How to Remove Soap Scum: Easy Tips for a Residue-free Home

Soap scum. The killer of the kitchen. The louse of the laundry room. The bane of the bathroom (that’s a French pun). It’s easy to understand how it can become the scourge of everyone’s high-water-use areas. But do you know how to prevent soap scum?

 Soap scum shouldn’t be taken lightly—it is a formidable foe for your bathtub, shower and sink. Fortunately, The Granite Gold Company has all the tricks and tips you need to triumph over soap scum, from natural household ingredients for smaller battles to heavy-hitting (and 100% safe) cleaner that will have that soap scum waving the white flag in no time.

 So, let’s dive in and scrub up on how to prevent soap scum. 

What Is Soap Scum?

Contrary to popular belief, soap scum isn’t just leftover soap. Soap scum, also called lime soap, is actually a chalky, white residue consisting of dirt, soap, and mineral deposits that accumulate over time. When the fatty and/or oily ingredients in soaps react with magnesium and calcium stearate minerals in water, soap scum takes hold. 

Over time, soap scum can combine with mold or mildew to worsen in smell and harden, making it rather difficult to remove. Your water type directly influences the extent of your soap scum build-up. If you’ve got hard water running through your pipes, you’re especially prone to soap scum due to its extra mineral content.

How Can You Prevent Soap Scum?

It’s useful to know how to treat soap scum, but it’s essential to know how to prevent it. So what’s the best way to eliminate soap scum? By regularly cleaning your high-water-use areas, you can live soap-scum-free and save yourself countless hours of elbow grease. Here’s what you need to know.

1. Keep your shower, tub, sinks, and laundry rooms dry. 

Squeegee and/or towel dry your shower and tub after every rinse or soak. Doing so will wipe away a hefty amount of residue left behind each time you bathe. And that means less soap scum accumulation over time. 

2. Soften your water.

Soap scum loves hard water because of its high-mineral content. To combat this, you can make your water soft by installing a water softener that removes the minerals that react with soap to create soap scum. 

3. Use a safe daily cleaner

Alongside keeping your surfaces dry, spray down your soapy areas with a safe daily cleaner like Granite Gold® Daily Cleaner to avoid soap scum buildup and keep your bathroom, kitchen, and laundry rooms sparkling. If you’d like a more targeted cleaner for your showers and baths, choose a tailored formula like Granite Gold® Shower Cleaner, which safely cleans natural stone and ceramic surfaces while preventing mold, mildew, soap scum and hard water deposits with regular use. See description on product label for specific directions.

How To Remove Soap Scum

Unfortunately, preventing soap scum isn’t always possible. It’s important, therefore, to know how to tackle soap scum pragmatically and efficiently. Though some home remedies can prove useful, if you want the best results, you’ll need to choose reputable and safe cleaning products to tackle soap scum.

Granite Gold® Shower Cleaner

Eliminate soap scum and keep your surfaces (and grout) safe. With Granite Gold® Shower Cleaner’s streak-free formula, you get a powerful cleaner that safely deep-cleans granite, marble, travertine and all other natural stone and ceramic shower walls and tubs. Use it to cut through (and prevent) soap scum and turn your bathroom into a four-star resort-inspired oasis.

Fight Soap Scum with The Granite Gold® Company 

Soap scum doesn’t have to cloud your shower or tub. With a winning combination of prevention and safe cleaners, you can effectively prevent and mitigate soap scum to keep your surfaces healthy and stunning.

Learn more essential tips for protecting your home and surfaces by checking out The Granite Gold Company blog.