Cleaning the Bathtub…

This apartment building is 75+ years old.  The bathtub is also that old.  It’s no longer a shiny slippery white enamel.  Its got a fine tooth of many scratches from many scrubbings which have accumulated enough to create lots of surfaces for dirty to just settle in and just roost.

For a long time I struggled with it.  I used every type of cleaner on the shelf, EXCEPT Comet.  I was taught never to use Comet powder on enamel.  But this bathtub would not get properly gleaming clean.  So I started to waver on the Comet.  It’s not like I could ruin an already ruined surface!  That day past at least 30 years ago.

Anyway, I finally broke down and used Comet with Bleach.  And then like some sort of mad woman I scrubbed my bathtub at 11 pm last night.  I’m sure my neighbors though I was crazed.  And it was like a sweet song of relief.  Comet works in this bathtub.  I was happily and vigorously scrubbing for 45 minutes last night.   Its cleaner looking that it’s ever been.  Significantly cleaner than it was when I moved in.

It’s clean enough that I am contemplating an actual BATH.  Baths are like nirvana to me. But this bathtub always looked so gross even after cleaning that I couldn’t bring myself to soak in it.  Only shower.  But now!!!

Tonight, I BATHE!!!

I’m smiling like a maniac just anticipating it.  I know – only a mad woman would add a boring post about scrubbing the bathtub to a series about Smiling.  But seriously, I’m full of joy over this little thing.

“There must be quite a few things a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.” ~Sylvia Plath