Recipe: Magic Soap Scum Remover

Perhaps you've seen it on Pinterest or heard about it elsewhere on the web: Dawn and vinegar make a "magic" soap scum remover. And, like me, you went, "Yeah, right."

But... have you tried it?

BECAUSE IT WORKS.

I was toodling around Pinterest and I read a blog that had before and after pictures of her shower. Suddenly I went from "Don't believe everything you read on the interwebz" to "well, someone tried it and took pictures; therefore, it must work!" I had everything on hand (including the dirty shower!) and decided to give it a go. I figured the worst thing that would happen would a be a shower coated in Dawn and possibly more soap scum. Best case? A clean shower with minimal elbow grease. (The latter is important as I do NOT scrub anything, showers included.)

I do not have before and after pictures so you will have to trust me- this thing WORKS. The bath had some soap scum and a little spray and some wiping with an old washcloth and TA DA! Clean as a whistle! As a bonus, I don't feel like I am bathing my kids in chemicals if I don't get it all wiped or rinsed off. It's just Dawn and vinegar!

You will need:

One spray bottle. I found one at the dollar store but you can re purpose an old bottle too.
Dawn. The original link said the "blue" Dawn but I only had the green kind and it worked fine.
Plain, boring white vinegar.

In a microwave safe container (I used a pyrex measuring cup) pour in vinegar. You will need to use equal parts Dawn and vinegar. I had a small spray bottle so I only used half a cup of each.

Warm the vinegar (and only the vinegar) in the microwave. (Yes, your house will smell like warm vinegar. There are worse smells.) Pour into the spray bottle. Add the same amount of Dawn. Shake.

Spray your soap scum covered area. Now, this isn't a chemical, per se, but it does have a strong oder. Our shower area is enclosed and I needed to turn on the bathroom fan. While I like using things like vinegar and Dawn to clean with because the kids can use them, I would NOT let my kids use this. It was still hot and, like I said, the smell was strong.

Allow the spray to sit. You can even let it sit overnight for truly super gross areas. I let the bathtub sit for a few minutes and then rinsed and wiped. I let the shower sit for longer and used the detachable shower head to spray down the shower. I should have let the super gross parts (the bottom of the shower doors) sit for longer but they still got clean.

The one cup of cleaner (half a cup EACH of vinegar and Dawn) was more than enough for the super gross shower, slightly gross tub and more gross half bath. A little goes a long way.

Now I did have to really spray the shower doors and floor. Both the shower and tub required more rinsing than I thought they would, but it was still worth it. I had to wipe down the inside of the metal tracks in the showers and what I removed... ew. But they are bright and shiney and clean now!

When everything was dry, I did have to go back with a slightly damp cloth and wipe the inside of the doors. However, I don't think I rinsed the shower well enough the first time around.

I don't know if this would work with a more natural dish soap, like Seventh Generation. Someone needs to try it and tell me!

I'm am now a believer that a little Dawn will do anything, from clean my dishes to wash my hands to stripping my diapers to cleaning soap scum off showers! I think I have become brand loyal to this stuff and, hey, it's worth it for sparkling clean showers on a dime!