Mr. Clean versus Tile Cleaner

I got a little comparison cleaning kit a few weeks ago. The kids and I finally decided to try it out. I love these kinds of comparison reviews! I feel just like those ladies on TV with the taste tests!

OK, so we got a box of the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. They have “powerful foaming cleanser” and come with the Febreze Meadows & Rain fresh scent. I actually didn’t realize why the sponges smelled so good until I re-read the box and saw the Febreze label. The smell is very nice. I hate the stench of bleach, so I have to say I was immediately turned off by the “leading brand” stuff. (It’s a Clorox tub & tile cleaner, if you really want to know). I have a fiberglass bathtub (a very old one) and it is a PAIN to clean. The soap scum really builds up. I have tried a lot of various tub cleaners, but none ever really worked. We relegated ourselves to scratching off the soap scum with a plastic spatula. YES, believe it or not, that’s how we cleaned it. Back breaking! *sigh* My daughter got the bright idea to use Cascade dishwashing detergent, and that worked better than any tub cleaner, but she still had to scrub the surface somewhat. So we have been eager for something that cleans our tub and doesn’t send us to the hospital.

So this kit came with two pre-dirtied tiles. lol. You can see my little fingernail scratches on the tiles. My son, Sniffy, assisted me with our experiment.

A checklist had some recommendations for us.

The first thing we did was squirt the “Leading Brand” (gosh, I feel so professional when I say it that way) on a dirty tile and scrub it off with a paper towel.

Hm. Nope. Not very good. Kinda reminds me of those painful tub-scratching days. We tried the Mr. Clean foamy erasers.

Wow! I was surprised at how quickly it scrubbed off. And my young son was unusually exuberant about it, too. Hm, I think I may have another poor, unsuspecting slave handy helper to wash the tub!

The next thing we tried was crayon markings and marker scribbles. THANK GOD my kids are too old for scribbling on walls with crayons (I think so, anyway). Both cleaning products performed the same. They wiped off the crayon and the marker very easily.

The next thing on the list was to make chili and use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean up the baked disaster. I didn’t do that part (didn’t feel like cooking, lol), but I probably would just stick to tub cleaning for the Magic Erasers. I was very impressed with the tile scum removal.

My daughter decided to test out the eraser in the scummy tub. Not too bad! She said the foaming stuff inside the sponge was very effective; and scrubbing was “like washing a blackboard with an eraser, just a little bit harder.” So I think we’ve finally found our tub cleaner! This means we can finally throw out all those old plastic spatulas! Hurray! I didn’t have to worry about her breathing in chlorine fumes, either!

For your information, the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers come in packs of two. I saw them at Walgreens for $3.99. The sponges can really be used only once for a big job, maybe twice for smaller jobs. The Clorox cleaner is also at Walgreens for $3.99, but it doesn’t smell as nice as the Mr. Clean, and the liquid tub cleaner is just not effective on my tub. You can read more about Mr. Clean products here. I hope this little review helps to eliminate evil scum from all the recesses of the world!

P.S. This is not a paid post! Consider it my service to mankind and the quest for the perfect tub cleanser.