Works.. just not as well as they say
Written: Oct 26 '06 (Updated Oct 26 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Does help keep an already clean shower clean.
Cons: Will not "clean a dirty shower. Expensive refills.
The Bottom Line: Buy it to keep you shower clean but be willing to pay a lot for the privilege.
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| luclin999's Full Review: Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner |
Like most of us, I saw the ads for the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner and wondered if it was worthy of the hype.
After downloading a coupon from http://www.automaticshowercleaner.com/ for $7 off the purchase price I decided to buy a couple and give them a try.
What it is
The Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner comes in a box with the motorized base unit, two bottles of cleaner and a wire hook used to mount the machine in your shower from the shower head. It requires four AA batteries which are included with the unit (and are already installed).
Assembly is simple (place the bottle into base and hang in the shower) and operation is also easy. Simply hit the button on the front of the base and close the shower door. The Cleaner will "beep" for fifteen seconds before starting (to provide you with time to close the door) then it will run for about ten seconds spraying the shower down with it's cleaning solution.
How I tested it
The Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner claims to not only be able to maintain a clean shower, but also to be able to clean a dirty shower if used daily for three to four weeks.
At our home we have three full bathrooms and an additional shower stall in the garage (for people to use after spending time in the pool). As you might expect, the shower stall in the garage receives the least attention when it comes to cleaning and provided a perfect "dirty" shower for us to test on.
I placed one of the units in the "dirty" garage shower and another in the "clean" shower in our master bathroom.
For the next four weeks I ran the machines daily following the manufacturer's instructions.
The Results
Over the month of testing, the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner we placed in the "clean" shower worked very well. After a month of relying on the machine exclusively for cleaning, the shower stall looked almost as clean as if we had been doing the job by hand. The only difference being some minor streaking and a little bit of hard water build up along the very bottom of the shower door.
As for the "dirty" shower...
While the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner managed to make a bit more of an improvement than I had expected, after a month of use I would be hard pressed to call the shower "clean".
Mildew and hard water stains were reduced by about 30-40% and the overall appearance of the shower improved by a similar amount.
However, I did discover that cleaning the shower by hand was much easier after using the Automatic Shower Cleaner for those four weeks.
Other things that you should know
The Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner requires a wet shower for proper use. This means that if you want to use it to "clean" a shower that you currently are not using, you must turn on the shower briefly and make sure to get all of the areas to be cleaned wet.
The solution used by the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner will also leave a slightly slippery film on any surface it is sprayed upon (including the shower floor) and as such you should always rinse the residue from the solution off the shower floor before entering the shower stall.
The Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner will go through a bottle of cleaning solution after about fourteen uses meaning you will need to replace the solution bottles at least twice a month under normal conditions.
A replacement bottle of solution runs about $5 so this means you will be spending about $10 a month for every shower stall you use one of the machines regularly in.
The Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner is not quiet in it's operation. During it's ten seconds of running time it makes about as much noise as a small electric drill and would almost certainly wake people in a nearby bedroom when it is running.
The Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner is guaranteed to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of original purchase.
My conclusions?
Overall, the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner does a fair job of maintaining to appearance of an already clean shower stall and a rather poor job of actually "cleaning" a stall which is in less than pristine condition to begin with. It will however make the job of manually cleaning a dirty shower a bit easier if used for a week or two prior to cleaning the stall by hand.
The only real caveat I give in using this machine to maintain your clean shower for you is the fairly expensive price of the refills needed for use (approximately $120 per year per stall!).
However.....
One last bit of information
One additional thing I did notice. While the makers of the Automatic Shower Cleaner only sell solution refills in the basic 34oz size, the bottles themselves can be refilled manually. Since I already had the Automatic Shower Cleaner units, I decided to experiment a bit.
Please note: What I am about to describe is not endorsed by the manufacturer of the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner and will almost certainly violate your warranty. If you choose to follow the steps described below, you do so at your own risk
I refilled one bottle with a combination of 2oz of bleach and distilled water and left it in the "clean shower" for another couple of months, refilling it with my home made solution as needed.
I also moved the other unit to our second bathroom (another "clean" shower stall) and used that machine for the same amount of time refilling it with the manufacturer's solution.
Frankly, after two months I have to say that the results where all but identical between my "homemade formula" and using the commercial solution.
So at our house we will be continuing to use the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaners but will continue refilling them with the distilled water and bleach solution.
(A savings of about $4.50 on every refill or $108 per year per stall)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
luclin999
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Member: Leo Monaghan
Location: Houston, TX USA
Reviews written: 34
Trusted by: 20 members
About Me:
42 year old techie living in Houston, TX
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