Tub and shower discolored

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stephie2

My tubs and showers are yellowing. Is there anything you can do to fix this.
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Greg
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

Try CLR or even toilet bowl cleaner. It sounds like a rust / hard water problem. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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Yanita
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Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 10:16 pm
Location: Eastern N. Carolina

Hi,

Are you meaning the entire unit, or say, you have a candle/soap dish set on the tub and it appears lighter under the object...make sense?

If that is the case, check and see where the sun is shining on your tub, seems the suns rays discolor the units. Awhile ago in the decorating forum someone posted that they used a car cleaner, forget the name now but I think it had the word "purple" something in it. You can check past threads in the decorating forum...

Or as Greg said if it is from water try CLR or another type of lime, mineral etc cleaner.

I am going to move this to the decorating forum as that is where most cleaning post are...please follow us there.

Yanita
The difference between success and failure is who gives up first!
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Teresa73
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:49 am
Location: St. Johns, MI

I know our sunroof (?) is in our master bathroom,
and wow that sun really beats down into the restroom
during bright days. It fades my decor (pictures & towels),
but makes a great spot for the cat who loves to sleep in the sun.

I'm going to try and fit some milky white plastic up there
someday (just under the actual sunroof in the recess spot).
I also dislike how hot it makes the bathroom, and our bedroom
in the summer months. I keep the bathroom door shut just so our
bedroom doesn't heat up so much. It actually helps, but then
the bathroom is like a sauna lol

As for hard water, we had that problem also until the park
installed expensive main water filters (which rock btw).
Now the water smells better (no more sulphur stink),
no more rusty or yucky toilets and tub/shower stalls, and you
can drink the water now LoL Plus it really will help cut down
on debris building up in the water heater and pipes of our home.

We used CLR before, and it worked about 70-80% to remove
the rust. What helped big time was hubby's ''man strength'' when
it came to scrubbing power. The problem we ran into was that
the staining is harder to remove if it's set to long (month/years).

You might want to look into a water filter system for your home
if you have well water, or really hard water. You can even buy
filters now that hook onto the tub or shower pipe/shower head
to clean out some of the rust or hard water effects. Plus clean
them often to stay ahead of the stain build up. I got so tired of
cleaning our toilets, tubs, and shower stalls. The filters now cut
the clean time down by at least half (as far as how long I can
go before I have to clean everything again).

There's also cleaners for toilets, tubs, and showers that coat
the surface with something like Teflon, to help stains 'slide' off
I guess lol but I never tried them. I figured with my luck I'd slip
on the stuff (except the toilet where I did use it and it worked).

Good luck,
Teresa

P.S. If the discoloration is orange, yellowish, or brownish
in hue then it's probably hard water or well water stains.

Your maintence guy or Park Manager should be able to tell
you if your water is hard, or well water. They know what
water they use. You can also ask them what THEY do for the
staining (or possible fading from sun) problems. I find that

I get a lof of great tips from neighbors, the manager, and the
maintence guy. Who knows best, the ones going through it too lol
Please Spay & Neuter Your Pets =^.^=
stephie2

I am on well water, I have a sky light overmy tub also but I have it covered since my husband sleeps during the day. The whole tub is discolored but mostly the floor of it . I wish I could refinish it.
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Teresa73
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:49 am
Location: St. Johns, MI

stephie2 wrote:I am on well water, I have a sky light overmy tub also but I have it covered since my husband sleeps during the day. The whole tub is discolored but mostly the floor of it . I wish I could refinish it.
Well, I think you have to clean more often than usual when dealing with well water. Usually well water has a lot higher iron content, among other high mineral contents. The water filtration system, a water softener, or other water cleaning system helps.

I found this article, but I'm not sure if our tubs our fiberglass, acrylic, plastic, or what type of material. Anyone know what the garden type tubs are usually made from? Anyway, onto the article for removing stains from fiberglass (might apply to whatever ours are made from also).

P.S. The bottom of my tub looks stained, but it's actually the color that's been scrubbed or worn off until it looks greyish (the color wears off down to the original color before being painted in the favtory). You can also ask at Lowes or Home Depot if they sell anything that you can repaint your bathtub with, but make sure you know what material your tub is made out of first.

ARTICLE

Fiberglass bathtubs

Hard water mineral deposits: (Well Water) Occasionally remove with products specifically designed to remove such deposits that state on label they are safe for fiberglass; these are usually mild acids such as "Lime-Away" which contains some phosphoric acid but is safe for consumer use; rubber gloves should be worn when applying, and label instructions followed exactly.

Tough stains such as tar, adhesives, oil paints, etc: Moisten clean cloth with a solvent such as acetone (nail polish remover) or paint thinner and rub stained area lightly until stain disappears.

Use the minimum amount of solvent needed. Do not let solvent go down drain or touch any plastic items. Wipe off with clean cloth dampened in water. Be very careful using solvents. Do not use around heat or flame, do not smoke, keep container capped, have plenty of ventilation!

NOTE: Some "stains" may in fact be a chemical reaction between oxidizing agents in cleaning chemicals, and oils from your skin and other products (e.g., suntan oil, lotion, etc.). The chemical reaction creates a polymer that chemically bonds to fiberglass, often filling up the spaces between the bumps that form the non-skid surface.

Solvents will exacerbate this problem, and abrasives will remove the non-skid surface. Thus, if you have this problem, and other products fail, try "Tub-Rite", available online at www.tub-rite.com. It will not harm the fiberglass, is safe to handle, does not require ventilation, and is biodegradable.

Here are more tips from FAQ Farmers:

Try rubbing one of the cleaners recommended for regular cleaning on stained area; leave on about an hour; rinse.

For heavy soap scum buildup: Occasionally use a mild abrasive, such as "Bon Ami" or "Soft Scrub"; do not use them for regular cleaning.

Lysol Basin Tub & Tile spray. Just spray it on, wait about 2 or 3 minutes, wipe off, works GREAT on my fiberglass shower stall.

Just did this and it works!! Had a very old, very stained bathtub. Hadn't been really cleaned thoroughly in over 20 years. I had given up in getting it spotless until I tried 20 Mule Team Borax - let stains soak in warm water, then follow up with applications of one of the calcium, lime, rust stain removers.

I had to treat this tub several times with these potions, but the clincher was purchasing a 3M product called contour surface stripping pad. It's like a plastic sandapaper. It will not scratch surface, but is much tougher than even your most abrasive sponge.

It can be purchased at any home improvement store in the paint department. With a lot of elbow grease and these techniques, this tub looks absolutely brand new. It's amazing!!

Yes,you can remove stains from an fiberglass bathtubs. I clean all kinds of bathrooms,and kinds of tubs all day long. I use Clorox-Clean-up and just a little Bon-Ami Cleaner. Spray clorox-clean-up, let it soak a little while and go back, put just alittle Bon-Ami on a scrubb-pad,a nd scrubb away, please remember turn air-vent on or open window while cleaning. Rinse very well.
Please Spay & Neuter Your Pets =^.^=
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