What comes to mind when somebody mentions soap scum? If you're like most people, one word best describes it: Gross. We're talking about that nasty grey film that sticks to bathtubs and shower walls. Soap scum is exactly what the name implies. It consists of the residue of bath soap itself along with a mixture of the dirt and sweat that is removed from our bodies.

 As we sit in the tub or stand while showering, the water aids in helping this mixture of gunk collect along the sides. To make matters worse, if you ignore this buildup, it will continue to accumulate. If left unattended for a long enough period of time, your only hope of restoring your bathtub and shower stall to its original luster will be to resort to sandblasting! Well, that may be a stretch, but hopefully, the message here is clear.

To avoid painstaking labor, it is prudent to stay on top of soap scum before reaching that point. Tubs and showers should be cleaned at least once a week. If you are involved in an activity where you are subjected to lots of dirt and/or grease, such as gardening or working underneath a car, you may want to consider cleaning these appliances 2-3 times a week. So how does one go about accomplishing this?

There are solutions available at just about any supermarket or discount store that are specifically made for this purpose. You spray the formula onto the affected areas, wait a few minutes, and then wipe it off. A word of caution here: Don't believe everything you see on TV commercials that plug no-name products; especially if they say it is not available in stores. What you'll typically see in these misleading advertisements is a person simply spraying a seemingly magic potion onto a filthy tub and walking away. A few minutes later, he or she will return to a fixture so sparkling clean and bright that sunglasses are needed to enter the bathroom! This implies that the product did all of the work itself!

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. While there are solutions made specifically to rid tubs and showers of soap scum, you must scrub by hand after the crud has loosened up. The best way to do this is to use a brush with soft bristles. Since most tubs and shower stalls today are constructed of fiberglass, you will want to avoid brushes with hard bristles to prevent scratching. Skip scrubbing pads made of steel wool such as Brillo or SOS pads while you're at it. Older fixtures are made of porcelain and can therefore withstand more abrasive cleaning accessories, but it's still a good idea to use softer materials.

As mentioned earlier, begin by spraying the dirty areas with your store-bought solution. The best I've found is NewBrite Sparkle.   Wait a few minutes so that the chemicals have a chance to break up the collected grime. Next, scrub the loosened scum with a brush or soft scouring pad. Finally, turn the shower on for a minute or two while aiming the spigot accordingly and blast the areas with hot water, letting the remaining dirt flow down the drain. Sparkle is also a disinfectant which I use for all bathroom cleaning including the facets and the stool.

By following these easy steps upon first noticing that unsightly grey ring around your tub, it will look like new in a few minutes.

I have also found that if you use toxin free personal care products such as shampoo, conditioner, bath & shower gel, and shaving gel, especially those without  sodium lauryl sulfate you will not have bathtub scum.

I also found that if you sprinkle a little Epsom salts to my bathwater to prevent soap scum. The soap seems to float on the top of the water rather than becoming a scummy ring, then goes down the drain. I found this out after using the salts to help sore muscles. It seems that ever so little of the salts in the water helps prevent the scum.

The most common cause of scum is body oils and dead skin cells. The natural oils that occur on the human body can gather over time at the water level or on the walls of your shower. That is why you are encouraged to shower each time before you get into swimming pool or hot tub