Christine: Hi! I am Christine with Merry Maids, and today I am teaching you how to remove bathroom stains.

Soap scum is a white or gray film that occurs in showers and tubs from soap product combining with hard water.

If you are not sure if your build up is soap scum or hard water take your nail and try and scrape it, if you are able to remove some of that film it's soap scum, if not it's hard water.

Let's get started removing the soap scum. To remove soap scum you will need an alkaline product. In addition to commercially produced products you can try a handful of dishwasher detergent dissolved in hot water. The trick is to really soak the affected areas by soap scum.

One way to do this is to soak paper-towels or cleaning cloths in the solution and stick them to the affected areas. Once you have allowed your solution to soak for a half hour or so use a nylon scrub brush to tackle the remaining soap scum. You can use the scrub brush to add additional cleaning solution to the surface. The Magic Eraser which is made by Mr. Clean is another option for removing soap scum.

Commercial alkaline products work great when trying to remove soap scum but there are some green alternatives. Let me demonstrate as I make one.

You can add regular table-salt to a container and add white vinegar; you want to mix together until you form a paste. Now that I have a pasty consistency, I can go ahead and apply the product with a nylon scrub brush and continue cleaning.

In addition to drying out your tub and shower after each use there are a few other steps you can take to prevent soap scum build up. Using a liquid soap is one; you can also coat the sides of tubs and showers, not the bottom with a light coating of lemon oil, car wax or Rain-X. The Rain-X is also good for glass shower doors. I hope all of these tips will help you tackle soap scum in your bathrooms.

Next, we will discuss hot water stains.