Bathtub Rust Stains May Be Mineral Deposits

LESLIE: Linda in Colorado needs some help in the bath. What’s going on?

LINDA: We had our home built – January it’ll be nine years ago we moved in. And at the five-year mark – well, four-and-a-half years – (it happened to have a five-year guarantee) so I quick wrote a note off to the builder and they came and looked at my bathtub. It’s got rust, long strips of rust, going through the bottom.

TOM: OK.

LINDA: Now I don’t have kids at home. I used to have four kids. I’m not a young duck. (Tom and Leslie chuckle) I’ve had enough kids and I’ve never had a rusted bathtub in my life.

TOM: OK.

LINDA: And they tried to tell me that was just normal wear and tear. There’s no kids even to wear it out.

TOM: A proper finish on a bathtub is going to protect it from rust. Are you sure it’s rust that you’re seeing and not mineral deposits or dirt [1]? Because on the bottom of the tub you have anti-skid pads that – they tend to collect a lot of grime and sort of make it look like it’s discolored.

LINDA: OK, well I scrub at it and it doesn’t come.

TOM: Have you tried CLR [2]?

LINDA: CLR?

TOM: Yeah, it stands for calcium-lime-rust. It’s pretty good at getting rid of the grunge that sticks to the bottom of the bathtubs. But if it’s a typical metal tub it’s going to have a porcelain finish and, generally, they don’t rust; and in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those rust that wasn’t 50, 60, 70 years old.

LINDA: OK. So I tell you what? I will get CLR and I’ll try it this week. If it doesn’t come off, can I call you back?

LESLIE: Of course.

TOM: You absolutely can. That’s the money-back guarantee when you call us 888-MONEY-PIT.

LINDA: (chuckling) It’s free. (Leslie chuckles)

TOM: Linda, thanks so much for calling us at 888-666-3974.