One day when I was headed down the Crayola aisle at Target I found these Crayola Bath Tub Tints. Since my son loves Tub Tints, I thought I'd pick these up. Since Crayola is a brand that I trust I had a lot of expectations for the product. Namely, I was envisioning true bright primary colored water "Crayola Colors" - unlike the pastels which I've come to be quite used to with Tub Tints.

I should have suspected that something was up when I saw that the packaging for Crayola Bath Tub Tints looked quite similar to Tub Tints. Except for instead of the familiar rubber ducky label and red lid, there was the trusty Crayola label and a dark green lid. But, it wasn't til I got home that I noticed on the back of the label was the name Equity Marketing.

Guess what?

Equity is the same manufacturer who puts out Tub Tints.
The Crayola Bathtub Tints are one and the same as Tub Tints.

Well, to put it gently I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't a new product. It really would be great fun to have bath tints in bright Crayola colors. I'm actually still kind of bummed about this. My son, on the other hand could care less. He was just happy to have tints again as we had ran out of them quite a while ago. As soon as I tossed one into the water, all was great again.


About Crayola Bath Tub Tints

Our container of Crayola Bath Tub Tints contained 20 fizzy water coloring tablets. It cost around $3.50 which is comparable to price of Tub Tints. Crayola Bath Tub Tints are available in a larger container and also in multi-packs. The product is recommended for ages 3 and up. Truth be told, I've been using the regular Tub Tints with my son since he was just one year old and have never had a problem with it. He is always supervised in the tub, and has never tried to eat the tablets. Plus, the tablets are non-toxic, so if he does swallow some water it is not going to be harmful to him.


Using Bath Tub Tints

To make a colorful bath simply select your desired color and toss in the fizzy water coloring tablet(s). The tablet(s) will fizz and dissolve and color the water. It takes just a few minutes for the entire tablet to be dissolved and will do so even quicker if you stir/swish the water or squeeze the tablet(s).

Crayola Bath Tub Tints do color your bath water but they are very pale/weak - almost pastel.

For example:

Red The red tablet produces pink water. After two red tablets it looked like dark pink to me. You might need 3 or more tablets in order to get a true red. I have yet to put that many red tabs at the same time because I suspect it will still have a pinkish hue to it.

Blue One blue tablet makes a nice aquamarine blue - similar to pool water. If you put in 2 or more blue tablets then it looks like toilet bowl cleaner. (Ewww!) Kids don't seem to mind this though.

Yellow One yellow tablet makes the water suspiciously enough yellow for me. Two yellow tablets looks way too much like tinkle. I don't know about you but I'd prefer not to have yellow water! (Double Ewwww!) Again, kids do not seem to mind.

Mixing Colors can be challenging and here's where its almost like playing chemist...

To make purple: I found that the blue really overpowers the red so you'll want 2 reds and 1 blue in order to make purple.

To make green: Use 2 yellows and 1 blue because the blue is powerful.

To make orange: This is a real challenge because the red is more of a pink. Mixing a yellow tablet and a red tablet produces a peachy/tangerine color, not orange enough for my liking.

Are they staining?

Crayola Bath Tub Tints are Non-Staining to both skin and clean tub surfaces. We have a fiberglass non-skid tub and it has not stained. Nor has any water that has been spilled/splashed/dumped over the edge discolored our floor. After bathing in a blue tub, my son comes out clean and his skin and hair are not tinted blue. If you touch a tablet with wet fingers you will get a bit of coloring on your skin but it washes right off with soap or water.

According to the packaging, they can possibly stain clothing or "textiles" like towels, etc. I haven't had any troubles with that, however, and the colored water has gotten on several of my light colored towels. I've also heard that the product can discolor tile grout, so be careful if this is a concern for you - it's not for us.


Are they safe?
The product contain no fragrance nor soap additives. They are non-toxic and have been lab tested to be non-irritating to eyes and skin. My son's skin is very delicate and he has both allergies and asthma - these do not bother him in any way.

The tablets look kind of like a sweet-tart or a tums tablet, so some kids might want to taste 'em. But they aren't food so don't do it. I can't imagine how yucky they would taste anyways. (Blech!)

Overall
Since they are exactly the same product, we'll continue to use either the Crayola Bath Tub Tints or Tub Tints from Equity Marketing - whichever I can find at a better price. At one point we were tinting our baths almost daily but now its reserved for more of a special treat. Its to easy to go through 20 tablets before you know it, otherwise. The tints definitely make bathtime fun, plus kids can learn a bit about mixing and making colors. For some fun in the tub, try a tint! You (the grownup) might even like it too! (Purple happens to be my favorite!).


Ingredients: [taken from container]
Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Lactose, Polyethylene Glycol, Mineral Oil, FD&C Blue #1, FD&C Yellow #5, D&C Red #33


www.crayola.com
www.tubtints.com


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 3.50
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months