Over time the tiles in my apartment bathtub have turned yellow. It‘s not all of the tiles, just a few in the back/corner. I undoubtedly have hard water but I can‘t figure out why a few of these tiles are yellow. As far as I can tell, these are cheap plastic tiles (white). I have tried comet (with bleach), full strength bleach, vinegar/water solution, vinegar/baking soda, baking soda by itself, mr. clean magic eraser, and full strength CLR to no avail. The only thing that worked at all was using comet and scouring the tiles with steel wool. Although it scratched the surface, the actual scratch part wasn‘t noticeable. But there has to be an easier way than breaking my arm to get one tile cleaned. Any suggestions? If anyone wants I can email them a picture of the tiles.
try using Zud cleaner. found in Home Depot.
Anything you've used that has already scratched the tiles will only result in hard water deposits clinging to them again, as the glaze has been compromised. CLR full strength is really the only thing that works that won't damage the tiles although it requires repeated treatments to clean them. Take an extra fine media abrasive (0000), mix a 50/50 solution of a product called Barkeeper's Friend and CLR and try this. You may have to treat it several times but the hard water scale should dissolve without damaging the tiles. I've heard of mixing a solution of scratchless cleaning powder and kerosene, but you don't want to apply that to plastic and you don't want to use VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) in confined spaces. A better solution would be to break out all the plastic tile and have it replaced with ceramics, but since you're renting and your landlord probably doesn't want to spend money on remodeling this is your best bet.
