Scrub-A-Dub-Dub

Have you ever wondered how to make things clean? I mean really clean? I almost wish that my windows would sparkle like they do in Windex commercials, but I have come to the realization that doesn't happen in real life. It gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing that I have organized and sanitized an area to the best of my ability. I am in no way OCD; I just like seeing the rewards of my hard work. I hate it when there is a strange residue over areas I've scrubbed, the glitter won't come off the carpet, or the strange marks won't come off the windows. It's discouraging after you have put so much effort in trying to scrub the place.

I have come to the conclusion that one of my favorite cleaning products is Dawn dish soap. As a matter of fact, I like it so much that I'm pretty convinced it could clean just about anything. Like many of you, I have seen commercials about Dawn dish soap saving animals from oil spills. At first I thought the commercials were just an exaggeration, but after experiencing Dawn's effects on grease in my house, I am pretty convinced the commercials are telling the truth.

One of my favorite uses for Dawn dish soap is cleaning my bathtub. Yes, my bathtub. In my experience, most cleaning products specifically made for the bathtub and shower don't adequately clean the area. They often leave a strange residue, create weird spots, or the chrome doesn't shine like it should. Dawn dish soap is the answer. It's super easy to use and cost effective. Only a small amount of dish soap is needed to clean the tub compared to the amount necessary amount of other products. When you are living on a budget, saving money is definitely a plus. I'm sure there are several methods you can use, but I'll describe what I do.

1. Get some Dawn dish soap (any kind with do), a bucket, and a sponge. I use the sponges that have the green scrub pad on one side. In my experience, I have found the scrub pad can be helpful in cleaning certain areas of the tub.
2. Thoroughly wet your sponge and add one small dollop of Dawn. When I say small, I mean small. It really doesn't take much to get the sponge sudsy.
3. Thoroughly scrub the tub/shower, starting with the walls. If you start with the floor, the suds and grime from the walls will fall on your newly cleaned floor. After you have finished scrubbing one wall, rinse the sponge with water and then use the sponge to rinse the wall. You don't want the soap to sit on the shower wall for too long and dry there. 
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the rest of the tub. If you find an area in your tub to be especially tricky, try using the scrub pad of your sponge. Also, you can sometimes feel the difference between areas that are thoroughly cleaned and those that need more scrubbing. (I've found this is especially noticeable in showers that are not tiled.) Your hand will easily slide over areas that are completely clean, but your hand with stick or feel the grime of areas that need to be cleaned more. 
5. Once you have cleaned the walls and floors of your tub/shower, concentrate on cleaning the chrome. Use the same technique you did for the rest of the shower.
6. To make sure you have completely rinsed the shower, get your bucket (or you can use a spray bottle) and  fill it with water. Pour/splash/spray fresh water along the walls of the shower to make sure you have rinsed off all the soap. You shouldn't need to do much to the floor because the water used to rinse the walls should be enough to rinse the floor as well.
7. I like to add this step just for good measure. Get some paper towel and dry all the chrome in the tub. This leaves it dry, without any water spots, and extra shiny. 

You're done! Now you should be left with a sparkling tub/shower and the satisfaction of knowing it is actually clean. I know my instructions seem long, but that's only because they are very detailed. The process is really easy. I hope this tip helps you as much as it did me! Happy scrubbing!

Notice how shiny the chrome is after I've used Dawn. It's practically like a mirror.

If you look closely in the center of the picture, you can see a line down the middle of the tub. On the left, I have cleaned using Dawn. On the right, I haven't cleaned at all. You can see a noticeable difference between the before and after.