What Is the Best Way to Clean an Acrylic Bathtub Safely?

The safest way to clean an acrylic bathtub is also the gentlest one: mild dish soap, or a 1 to 1 mix of white vinegar and water, applied with a soft, non-abrasive cloth and rinsed well. That routine handles nearly all everyday cleaning of an Ella acrylic shell, and the approved stronger products for soap scum and hard-water film are listed in What Can I Safely Clean My Walk-In Tub With?. Keep bleach, scouring powders, abrasive pads and melamine sponges off the acrylic, because those are the products that scratch, dull or weaken the finish over time.

Why Acrylic Asks for a Gentle Touch

Knowing what the surface is made of makes every cleaning decision easier. An Ella tub shell starts as a solid acrylic and ABS sheet that is heated and vacuum-formed over the mold into one seamless surface, with the acrylic roughly 1/8 to 3/16 inch thick and gel-coated fiberglass applied to the back for strength. No fiberglass is used on the bather side. The white color is dispersed through the whole sheet rather than sitting on top as a finish layer, and the surface is non-porous, so it resists mold, mildew and staining and is easier to clean than a gel coat tub. The comparison in Fiberglass vs Acrylic Tub: Which Bathtub Material Is the Better Choice? explains why that matters: a fiberglass tub relies on a thin sprayed gel coat that is described as brittle and prone to chipping and cracking, while acrylic has no separate finish to wear through.

That glossy, non-porous surface is exactly what you are protecting when you clean. Abrasives cut tiny scratches into the gloss, which is how a tub drifts from shiny to hazy, and harsh chemicals such as bleach can damage the acrylic itself when used regularly. Because dirt sits on top of a non-porous surface rather than soaking in, there is rarely any need for scrubbing force. Soap, warm water and a soft cloth do the work, and a little patience replaces elbow grease.

What to Use and What to Keep Away

Ella's published guidance sorts cleaning products into a few clear groups. The table lists each group with the products named in the sources and how they are meant to be used.

What the table means in practice is that the gentle option is the default and the approved list is the exception you reach for when something has built up. The products in the two "never" rows tend to be the ones already under the sink, which is why the first thing to check when a tub looks dull is what has been used on it so far. If a product is not on the approved list, the safe assumption is that it stays off the tub.

A Routine Clean, Step by Step

1. Rinse the shell with warm water so loose film and hair lift off before you wipe. The pull-out hand shower, where your faucet set has one, is handy for this.
2. Wipe the seat, floor, walls and deck with mild dish soap or the vinegar and water mix on a soft cloth, working from the top of the walls down toward the drain.
3. Rinse everything, then dry with a soft cloth. In hard-water areas, make a habit of wiping the tub down after each use, because Ella's shower care instructions note that water left to dry on a fixture can fade its color over time.
4. Clean glass screens and chrome trim with soap and water after use, and wipe metal dry after any salt soak.
5. If the tub has jets, clean the pump inlet cover of hair and debris each month and run the vinegar flush at the same time.

Doing the wipe-down about twice a month keeps the surface clean. Since a walk-in tub is drained before the door is opened, the rinse fits naturally at the end of the bath-to-drain sequence described in How does a walk-in tub work from door to drain?.

Dull Patches, Light Scratches and Stains

Because the color runs through the sheet, acrylic can be renewed in a way a sprayed finish cannot. Light scratches and dull areas can be brought back by polishing with a fine-grade automotive polishing compound, worked gently on the affected spot and buffed out. The video on this page makes the same point from a dealer's point of view: the presenter explains that an acrylic tub is one solid piece of material, and that if it ever looks dull it can be buffed out, unlike a fiberglass tub that needs a full repair and refinish once the gel coat chips.

Stains deserve a moment of diagnosis before any product goes on. A film of dried minerals or soap can dull the white and give it a faint cast in some lighting, and the safe first step is a vinegar and water wipe followed by a rinse and a dry cloth. Mineral spotting and marks from construction or use come off with the published methods above. Two things are not stains at all: the Textured Acrylic option is a textured, off-white finish by design, and the warranty page notes that the white acrylic tone may vary, so a new tub that reads a touch warmer than old tile is normal. My Tub Looks Pink, Yellow or Stained walks through what to try and what to photograph if a tint runs across the whole tub.

If Your Acrylic Tub Has Jets

A jetted acrylic tub has lines you cannot see, and those need the monthly flush rather than the shell. Combine 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water, fill the tub with water to one inch above the highest jets, add the mixture, run the tub for 10 minutes, then drain. The same flush is used before first use. Flushing after every bath is not necessary, because on hydro tubs ozone runs with the hydro pump to keep the lines sanitized between flushes, and the air massage uses Auto Purge to clear water from its lines. Clean the pump inlet cover while the tub is empty.

If a cleaner has left a dull patch, haze or discoloration, stop using it and contact your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, or open a request at ellasbubbles.com/support. Include your model, a photo of the affected area and the name of the product used, so the team can tell whether a polish will bring the spot back.

Watch: Acrylic Over Fiberglass: The Better Walk-In Tub Choice | Voted Safest/Best 2020 | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Which cleaners are safe for my walk-in tub, and which chemicals should I avoid?
• How Do I Clean the Jet Lines on My Walk-In Tub?

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