Removing Scum From a Faucet With Lemon Juice

The scum that collects on a bathroom or kitchen faucet may be merely soap residue. If you have hard water, it may be a stubborn mixture of soap scum and mineral deposits. For either type of residue, lemon juice is an effective natural cleaner. The acid in lemon juice cuts through greasy soap scum and dissolves lime scale and other chalky deposits that accumulate around the base of the faucet. Fresh or bottled lemon juice is equally effective.

Lemon juice in a spray bottle
Non-scratch scrub sponge
Cotton cleaning cloth
Baking soda
Coarse salt

Instructions

- 1
  Spray the faucet with lemon juice. Scrub away light to moderate soap scum with a non-scratch scrub sponge. Rinse thoroughly with water, and dry the faucet with a cotton cleaning cloth.
- 2
  Fight heavy soap scum by spraying the faucet with lemon juice and sprinkling baking soda onto a damp non-scratch scrub sponge. Scrub the scum away with the baking-soda-covered sponge. The baking soda acts as a mild abrasive and will fizz when it comes into contact with the lemon juice. Rinse the cleaners away, and polish the faucet dry with a cotton cloth.
- 3
  Scour away stubborn, longstanding soap scum with a paste made of lemon juice and salt. Choose a coarsely ground, inexpensive salt, such as coarse kosher salt. This scouring paste is more abrasive than baking soda and lemon.
- 4
  Remove tough scum that contains mineral deposits by spraying the affected areas of the faucet with lemon juice. Allow the lemon juice to dry on the faucet overnight. The next day, wipe away the scum and scale with a damp cloth. If needed, attack any lingering deposits with a scrub sponge and baking soda.

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