Using a bleach and water solution to clean your bathtub is a common and helpful trick. Bleach is easy to find and store, and it will restore your bathtub and make it as clean and sparkly as it once was.
However, some are worried about using the tub afterward since bleach can damage your skin if it directly interacts with it. Those asking, “Can I take a bath after cleaning the bathtub with bleach?” have nothing to worry about as long as they rinse the tub afterward.
It’s safe to take a warm bath after you’ve cleaned it with bleach, as long as you rinse it afterward before getting in.
It’s also a good idea to wait a few hours before you use the tub after you’ve rinsed and dried it.
How To Properly Clean Your Bathtub After Using Bleach
Rinse the Tub with Water
The best way to go is to rinse the tub with clean water once you’re done using a bleach solution. You’ll need to make sure that you wash away all the bleach. It will prevent you from slipping in the tub and remove the danger of damaging your skin.
Be careful and thorough when doing so, and ensure you don’t miss even the tiniest of spots. You’ll probably have to rinse the tub’s surface several times to achieve this.
Use an Old Cloth to Scrub the Surface
There’s still a slight danger you’ll slip in the tub after you drain all the water used to clean the bleach.
Take a soft and clean cloth and work your way over the whole bath until you soak all that water. It has the added benefit of making the tub look clean and neat as well.
Any cloth or old clothes will do, and if you’re worried about bleach that may remain on the surface of the fabric – you can try a single-use material.
Be patient during this part of the process and keep going until you are satisfied with the outcome.
Allow the Bathtub to Dry
There’s nothing wrong with using the bathtub once you’ve rinsed it with water and ensured it’s clean. However, since you’ll need a lot of water to remove the bleach, the bathtub can be rather slippery.
If you’re worried about slipping, or falling in the tub, wait until it is dried before using it again. The bleach will usually come with instructions that you should carefully follow.
It takes a few hours for a bath to dry, depending on how large it is and how much water you’ve used. Many homeowners time the cleaning, so it’s done late in the evening. That way, the tub can dry overnight, which is more convenient.
Once you’ve cleaned the tub with bleach, it may be a good idea to remove the shower curtains so that it has more space to dry.
That way, you’ll disinfect the tub, and you can take a bath without having to worry about the fumes.
Should You Leave Bleach in the Tub Overnight?
It’s best not to leave the bleach in the tub overnight. Bleach is a harsh substance, and if you leave it for too long, it can damage the tub’s surface.
Leave the bleach for about 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how dirty it is.
Rinse it afterward using hot water.
That way, the surface of your bathtub will be clean and sparkly, but it won’t get damaged and stripped of paint in the process.
Can You Use Too Much Bleach and Damage the Tub?
The amount of bleach you use isn’t going to make very much of a difference. A bathtub can be damaged if it’s in contact with the bleach for too long.
That’s why it’s best to set a time to no more than 20 minutes and to leave the bleach to do its thing.
After that, you’ll need to carefully and thoroughly remove the bleach by rinsing the tub with water and drying the remaining water with a soft cloth.
How Long to Wait Before Rinsing the Bleach From the Bathtub?
It depends on how much bleach you’ve used, how dirty your tub is, and how large it is. In most cases, the bleach should be mixed with water in a common spray bottle, in a 1-to-3 ratio, so that it isn’t too harsh on your bathtub.
This means you’ll need to use half a cup of bleach for every gallon of water. Wait for about 20 minutes before rinsing the first time, and keep all the windows open, so the chemical will dry out faster.
Bleach has a relatively strong smell, and it will be the best indicator of when you can take a bath after cleaning your tub with bleach.
If you can smell the bleach in the bathroom, repeat the process, and let it vent for another 20 to 30 minutes until all the fumes are out.
How to Remove Stubborn Stains
Sometimes, there are visible stains that are difficult to get rid of. Homeowners often make the mistake of pouring more bleach over them to remove stains faster, thus risking damaging the bathtub or a shower.
There’s a better and less risky way of dealing with them that will still kill germs and keep the tub clean.
Place a paper towel over the stain and soak it with bleach instead of using it directly on the tub’s surface. Check on it every once in a while. You’ll notice that the bleach is dissolving the paper and doing its thing on the stain.
Rinse it as you would the rest of the tub once you’re done.
When Not to Use Bleach
Using bleach to clean your tub or a shower is effective, but it’s not always the best forward.
Colored and acrylic bathtubs are often easier to damage with bleach than plain white ones. The bleach wouldn’t damage the bathtub, but it could strip the paint off the top layer.
Oxygen bleach is a good alternative in these cases. This type of bleach is created with peroxide and soda ash, and it can clean the tub just as well as ordinary bleach.
It doesn’t smell as bad, and it won’t do as much damage if it’s left in the tub.
If you don’t have oxygen bleach, you can use baking soda instead of bleach and vinegar, and you’ll mainly achieve the same results when it comes to killing germs and keeping the bathtub clean.
How Long Should You Wait to Take a Bath after Bleaching it?
Bleach is an effective tool for cleaning a bathtub or a shower and is easy to use. Those wondering, “can you take a bath after cleaning your tub with bleach?” can be assured that it’s not dangerous to do so.
Direct contact with bleach can damage your skin, and it’s slippery, so it may cause you to fall in the tub.
Wait about 20 minutes for the bleach to dissolve the dirt and rinse it off with water, and make sure you’re careful.
Soak up the water with an ordinary dry cloth, so it doesn’t become a slipping hazard, and you’re done.
If your bathtub is white, there’s little chance the bleach will damage it if used correctly. This means you need to take proper precautions when handling bleach.
You’ll also need to air dry the bathroom after you’ve washed anything inside with bleach.