Taking care of your refinished bathtub is easy, however, there are a few things to keep in mind. Most refinishing products are of an acrylic base.
There are many different quality levels from expensive professional coatings to hardware store coatings. All of them, for the most part, are cared for the same.
In order to keep your tub shiny for years to come you want to keep soap scum and minerals removed. You do this by using a non-abrasive cleaner that is slightly acidic. The perfect cleaner for this is Barkeepers Friend. Barkeepers Friend and a soft sponge is all you should ever need.
BarKeepers Friend at Amazon.com
You can find Barkeepers Friend next to the Comet in most grocery stores and home improvement stores. It comes in a brown can and is safe for all of your surfaces (it may become your favorite cleaner for many things).
A few things to remember about caring for your re-glazed tub are:
- No abrasive cleaners. If it says it is safe for acrylic surfaces it should be okay to use.
- No abrasive sponges. Scotch-Brite pads will scratch your tub.
- No drain cleaners.
- No hair-dye.
- No suction-cup safety mats.
- No heavy bleach cleaners that turn blue after 20 minutes or so.
- If you use bleach, rinse it out afterward (don’t soak the tub in bleach).
- If your tub gets chipped, call a re-finisher to touch it up or purchase an inexpensive porcelain repair kit at the hardware store. Chipped areas of the glaze allow water underneath which causes peeling.
- Don’t leave soap bars and leaky shampoo bottles on the edges of the tub. The chemicals in soap will eat into the finish over the years.
- For extra precaution simply wipe your tub out after every use with the towel you used to dry off. This slows soap and mineral build up.
- Fix dripping faucets. This should have been completed before the tub was re-finished. If you develop a leak, fix it soon.
- Don’t leave standing water around the drain area. If your tub has trouble draining completely, towel off the drain area to help prevent rust from appearing around the drain.
- Read your cleaner labels, don’t mix cleaners and wear protective gear.
In the event that you can not contact the tub’s original re-finisher, these instructions should cover most, if not all of the aspects of refinished tub care.
Additionally, you may download a copy of our Refinished Bathtub Care and Maintenance Instructions. Feel free to print a copy for a tenant or for your own use.
