Asked by Anonymous - Get black soap scum build up off bottom of bathtub: There is a black buildup layer on bottom of my bathtub from years of showering (I dont take baths).  I'm not sure if its soap scum buildup but its like a solid dark layer on bottom of tub that is hard to scrub off.  What causes this?  Its just gradually building up over time so it has to be soap and its hard to get rid of

Anonymous Says: That black layer is a combination of soap used plus minerals in the water where over time it sticks and starts to accumulate. The key to this is set a hand held scrub brush on tub so its always there, and about once a week do a 20 second scrub when showering.  You dont even need any cleaner, you can kind of see where the black layer is starting to begin and give those areas a good scrub for 10 to 20 seconds and it will keep this from happening.

Anonymous Says: yeah but how do I get this clean now?  Its almost like fiberglass that you can scrape off the bottom with a metal edge tool.

Anonymous Says: Once its builds big like that it is harder to get removed.  I would actually let some water soak a few inches deep covering the entire bottom for a few hours, and I would pour some white vineger in there as that helps dissolve limestone deposits and will help loosen it.  Then drain it and start scrubbing.  It may take alot of passes over an area to get it all scrubbed down, and if its a thick layer non bathtub bottom like it sounds like yours is then scrape it first with something like a paint scraper or tool to get the thickness off it.  Dont wash any down drain just scoop up as best you can and throw it out, then start brushing. Once you get that cleaned just dont let it get to that point again as stated above, its actually quite easy if you just take a minute each week.

Anonymous Says: One my bath tub the way the tub is angled, there are about 4 spots where I see a slight black line starting occasionally.  Its like thats the starting point where everything starts accumulating and as long as I get those areas brushed out, I've never had this porblem happen again.  Its a pain to clean if you let it build over years.

Anonymous Says: I heard baking soda also works well for when scrubbing that black filth off bottom of tub but i havent tried that.  Using some vinegar makes sense, I should have tried some of that on mine

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