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The soap that leaves us clean and fresh unfortunately leaves behind a residue, which is known as soap scum. When this film dries on various surfaces, it gets hard and becomes difficult to clean. In fact, with some store-bought cleaning products, you could scrub furiously and barely make a dent in the soap scum.
While some cleaning methods are ineffective, there are proven cleaning options for eradicating soap scum and creating the pristine surfaces that you need to see.
What Is Soap Scum?
In many homes, grease-based soaps are used for bathing. The fatty oils in these soaps interact with the minerals in hard water, such as calcium stearate and magnesium. In addition, they collect the dirt that was on your body.
This combination of elements remains on surfaces after you shower or bathe, and it dries to a hard, chalky mess. Because it contains hard water residue, it is particularly challenging to remove.
What Causes Soap Scum, and Is Soap Scum Harmful?
Soap people believe that soap scum is a type of white mold, but this is untrue. The filmy scum is comprised only of dirt, soap residue and hard water residue. Because of its composition, it cannot cause illness. However, when the soap scum remains on some surfaces, it can tarnish them and cause irreversible damage.
How to Remove Soap Scum from Any Surface
Soap scum commonly covers glass shower doors, tiled surrounds, tubs, showerheads and faucets. Rather than switch between different cleaners based on the surface being cleaned, it is best to use a soap scum cleaner that is safe on all surfaces. What can you do to remove soap scum?
✨Gather the necessary supplies, which include a spray bottle, a few microfiber cloths, liquid dish soap, cleaning vinegar and baking soda.
✨Combine a few drops of liquid dish soap with a 50-50 combination of distilled water and cleaning vinegar. Use distilled water as it does not have hard water minerals in it.
✨Coat the entire surface area with the spray, and leave it untouched for 10 minutes.
✨The soap scum should then easily wash away with hot water. If scrubbing is required, spray the surface with vinegar and water again. Then, sprinkle baking soda on it. This will create a fizzing action. Then, use a microfiber cloth to remove the grime. Rinse the area clean.
✨Dry the surface with a clean microfiber cloth.
There are some possible substitutions for the vinegar and baking soda. For example, if you do not have cleaning vinegar, you can substitute it with hydrogen peroxide. In addition, you can opt for table salt rather than baking soda.
How to Prevent Soap Scum from Forming
Soap scum will eventually form in your bathroom as hard water minerals and soap residue collect on the various surfaces. It is important to prevent the formation of soap scum, but you can dramatically slow down the buildup.
One option is to switch to a liquid body soap that does not have the same greasy residue in bar soap. You can also invest in a hard water softener. This will minimize hard water buildup in the kitchen, bathrooms and water pipes.
In addition, wipe down the surfaces with a clean towel after showing or bathing. This removes a large amount of the soapy, greasy residue before it has time to harden into soap scum.
FAQs
What Dissolves Soap Scum Quickly?
Vinegar has acidic properties that dissolve soap scum quickly. Distilled white vinegar diluted with water is often effective. However, if the residue is thick, you may need to use undiluted white vinegar.
Another option is to use cleaning vinegar, which is more potent. A paste made out of baking soda vinegar can also be applied to the scummy surfaces.
Regardless of the method that you choose, allow your cleaning solution to remain in place for at least 10 minutes. This is essential for breaking down the scum.
What is the Best Homemade Soap Scum Remover?
When you clean soap scum off of your home’s various surfaces regularly, the filmy residue will be thin and easier to remove. A 50-50 solution of white vinegar and water is the best cleaning product in this situation. If the residue is thick, apply a paste of baking soda and vinegar to the surfaces.
How Do You Remove Heavy Soap Scum From Shower Doors?
Shower doors can be damaged with highly abrasive cleaning products and scrubbers. The best way to remove heavy soap scum from shower doors is by breaking down the minerals and greasy soap that the scum is made out of. The acidic properties in vinegar are effective for this purpose.
Vinegar is also used to clean smudges and spots off of windows and mirrors, so it is a safe cleaning agent to use on shower doors. However, for a very thick film, create a baking soda and vinegar paste. Apply the paste to the shower doors, and let it sit in place for at least 10 minutes before rinsing it off with distilled water.
Soap scum is a common problem, and it is tough to get rid of. More than that, it is just one of numerous tough cleaning jobs that require your regular attention. Deep cleaning services Boston are offered through Tidyhere. For full details about our services and to schedule cleaning for your home, contact us today.
