work.

 

I've got two scrub brushes. One has hard bristles and the other soft. I've tried using both. I'm scrubbing until my arm aches.

 

The dirtiest part wasn't where I used the brillo pad so it can't be scratched.

 

I just sprayed it with oven cleaner and closed the door. I'm going to let it sit for 2 hours and then go back and scrub it. If it doesn't work, I'll try some of these other things again by letting them sit and soak.

 

I tried bleach using white rags and laying them on the dirty spots then soaking them with bleach. I figured if I poured the bleach straight onto the floor it would all go down the drain. There was no noticeable difference with my method.

 

The dumb shower has a crack in it so needs to be replaced anyway, but we don't know how to do it. We tried finding someone through Home Depot but that guy wanted to remodel our bathroom to the tune of $5,000. All we want is another builders $200 shower installed. I thought about Home Advisor but I don't know what specialist to ask. I don't want to ask a contractor because that is who we got through Home Depot and he told us people like him didn't do cheap shower installs.

 

I wouldn't put a tremendous effort into cleaning a shower that needs to be replaced.

 

Have you tried Lowe's? We've always had good experiences with their installations.

 

My guess is for something like that you need a good handyman rather than a general contractor. But I don't know for sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok. I haven't tried comet yet. If I can't get it clean I'll try that tomorrow. I'm not going back out today. 

 

As for Kaboom, I did let it sit because it was so awful I had to get out of there immediately and didn't want to go back in. I kept smelling it like it was seared inside my nostrils. I don't remember how long I left it though. Maybe it wasn't long enough.

 

We can't replace the shower right now. I don't mind the putty on the crack. I'd just like the floor to be clean. It's spotty. It's white in some areas and dark grey in others. It's weird. I'll say that each thing I've tried has taken a small amount off the edge but wouldn't do anything to the thickest part of the dirt. If the oven cleaner doesn't work, I'm going back to lots of baking soda and vinegar. I'll let it sit for a while and then scrub it with the hard brush again. 

 

I was just hoping I'd find something that would be easily wiped away, like the oven cleaner does on my tubs. I lightly scrub it, rinse it, and it's clean. I don't have to use elbow grease.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for starting the thread and for those who contributed ideas. I'm looking forward to a cleaner shower floor and would have never thought of oven cleaner. 

 

Same here!  Amazingly enough, I have oven cleaner in my kitchen (despite not being one to actually clean my oven.... :o)  

My tub is currently marinating in a nice Easy Off coating.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Same here!  Amazingly enough, I have oven cleaner in my kitchen (despite not being one to actually clean my oven.... :o)  

My tub is currently marinating in a nice Easy Off coating.

 

I have some, too. I can't recall the last time I cleaned my oven but I'm glad I have it since I'm watching my discretionary spending.  But I'm waiting until Friday, which is my usual deep clean the bathroom day.  I'm looking forward to a clean shower floor but not enough to clean my bathroom earlier than I have to. g

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my house what words is DH’s arm. I scrub and scrub and there’s little to show for it. He scrubs and it comes clean. Elbow grease, I suppose.

 

ETA:. Just saw the oven cleaner update. My shower is due for a scrubbing and I think I’ll use that before asking DH to do it. Sounds easier that way.

Edited by Garga
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're inspiring me to scrub my shower now! I bought this expensive cleaning system a few years ago specifically for use on Kohler tubs and it did work, but $$$. I recently bought Kaboom, so I've now sprayed and scrubbed it three times and it's almost clean! Still soaking for a bit longer.

 

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update - The oven cleaner worked! I let it sit for 2 hours then went in and scrubbed hard. It all came up easily. Now the floor is white again. Yay!

 

Tomorrow I'm going to try this. We have the same problem to the point I'm embarrassed at how dirty the tub looks even after I've spent a long time and a lot of effort scrubbing. I'm even thought of spray painting it white.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...