Impossible bathtub ring... time to give up?
I have a bathtub with a dark ring I cannot get off, or even lighten. I'm looking for inspired ideas OR some sense knocked into me about letting it go as a mystery of the universe, because the days (truly) I've lost to trying to clean it with no progress have just about driven me mad.
About the bathtub/usage/water:
- Enameled steel (based on look and the fact that it's magnetic)
- I'm the first tenant in my new construction apartment and the only person using the tub. It's been just over a year of use.
- I take baths semi-frequently but never with bath bombs or oils, just bubble bath
- I do not use bar soap, just shower gel
- Until recently I only cleaned the tub every couple months at best (oops...)
- I live in NYC. We have soft water with somewhat high levels of naturally occurring iron. Recently when I fill the bathtub the water looks green from it, but that typically comes and goes.
I have tried, in order:
- Kaboom Shower Tub & Tile Cleaner
- Hot soak of OxiClean for 60+ mins
- Paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, applied to ring and left to sit for 30-60 mins
- Soft Scrub
- Bon Ami scouring powder
- CLR diluted to 1:1 product to water as instructions indicate
- Toilet bowl cleaner left about 20 mins
- 1:1 mixture of hot white vinegar + blue Dawn dish soap left to sit 30-60 mins
- Shower gel left to sit 30-60 mins
- Easy Off Fume Free oven cleaner (blue can, no lye) left to sit over 3 hours
- 1:1 mixture of hot white vinegar + blue Dawn dish soap left to sit overnight
I'm not exaggerating when I say I've seen zero improvement with any of the above. But the tub was not like this when I moved in; it developed the dark ring over time. I was scared to try anything with vinegar or the oven cleaner because some sources said it could damage the finish but I got desperate. I haven't noticed finish damage as yet but running your fingers across the dry tub wall it's not as slippery as it is on the outside of the tub anymore, so that's either finish damage or a build-up I can't get off. At this point I'm afraid it's enamel wear and I'm seeing the steel show through the white coating somehow, but I can't fathom how that would've happened in a year of normal use. The only cleaner I ever used prior to trying to tackle the ring was the Kaboom, and not very often.
It proved pretty difficult to get a true-to-life photo, so hopefully this gives you the idea.
If anyone has any ideas, or even theories about why none of the above are working, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!
Comments (12)
Nancy in Mich
5 years ago
djscurvy22
5 years agoRelated Discussions
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5 years agodjscurvy22
5 years agoThat's right, everything I've read said that anything acidic (bleach) would hurt the finish on this type of tub. That's why I was afraid to even try vinegar. The more I look at it, the more I think I *have* dulled the finish now but I'd rather it look white and dull than shiny and stained.
I took some more pictures adjusting the lighting on my camera:
It doesn't seem like the tub could be dirty at this point, after all the cleaners I've put on it. I am just really frustrated because I can't figure out what even caused this marking and that it seems to be permanent.
hcbm
5 years ago
Laura Grosmaire
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agodjscurvy22
5 years agoLaura Grosmaire
5 years ago
christine 5b
5 years agohcbm
5 years ago
Olychick
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
Babar