Tub/bathroom advice

[G_chloe_g]

hi guy, I'm pretty much a diy Virgin. I've only recently mastered painting and can just about handle wallpapering now too . I hate my bathroom! Its just really old. I don't own the house so don't want to spend a fortune on getting people in to replace the whole suit (also can't ask landlady as have an agreement I will keep property in good working order amongst other stuff) so was thinking to make it more fresh I'd just like to replace a couple of the fixture and fittings (at the moment it's all sort of old mouldy pine) I intend to replace the toilet seat with a nice clean white one replace taps because they look stained even after being washed but my main issue is my the tub. I've spent hours scrubbing tried every different cleaner known to man and made my own bicarbonate solution too but it still looks stained, dirty and streaky. Someone told me they think the bath surface is destroyed (I don't even know what that means ha ha) and I needed to replace the tub. Ok, if that's the case is there any way I can replace the tub and side panel without damaging the tiles? Or does anyone know a miracle product that will get my bath gleaming? I'm so embarrassed to have people round and use the bathroom because it looks so unclean! any and all advice would be really appricated. thank you chloe

 

[Madrab]

To see if the surface is actually permanently marked, get some T - Cut or White Colour cut (Halfords) and using a clean cloth, give a small area a good firm rub and then polish with that and see if it shifts the marks. If that doesn't shift them then the bath is done and needs replaced. Corrosion on the handles looks excessive too. An aggressive cleaner may have been used at some point and has caused the problem

I think your landlady would be wholly unreasonable if an agreement cannot be reached to replace the bath, especially f you have an agreement with her to keep the flat in good working order, that should work both ways.

 

[G_chloe_g]

Thank you for replying madrab. My landlady isn't unreasonable in the slightest, I've not even mentioned the bathroom to her. It's just we agreed anything under £150 repair wise I would sort myself but recently I've non stop been on her case to sort stuff out. She's a lovely lady and She has never once not tried to make good any damages. I rent my bungalow off of her much cheaper than the marketing value. So I just don't want to complain about something that's works perfectly fine but doesn't look very nice if you know what I mean (plus she's a preist and I don't want to go to hell ha ha) the bath handles are exactly the same condition as all my taps hence why I intend to replace all those too. Is the t-cut/white colour cut doesn't work and I need to replace the tub could I do that without damaging the tiles. If I can't I'll speak to her and ask for her to chip in as ultimately she will be moving back in when she retires but if I can replace the tub without damaging tiles I'm happy to go ahead and sort that out myself. I know there hasn't been any refurb type work for a good 20+ years as my partner use to stay over as a child and it's exactly the same as it was then so I'm thinking there is a good chance the tub does need to be fully replaced. (God help me)

 

[JohnD]

The metalwork appears to be marked with limescale, and the plastic or enamel is probably dull with soap and lime deposits.

Branded spray-bathroom cleaners are formulated to clean away limescale and soap deposits, which can be hard to remove with water or home-made mixtures. Use a nylon brush around taps to work it in, clean off witha soft cotton cloth.

I'd try a bottle of Tesco or Flash spray before anything fiercer.

If it is an enamel steel bath, it may have lost its shine due to abrasive cleaners which older people especially like. Even "cream cleaners" are abrasive, though not as bad as Vim and Ajax used to be.

 

[dilalio]

If you're careful and the tiles are well bonded over the wall, you could always sacrifice the first row of tiles and then just replace them with contract white tiles. It won't be seemless but it will still look a lot better with a new bath!

 

[G_chloe_g]

I agree dilalio. The times I've got r white and grey sort of cloudy and I'm sure I cud find something to kind of blend in if I can't get a complete match! Do u think my only option is to replace the tub too?

John I can't lie I'm a massive anti bac freak! With two kids and dirty hands I've painted my whole house in kitchen type paint so it's washable. Mind u they aren't the worse the partner is a mechanic and it drives me mad that he touches the light switches with his grubby paws. So I literally anti bac everything. It didn't touch the bath in the slightest and the surface actually feels a bit rough to touch now too. My fav cleaning product for silver type stuff is either a bit of baby oil which I find brings up everything gleaming or viakal that I find cleans first then baby oil. However I have used a whole variety of cleaning stuff on the bath to try and get those stains off it really bothers me! And I'm fully aware I'm prob a big part to blame for those awful streaky stained marks. I'm just not sure what the best most cost effective solution is.

 

[dilalio]

An old bath will always be an old bath! If it was me I'd change it!
But you haven't said what it's made of!

 

[Madrab]

T-Cut/Colour cut is what I use to renovate acrylic or enamelled baths/shower trays. Anytime someone asks me to re-silicone I suggest that as an extra . It's a mild fine polish and is used for car paintwork to bring the colour back and polish it up. It's the perfect thing to clean an old bath with and see how far it will come back. I use a drill with a sponge pad, water and polish, rinse off then buff up. Results can sometimes be quite striking.

Replacing would be the ideal of course but if that's not an option then It's worth a try.

 

[G_chloe_g]

I have no idea what it is made of sorry. Thanks for tips will try the t cut and see if it works otherwise will replace

 

[Steelmasons]

Bath is obviously steel FFS ..you've only gotta look at the roll...

 

[dilalio]

I didn't look at the photos