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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Bath not cleaned for 6 months

29 replies

JinglingAllTheWay · 10/02/2012 20:25

It needs to be cleaned and there's no way I'm letting my dc bath in there without cleaning. We are staying for part of half term In the house and I'm going to have to clean it. The shower curtain and bath mat have an orange tinge, I'm guessing it's some sort of bacteria? I asked when the bath was last cleaned and he said 6 months ago Hmm

All round the sealant looks damp and blackish in places.

What do I clean it with?

OP posts:
OlympicEater · 10/02/2012 20:27

I was hoping this thread was about some miracle bath like those self cleaning ovens Blush [slattern]

Um I'd be chucking bleach left right and centre and chucking mat and curtain in the bin washing machine

fossil97 · 10/02/2012 20:41

A wipe around with Flash Bleach or Cif and maybe a green scourer should get it clean enough to use for a few days. Can you machine wash the shower curtain? Don't use the bathmat, have them sit on a flannel or small towel if it's slippery.

DedalusDigglesPocketWatch · 10/02/2012 20:45

A Kim and Aggie tip (that really works!) is run your bath with a really good dose of biological washing powder, leave for a couple of hours, then wipe round while draining. Give it a really good rinse.

JinglingAllTheWay · 10/02/2012 20:47

Have out some pics on my twitter if anyone Feels
Like checking that the orange stuff is not dangerous Grin

twitter.com/humamerrytune/status/168071741095153665

OP posts:
welliesundermeballgoon · 10/02/2012 21:04

I would imagine that orange stuff is biofilm - and to get rid you need the cheapest possible bleach with the highest possible content of chlorine.

The cheapest are the best to get rid. HTH

welliesundermeballgoon · 10/02/2012 21:06

Also don't use anything which is perfumed as this will encourage the biofilm and will also feed fungi which will present itself as a black substance

JarethTheGoblinKing · 10/02/2012 21:07

Grotbuster will kill everything - it's basically very sticky bleach.

Bin the shower curtain and get a replacement one.

It's not that bad though.. ours was much worse when we moved into our house - black between all the tiles and the whole bottom of the curtain was bright orange.

Wallace · 10/02/2012 21:09

I thought the orange stuff was human fat ir something like that?

bran · 10/02/2012 21:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

JustHecate · 10/02/2012 21:13

ew.

who doesn't clean their bath for six months?

At the risk of being shot for sexism - I'm guessing bloke who lives alone, right?

Beamur · 10/02/2012 21:15

That's disgusting!
I wouldn't use the bath mat - stick it in the washing machine with some bleach.
Bath needs something abrasive - cif perhaps.

ilooklikegrotbagstoday · 10/02/2012 21:18

Dettol mould and mildew (sp?) remover (in green bottle) does wonders for the black grime and orange stuff is human body fat. I would just bin the shower curtain.

whomovedmychocolate · 10/02/2012 21:21

Ha! When we bought this house we thought the shower screens were frosted glass..... Hmm

Bleach. (kills all the germs)
Cif (scrapes it off)
In that order.

Shifts all crud.

Wear gloves and don't breathe in the random skin sheddings of a million unwashed bodies Wink

JinglingAllTheWay · 10/02/2012 21:23

Hecate - he lives other slatterns people who don't seem to clean either Grin
His argument was... He bathed in it yesterday so it's perfectly acceptable Hmm

OP posts:
chipmonkey · 10/02/2012 22:06

Isn't the orange stuff just soap scum? Or am I wrong about that?

PigletJohn · 10/02/2012 22:37

I thought the orange stuff was something to do with lime from hard water?

Have seen it on other people's shower curtains, never had it myself. I'd bin it and get an inexpensive replacement.

I use the bathroom-cleaner sprays. They dissolve limescale and soap scum. Own brands seem to work just as well at a quarter the price.

You can use green scourers on chrome taps and on porcelain, but not on plastic baths (scratch), seal, or on grout (they will leave green marks from the fibres). A nylon brush and the spray will get grout a bit cleaner.

black mildew stain on silicone sealant doesn't clean off.

Shoutymomma · 10/02/2012 22:44

I am a big fan of cheap (=disposable) shower curtains. Whatever you do though, op, don't have a go at the plug hole. There's prob 12ft of pubes hanging in there.

Iwasagnome · 11/02/2012 09:18

take kids swimming and have a shower after!!

takeonboard · 11/02/2012 09:26

Agree with Iwasagnome. Don't clean it. Shower elsewhere. I dread to think what the loo, kithchen, beds etc are like - do you have to stay there?

crustyonion · 11/02/2012 09:52

Our bath looked clean, but when I rubbed a finger on it I could feel there was some grubbiness still there. Bleach, Cif etc did jack all. I ended up googling and found something that worked brilliantly, first time, with barely any effort. It sounds a bit odd though... Bicarb of soda made into a thick paste with a bit of water. Rub it on and it cuts through to the squeak without scratching the plastic of the bath.

ameliagrey · 11/02/2012 15:25

I would not use the bath- if ther e is a shower attachment , use that- and buy a bathmat for a fiver from somewhere, or one of your own towels, folded. I'd still clean the bath though- plenty of ideas above.

Why are you staying somewhere so fiflthy BTW?

JinglingAllTheWay · 11/02/2012 16:30

The rest of the house looks is fine! Just the bathroom seems to be dreadful. He's family and we couldn't say no ( long story). Although we have all been and showered at the pool today ( a we're going again tomorrow!)
Am going to tackle the bathroom tonight and leave to soak overnight!

OP posts:
whomovedmychocolate · 12/02/2012 07:38

Depending on the type of bath some of them can get and remain very dirty - old cast iron enamel baths are hard to clean (Barkeepers friend is good though), acrylic baths are easier though if they are scratched harder. You can damage acrylic easily with the wrong stuff.

I've seen some horrors in bathrooms in my time, there are none that cannot be done with the radio turned up loud, lots of evil chemicals and some elbow grease. :)

CumpyGrunt · 12/02/2012 07:53

I don't know what the orange stain is on shower curtains,

I clean ours regularly, & have done in alll our previvous rentals.

Good dollop of bleach & a bit of scrubbing & its sorted though Smile

Hopstheduck · 12/02/2012 07:58

We get it. Been told it can be rust in the water supply. We do have old Victorian iron pipes which come off the mains supply. One cracked last summer and flooded the patio. Or ot can be hard water. I do clean the bath regularly but still get it at the bottom of the shower curtain where water is obviously sitting as it dries. I just stick it through the machine when the tinge starts appearing, it goes quite easily. No need for bleach or anything.

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