Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing 1989-2024
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Clorox stained my bathtub, can it be removed?
Quickstart: Dozens of people have reported success at removing rust stains with hydrogen peroxide ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links]
You are my HERO! It's so dumb, I couldn't find my normal tub cleaner, so I used Mr Clean. That is the only thing I could think of, and had to quick clean my tub cause company coming. Just did a quick cleaning, maybe I didn't rinse it off properly or what, but the next morning omg, it looked terrible!
Found my good tub cleaner and scrubbed and scrubbed so my tub looked nice and clean. Then after it dried, ugly brown streaks all over again.
I found this thread and immediately went up and poured the peroxide
⇦ this on
eBay or
Amazon [affil links]
in the tub. OMG it was like magic! Just pouring it on and color was perfect! Its been 12 hours and still looks clean. Thank you so much.
- Ashley, North Dakota
December 28, 2022
⇩ Related postings, oldest first ⇩
Q. A friend told me to use 1/2 clorox and 1/2 water to remove mold spores from the tub. I sprayed this mixture on last night and woke up to find that I now have a brown stains in the center of my tub due to the clorox I used last night to kill mold spores. I tried scrubbing it off with Comet, it helped some, but it's still there... anything I can do to remove this stain? My tub is an original porcelain tub, the tile on the walls are fine, but the tub got stained.
Summer Black- Decatur, Georgia
2004
A. Household bleach is an alkaline material and consequently will precipitate iron out of water. It sounds like that's what happened since iron stains are rust colored. A mildly acidic household product made for removal of iron stains may take care of it.
Read the label for C-L-R, or LimeAway ⇩ and see if it is recommended for this.
Hopefully we don't have to warn you of the personal dangers of mixing bleach with other cleaners (read the label). Good luck.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Ed. update: Hydrogen peroxide seems to be a more promising answer :-)
Q. Re. the stain in bathtub - I recently had my landlord reglaze my tub and set down a sponge full of bleach. It left a yellow spot. Is there a paint? Or will hydrogen peroxide ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] with cream of tartar ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] remove it?
Georgia Lolafredo- Los Angeles, California, USA
2004
Q. I have enamel bath tub, there brown stains and I have tried a number of stain removers but with avail. I also tried to scrub with sand scrubber and again no success. I need your help.
Thanks
- Ewa Beach, Hawaii, USA
2007
A. Hi, folks. Yes, dozens of people have reported amazing success at removing bathtub stains with hydrogen peroxide. See thread 8229 for still more.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Hydrogen peroxide did the trick for me!
- Richmond, Virginia
January 18, 2012
Several years later I came to this forum to find the same answer: Hydrogen-Peroxide was the solution to my bathtub stain.
I made it with Clorox. It wasn't the brown stain I read in previous comments, mine was yellowish, but I thought it was damaged for good, since nothing else I tried removed the stain, there or four inches long.
It wasn't magic, I had to scrub several times but it did it.
- Arlington, Massachusetts, USA
May 1, 2017
I was worried ... I stained the tub with a bleach cleaner, which caused yellowish streaks. I tried the hydrogen peroxide
⇦ this on
eBay or
Amazon [affil links]
and the streaks completely disappeared, no scrubbing required.
- Schenectady, New York USA
April 17, 2019
Really? Because I just tried the same thing and nothing happened ... So frustrating!
- Tinton Falls, New Jersey
November 4, 2022
Ed. note: This forum is designed to help build camaraderie through sharing of tips, pics, anecdotes, & opinions.
When comment is invited by strangers who withhold their names, readers may be less likely to engage.
Q. I left bleach soaking in my tub and the drain turned black and it stained my tub black what can I do?
Trisha kenney- Chalmette. Louisiana
July 25, 2019
A. Hi Trisha. Can you help us more forward by telling us whether you did or did not try the hydrogen peroxide ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] please? Thanks.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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Q. I have a blue tub and parts of it have turned white (when it is dry). I think it is from using Ajax which would have bleach in it.
Can anyone explain what is happening here? Jack May- BOSTON Massachusetts September 4, 2022 A. Hi Jack. I suspect, since the color returns when wet, that the Ajax roughened it more than bleached it (Ajax is, after all, an abrasive scouring powder). Reflected light can tend to scatter off a rough surface causing this lack of color saturation ... but when the surface is wet, the reflecting surface is smooth, so the light doesn't scatter and the color saturation returns.
adv. Faded siding or trim? Everbrite might fix it without repainting 
One of our supporting advertisers (Everbrite [a finishing.com supporting advertiser]) offers a clearcoat product used to restore the color to chalky finishes on aluminum siding. A simple test they suggest is that if the color of the siding looks good when wet, the clearcoat will probably save it. Although it's not intended for bath tubs, I would suggest getting a small amount and coating a small section of your tub. If it restores the color, proves reasonably durable, and doesn't introduce any slipperiness hazard, maybe it will be an answer? Luck & Regards, Ted Mooney, P.E. RET Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey Q. -- this entry appended to this thread by editor in lieu of spawning a duplicative thread
The stains look worse when the tub is dry and seem to fade when its wet. Any ideas would be helpful. We have thought about resurfacing the tub as it looks ugly right now. A. Hi, Laar. We appended your question to a thread where your question was asked and answered immediately above :-) Q. What was the answer to correcting your tub with the white marks. My tub is the same exact way. I could not find your answer to your question about your tub.
- Charlotte, North Carolina July 15, 2023 A. Hi Pat. Q. Well as I clean it seems as though it's getting somewhat better but you can still see the light stains. My daughter was cleaning the tub with toilet bowl cleaner, and she left it on too long which has left light stains around the tub. I have been cleaning but stains reappear when dry. Also I guess all the times I clean it took the gloss away. What do I use to get the gloss back? I'm not understanding the clear coat? Is there a brand I need to get? So I would need to get Everbrite? Pat Townsend [returning]- Charlotte A. Yay, thanks for coming back, Pat. Toilet bowl cleaner should never be used in a bathtub; it's hydrochloric acid and much much too strong; the materials that tubs are made from cannot withstand it. Furthermore it's quite dangerous. Q. Yes that is why I was so upset that she used the toilet bowl cleaner, I still to this day don't know why she used it. I will try what you said to use. Thank you! - Charlotte North Carolina A. Hi again, Pat. You'll have to read the instructions for the particular product you use, but I assume that they want the tub clean but not sanded.
- CHARLOTTE North Carolina |
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