A Horse of a Different Color
Written: Feb 10 '05 (Updated Feb 10 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Eliminates soap scum, no residue, easy on hands, pretty bottle.
Cons: Death fumes, can discolor metal, LOTS of scrubbing required, not cost-efficient.
The Bottom Line: With a lot of effort and breath-holding, this stuff works, but I say stick with Soft Scrub.
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| twenty3skidoo's Full Review: Kaboom Shower, Tub and Tile Cleaner |
Maybe I should have called this review "A Tub of a Different Color," because that is what I got with Kaboom! It had been ages since I'd attempted to clean my tub. I had been staying at home with my kids until about 5 months ago, and I'm ashamed to say it... But I'm pretty sure I hadn't cleaned my tubs since then! One day I looked down at the bottom of my shower, saw various colors of rust/soap scum/ gunk that made my once-beige bath area a unique rainbow of earth tones... Not exactly what I was going for.
So having had very good luck with products from the makers of Orange Glo (who makes this stuff) in the past, I figured Kaboom would be just as incredible. Not quite, but it's not without its merits.
1. So what is Kaboom?
This is a tub and tile cleaner from the makers of OxiClean and Orange Glo. It comes in a very attractive and flashy purple bottle with green accents and says "Kaboom" in big white letters with an explosion of glittery sparkles behind it. They did not want you to overlook this bottle!
It is intended to remove:
*Soam Scum *Dirt
*Hard water buildup *Calcium and Lime stains
*Rust stains
It can be used on:
Bathroom countertops, tubs, shower tile, bathroom and shower fixtures and sinks.
Directions:
Test in an inconspicuous area before use, apply directly to surface or with sponge and let stand for 1 to 3 minutes, wipe and rinse thoroughly with water to avoid drying on surface, repeat as necessary. After use, rinse sponge with water.
2. Promises, promises!
Claims on the bottle:
*Clean easy, breathe easy!
*New! Fresh scent!
*breaks through soap scum and hard water buildup without releasing toxic fumes that will hurt your nose, eyes or skin.
*Leaves no residue after rinsing.
*You will love the power and effectiveness
*Easy on you and tough on bathroom stains.
3. Clean easy?
It did get my tub quite clean, but I would hardly call the process "easy!" I followed the directions, spraying the product on the most discolored areas of my tub first. I had trouble turning the nozzle to spray, but once I got it there, I spritzed the area and let it sit. A little bit came off, but not nearly all. I have discovered that the secret to this product is that you must saturate the area with it. This requires lots of spraying and will make your hand quite tired.
After saturating the bottom of my tub with it, letting it sit, and wiping it clean, I discovered that my tub was a lighter color than I had originally thought. This depressed me, because it meant that I had to scrub the whole shower stall! I guess it needed it, though, because it looks fantastic now. I must stress, though, that this required a LOT of work. Multiple applications, letting it sit (but not too long), scrubbing, rinsing, etc... I don't think this qualified as easy.
4. Breathe easy?
This is the claim on the bottle that I take the most issue with. This stuff almost killed me. I literally had to hold my breath while I sprayed it. It was like trying to clean the tub with Easy Off oven cleaner. It made my lungs and eyes burn, and the smell was awful. They are lying about breathing easy!!!
5. Tough on scum, not on hands...
Okay, calling this product "tough" on scum might be a bit of a stretch, but it did eventually get my tubs clean, as previously noted. One good thing about this stuff is that even though I was not wearing my trusty yellow cleaning gloves, it did not hurt my skin in the least. Even today, after having spent hours cleaning with it last night, they still fell nice and soft. However... It did make my nail polish come off! I thought that was pretty funny.
As for the tough on scum: In my tub, it got rid of all of the soap scum and buildup, but did not work too well on the hard water stains. If they are diminished at all, it is only slightly. It did make my faucet and metal shower knobs noticably shiny and gleamy, though. My tub really looks pretty good.
6. Warnings!
This product has a whole novel of warnings on the back. Don't mix with other cleaning products, avoid contact with eyes, etc... Common sense, and if you buy it, you can read it there, because I don't feel like typing all of them!
I will list the surfaces on which you should not use this:
Do not use on frosted glass, aluminum or galvanized metal, natural marble or stone, Mexican or terracotta tiles and reglazed surfaces. Do not let formula stay on metal, fabrics or carpet, may discolor.
I think the main thing is not to let it dry on any surface or you may have trouble on your hands.
7. My final recommendation:
I say stick with Soft Scrub. While it is nice that this product won't bleach out rags and is easy on skin, Soft Scrub requires much less effort and is much more effective. In addition, this stuff is simply not cost efficient. I bought it at Wal-Mart for about $3.99, and to clean my two bathtubs, it took about 2/3 of a bottle. Couple the large amount you must use with the knock-you-down fumes and the large amount of effort required to get this stuff to work, I say Kaboom goes Kersplat. It's a dud. Stick with Soft Scrub and maybe someday those amazing folks over at Orange Glo will come up with a bathroom product that delivers on its promises...
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
twenty3skidoo
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Member: Kori Daniel
Location: Fayetteville, AR, US
Reviews written: 75
Trusted by: 11 members
About Me:
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined." -H.D. Thoreau
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