I’ve just spent an hour cleaning my bath

[Itsrebekahvardysaccount]

We had an old bath. Not sure what type but the type that stains with anything you have the audacity to use in it or clean it with. Every time I clean it it looks worse. Grey drip lines running down it. And it feels very rough to touch.

I’ve scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed with a magic eraser and it’s definitely helped the stains where shampoo etc had maybe leaked round the sides but I ran out of sponge before I could properly get into the inside of it.

Obviously I’ve been using the wrong thing to clean it with so if I do manage to get it back to looking half decent what SHOULD I be cleaning it with in future?

I’ve used bleach, stardrops and various sprays in the past.

Thanks!

CIF cleaner but it sounds as if it needs re-enamelling

I think I'd save yourself the effort. If it's rough to the touch then it needs re enamelling

CIF!! The one thing I’ve not used on it.

Thanks for that.

We plan to rip the bathroom out in a few years and the whole thing is just old and minging. Is it still worth having it enamelled? Would rather not spend any money on it if we didn’t have to

Perhaps surprising but the Ecover cream cleaner is better than Cif

Vikal all the way!

Yep, re-enamelling. You're on a hiding to nothing with cleaners

Thanks all.

I really don’t want to spend money on it but also don’t want to have what looks like a dirty bath for the rest of the time we have it.

Should have been more careful about what I cleaned it with. It was perfect when we moved in less than three years ago.

Do you have an enamelled bath? Sometimes they need recoating.

Where do you buy your star drops from? Haven't seen it for years. Does it still come in a fat glass bottle?

@BeneathTheMist
Wilkos do stardrops. Not in a fat glass bottle anymore though! My DM swears by the stuff

Do they still make vim? I use cif

Cream cleanser

When I was little, we moved into a house with a skanky stained bath. DM and DGM tried everything, including flash, bleach, jeyes fluid, vim, lemon &bicarb. My DGM's elbow grease was legendary.

Then one day DM got some Jif/Ajax cream (can't remember which but much the same) and it was suddenly clean! Worth a go!

As an ex cleaner, Viakal (the gel in the bottle not the spray) is your friend.

You need VIM. Old school powder cleaner. Elbow grease and it will gleam!

Don't use bleach on enamel. I found that out with my perfect, albeit 50-odd year old, bath in my last place.

If somebody knows how to get coal tar bath additive stains out of a modern bath, though, I'd love to know, as none of these things have managed it.

@thenightfury thanks! will look for it

I'm sure I've seen on a DIY programme people enamelling baths themselves. Not sure how much cheaper it is to diy but.might be worth looking at how much it costs.

If it’s rough tot he touch it needs to be te enamelled.

Grr

Re enamelled!

Try bio washing powder and anything with hydrogen peroxide in it (not at the same time). But it probably needs re-enameling.

Once saw a cleaning programme on TV forget which one but remember they filled bath with hot water added bio washing powder and left over night was amazing.

Pink stuff the one in a tub.

Bar keepers friend. I used the powder version and it was the only thing that shifted hair dye stains from my bath

You might not need it re-enamelled (that costs about £300 iirc)
I got mine industrially chemical cleaned for about £70. From one of those franchises like the oven cleaners. Look for "bath restorers" online.