I Tried This $18 Amazon Find to Clean My Jetted Bathtub

Along with our mature landscaping and the handprints we’d pressed into fresh concrete, one of the things that was hardest to leave when my family and I moved from our old house in Florida to our new home in Tennessee was our beautiful bathtub.

The tub was large (I used to bathe multiple children in there at once, with room to spare), deep, and beautiful. I used it almost every single night (even during the hot summers) as my calming-down ritual. My bath marked the transition from go-go-go to rest-before-bed, from chasing after kids to settling into my own center. It was more than a fixture in my home; it played a large role in my mental and emotional well-being. 

I’m lucky to have a similarly huge tub in our new place, but taking baths in it is a bit trickier. For one, the tiles surrounding it are more slippery and climbing the step doesn’t feel quite as safe. Additionally, our last house had a tankless water heater (read: endless supply of hot water), whereas this house has a water tank, so I have to time my baths well after my kids’ so I have enough hot water to fully submerge. 

Lastly, I used to be afraid to run the jets in the new tub. The house was built in 1988 and we weren’t the only owners. I was scared of what might come out of the jets if I turned them on, so I just didn’t, and this meant I was missing a big sensory component of my bathing ritual. 

When I found a jetted tub cleaner on Amazon, I was excited to use it — and even more excited at the prospect of using clean jets during my bath! 

The Oh Yuk Jetted Tub Cleaner for Jacuzzis, Bathtubs, and Whirlpools is a bit pricey, costing $17.84 with only four uses per 16-ounce bottle, but it promises to “clean your tub in 15 minutes” with a scientifically-engineered formula that removes “dirty soap build-up, bath and body oils, and black flakes.” Plus it’s a really fun color and is packaged in a cool bottle.

To use the Oh Yuk Jetted Tub Cleaner, I followed the instructions and filled the tub with hot water, added 4 ounces of the bottle to the water (there are clever marks on the bottle, making it easy to measure), and ran the tub with the jets for 15 minutes. Afterward, I drained the tub and then cleaned the scummy residue line that was left behind in the bathtub. 

My results weren’t as visibly dramatic as depicted in some of the Amazon review videos, but I could definitely see that the jetted tub cleaner pulled some yuck out of the jets. I felt confident that the jets were sufficiently cleaned out that I could use them without worrying about what might be circulating in the tub with me. 

In the end, the cleaner allowed me to add a key part of bath time back to my nightly routine, making it a resounding success.