This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Get your bathtub sparkling with just a few natural ingredients! This DIY bathtub cleaner is easy to make and washes away dirt, grime, and soap scum in no time.
We recently moved into a house with a beautiful clawfoot bathtub, and I’m loving it.
I get to use all of my favorite DIY bath goodies, like homemade bath bombs and rose bath salts. My kids are enjoying it too!
Of course, this also means I need to clean said tub. I wanted to make a homemade scrub that was gentle enough to keep this beautiful bathtub in tip-top shape, but still cut through the nasty buildup and get it perfectly clean.
This DIY bathtub cleaner is what I came up with, and it works wonderfully. It takes a lot of the scrubbing out of cleaning my tub, which leaves me more time to soak in the bath!
Whatever type of bathtub you have, you’ll love this homemade scrub when cleaning day comes around.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Gentle ingredients: Bathroom cleaners can be quite harsh on surfaces and your hands. This bathtub scrub is made with just a few natural ingredients that are gentle and safe for your tub and your skin.
- Effective: You’ll love how well this bathtub cleaning paste works! It cuts right through grime and soap scum to leave your tub clean and shiny.
- Easy recipe: I love it when my DIY cleaning products take just a couple of minutes to whip up, and this recipe is one of the easiest! All you have to do is mix the three ingredients together, and you’re ready to get cleaning.
- Eco-friendly: Unlike a lot of commercial cleaning products, this recipe is made with natural and eco-friendly ingredients. Making your own cleaning products is a great way to live a more sustainable life.
Ingredients
- Baking soda: Baking soda has amazing cleansing properties, and it adds a gentle abrasive to this scrub.
- Liquid castile soap: Castile soap is a plant-based soap that cleans extremely well without anything harsh or corrosive. It’s ideal for skin care and cleaning products because it is so gentle on surfaces.
- Hydrogen peroxide: You’ll want 3% peroxide. This gets the bathtub super white and stain-free.
- Water: You can optionally add water to your scrub if you want it to be a thinner consistency.
How to Make DIY Bathtub Cleaner
Step 1: In a mixing bowl, combine the baking soda, castile soap, and hydrogen peroxide.
Step 2: Stir until it forms a thin paste.
Step 3: Transfer the paste to a small jar with a lid (I just use any old container I have).
Step 4: If you have extras, you can store them in a cool, dark place. Just use it up within a week.
How to Use DIY Bathtub Cleaner
Step 1: Dampen a rag, sponge, or cloth with warm water.
Step 2: Scoop out a small amount of the cleaner or dip your rag into it.
Step 3: Gently scrub the tub surface using light, circular motions. There’s no need for heavy pressure. The cleaner is very effective, and we don’t want to damage the surface of the bathtub.
Step 4: As you scrub, you’ll notice the soap scum lifting away. The surface will start to feel smoother pretty quickly; that’s how you’ll know it’s working.
Step 5: Rinse thoroughly with warm water and wipe dry with a clean cloth.
Notes + Tips
- I like the consistency of this cleaner; it spreads nicely. If you want it even thinner, you can add a few splashes of water.
- In rare instances, such as very dirty bathtubs with a lot of buildup, you might need to go over it twice.
- This is particularly effective for cleaning soap scum. I also have a daily shower cleaning spray you can use between cleanings to help keep it clean longer.
- If you have a particularly stubborn stain, apply a thick layer of this cleaning paste to it and let it sit for a few hours. Wipe away and scrub with more paste as needed.
- If you’re also cleaning the shower walls above your bathtub, save the tub for last. It’s always recommended to clean from top to bottom. You can clean the shower walls with my DIY shower scrub.
- Cleaning the tub can be painful on your knees. Fold up a towel and use it as a knee pad to help with this.
How to Keep Your Bathtub Clean
Preventing grime build-up and doing light maintenance cleans is the best way to avoid heavy cleaning and stains.
If you’d like to keep your scrubbing to a minimum and maintain a clean tub, try these tips to keep your bathtub sparkling between cleanings.
- Keep the hair cleaned out of the drain, and make sure your tub is draining well so you don’t have sudsy water sitting in it. If your drain is clogged, try my simple method for how to unclog a bathroom sink before you break out the drain snake.
