Cleaning showers and bathtubs are often a nightmarish experience. If you are someone who enjoys taking long, soapy baths, you know how horrible stepping in a grimy tub is.
What’s more is that no matter how often you clean your shower and bathtubs, they will become yellow over time. Small dirt particles or grime will collect in the corners and accumulate there.
But, choosing your cleaning products well is an essential step in keeping your bathtub and shower germ-free and squeaky clean. To maintain the hygiene of your bathing space, you will need to use a reliable cleaning agent.
This discussion begs the question: can you use toilet bowl cleaners in the shower?
Toilet bowl cleaners have a good reputation in cleaning dirty toilet bowls and restoring them to their former glory – but can they do the same for your bathtub? Or your shower?
The simple answer is: no, they will not. They are simply not created with the intent of cleaning larger surfaces. Toilet bowl cleaners contain toxic substances that work fine for a toilet bowl but not for your tubs. Instead, we recommend using alternatives or products specifically created to remove the stains from your tub.
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To understand this better, let’s look at what happens if you use toilet bowl cleaners in the shower, what these cleaners are made of, and some alternatives that you can use.
Can You Use Toilet Bowl Cleaner on A Bathtub?
If you use toilet bowl cleaners in your bathtub or your shower, you might experience skin problems. This problem arises due to the toxic chemicals that toilet bowl cleaners have. Even if you use it in the shower, your bare feet will contact these harmful chemicals.
Toilet bowl cleaners also use hydrochloric acid to get rid of germs in the bowl. If you use this on your tub or the shower, it will erode your chrome plating and cause problems for you. The acid will also attack your drain at the bottom.
Most toilet bowl cleaners employ bleach as well to get the job done. Bleach, as we all know, is potent and only to be used in small quantities. By using it on a more extensive surface area like the bathroom, you might risk inhaling some of it, which can prove to be pretty bad for you.
How Do Toilet Bowl Cleaners Work?
Toilet bowl cleaners use whitening and acidic cleaning agents to get rid of bacteria and remove the stains from the toilet bowl. The two main ingredients that go into making toilet bowl cleaners are bleach and hydrochloric acid.
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Bleach
Bleach is a whitening agent. It can work wonders to turn a grimy, old tile or a toilet bowl into a shiny white one. Bleach also kills off any bacteria or pathogens lingering on the bowl.
Bleach is a powerful substance, but it is meant for small spaces. While handling bleach, you need to wear gloves not to touch it or even breathe in it. Bleach is highly toxic when ingested or inhaled.
In the case of showers and bathtubs, which regularly come in contact with our skin, we must avoid using bleach in any form.
Hydrochloric Acid
Hydrochloric acid is a corrosive acidic substance. In toilet bowl cleaners, it is used to eliminate any living organisms from the surfaces on toilet bowls. It also gives the bowl a white glow because it erodes all the stains away.
Hydrochloric acid is dangerous because it is not human-friendly. When used on the skin, it can cause severe burns. Even breathing it in can destroy the health of your lungs.
This acid is too dangerous for you to use in a shower or a tub, where your primary purpose is to clean yourself.
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Remember that almost all toilet bowl cleaners use hydrochloric acid. This should be reason enough not to use these cleaners for your bathing areas.
Alternatives To Toilet Bowl Cleaners
There are many alternatives that you can use to clean your bathtub.
A homemade cleaner will do the job well and keep you safe at the same time. To make a homemade bathroom cleaner, you only need to use vinegar and baking soda. These will act in unison to get rid of any accumulated debris.
Like in the toilet, showers, and bathtubs also have germs that have made it their home. Vinegar will act as a safe hydrochloric acid to kill these bacteria. Baking soda will help in polishing your tub to make it white again.
A more accessible alternative is to buy a cleaner built for showers.
All kinds of brands sell ready-to-use shower cleaners, such as OxyClean, Bio-Clean, etc.
You can find these online and at your local convenience stores or department stores.
We recommend Bio-Clean as it is safer than the other options. Bio-Clean comes in a small green bottle which will take care of a host of things for you, such as mildew, mold, water spots, rust, etc.
It is cheap and has good all-purpose use.
You can also invest in a good tile scrubber to ensure that your bathroom tiles are being cleaned. You can check out a good, extendable tub and tile scrubber from OXO here.
How To Clean Your Shower Without Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Use alternative products like Bio-Clean or vinegar and baking soda instead of toilet bowl cleaners. Follow these simple instructions to clean well.
Clean the shower door, the walls, the floors as often as you can (every five days or so). This will decrease your work later when you want to do a deep cleaning of the shower.
Remember to also clean the grout from time to time by pouring a little vinegar with lukewarm water over it. There are also some grout cleaners available in the market that will do the job well.
Once you have made sure that all the surfaces are clean, use a scrubber to remove the dirt and clean the grout well.
Wrapping Up
We recommend looking into the alternatives mentioned above to keep your showers and tubs clean.
Never use toilet bowl cleaners to clean bathing areas, as they use harmful products. These products can cause permanent damage to your health.
Invest in a good shower cleaner, or use household methods to make one to ensure the safety of yourself and your loved ones while also keeping your space healthy and clean.