- Use a mesh drain catcher to keep hair and other objects from clogging the drain.
- Be sure to rinse any soap residue and suds out of the tub after each use.
- Clean it more often, rather than waiting until the buildup gets bad. A quick scrub once or twice a week will save you the headache of having to clean heavy grime that’s been caked on for ages.
Recipe FAQs
That depends on the material your tub is made of, though it is safe for most bathtubs. This paste is safe for enamel tubs, as well as acrylic and fiberglass tubs, as long as you use a soft, non-scratch cloth or sponge and be gentle. Do not use it on natural stone resin tubs!
Vinegar is acidic and can be corrosive to some bathtubs, so use caution when cleaning with it. This bathtub cleaner is made with only gentle ingredients, and it’s safe for most bathtubs.
Related Posts
- DIY Soap Scum Remover
- How to Clean Mold From Shower Grout
- Multi-Surface Bathroom Cleaner
- How to Easily Clean Calcium Buildup in Your Shower
- Homemade Foaming Toilet Cleaner
If you made this DIY Bathtub Cleaner tutorial or any other tutorial on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
DIY Bathtub Cleaner
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Small jar for storage
Ingredients
- 4 oz baking soda
- 1.75 oz liquid castile soap
- 0.75 oz hydrogen peroxide, 3% solution
- water, optional, see notes below
Instructions
How to Make It
- In a mixing bowl, combine the baking soda, castile soap, and hydrogen peroxide. Stir until it forms a thin paste.
- Transfer the paste to a small jar with a lid (I just use any old container I have).
- If you have extras, you can store them in a cool, dark place. Just use it up within a week.
How to Use the Bathtub Cleaner
- Dampen a rag, sponge, or cloth with warm water.
- Scoop out a small amount of the cleaner or dip your rag into it.
- Gently scrub the tub surface using light, circular motions. There’s no need for heavy pressure. The cleaner is very effective, and we don’t want to damage the surface of the bathtub.
- As you scrub, you’ll notice the soap scum lifting away. The surface will start to feel smoother pretty quickly, that’s how you’ll know it’s working.
- Rinse thoroughly with warm water and wipe dry with a clean cloth.
Notes
- This paste is safe for enamel tubs, as well as acrylic and fiberglass tubs, as long as you use a soft, non-scratch cloth or sponge and be gentle.
- Do not use on natural stone resin tubs.
- I like the consistency of this cleaner; it spreads nicely. If you want it even thinner, you can add a few splashes of water.
- In rare instances, such as very dirty bathtubs with a lot of buildup, you might need to go over it twice.
- This is particularly effective for cleaning soap scum. I also have a daily shower cleaning spray you can use between cleanings to help keep it clean longer.
- If you have a particularly stubborn stain, apply a thick layer of this cleaning paste to it and let it sit for a few hours. Wipe away and scrub with more paste as needed.
- If you’re also cleaning the shower walls above your bathtub, save the tub for last. It’s always recommended to clean from top to bottom. You can clean the shower walls with my DIY shower scrub.
- Cleaning the tub can be painful on your knees. Fold up a towel and use it as a knee pad to help with this.
Hi Laura
Lovely simple recipe thanks. I just wanted to make you aware of one shortcoming. The hyrdogen peroxide once mixed will break down and not be effective in a matter of days (breaking down to basically water) – so only useful if you are using it that day.
Works like a charm! Use it for my shower and bathtub.
Yay, Erika! I’m so glad to hear it’s working well for you! It’s one of my favorite simple swaps — so satisfying to clean with something natural and effective.
Hi Laura, your recipes are amazing. I went to try this paste, but I am out of Castile soap. Is there anything l you would recommend that I could substitute with? Thanks so much.
Promise to come back with a rating as soon as I’ve scrubbed😀
Hi Toni! You can substitute Castile soap with mild dish soap or a natural liquid soap — it works great in a pinch! Can’t wait to hear how your scrubbing session goes! 😊
This bathtub cleaner is just what my tub needs! I’m going to use this tonight.
Haha, let me know how it turns out!