Acrylic
A polymer, so the things that damage it are solvents and aggressive chemistry rather than acid or alkali. Almost the opposite of the china beside it.
What not to do
Sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) is unsafe on Acrylic
Unsafe
Do not do this. The risk is established, and it is described below.
Full strength. The same manufacturer separately directs adding bleach to a full bath of water to flush airjet pipework, which is a dilute circulating flush rather than a cleaner on the surface.
Precautions
- Dilute before use
- Ventilate the area
- Never mix with other cleaning products
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
Evidence
Strongly supported
Sources
KALLISTA (Kohler Co.) · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That full-strength bleach or ammonia cleaning solutions must not be used on airjet baths because chemically active cleaning solutions can damage the bath surface. (states this directly)
Scouring powder is unsafe on Acrylic
Unsafe
Do not do this. The risk is established, and it is described below.
Precautions
- Test on an inconspicuous area first
Evidence
Strongly supported
Sources
Care & Cleaning: Toilets or Lavatories Made of Vitreous China
STERLING (Kohler Co.) · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That abrasives are excluded from acrylic while soft abrasive cleaners may be used on vitreous china. (states this directly)
Precautions
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
- Test on an inconspicuous area first
In detail
An acrylic bath and a vitreous china basin sit a metre apart and want opposite treatment, which is why one bathroom cleaner used everywhere is a gamble. Acrylic is a polymer: the instruction is no abrasive cleansers and no solvents, and it goes further than most care sheets by also excluding aerosols and advising against routine detergents and disinfectants. For baths with airjets it adds that full-strength bleach or ammonia solutions must not be used, because chemically active cleaning solutions can damage the bath surface, and that powdered cleaners must be fully dissolved or the solids can block the jets. Abrasion is not recoverable here in the way it is on harder surfaces — the guidance's answer to a dull or scratched unit is to contact the manufacturer for repair, not to polish it out. The routine that follows is unglamorous: wipe with a soft cloth after each use, and reach for a general-purpose cleaner only when genuinely dirty. One exception appears in the same document: for flushing an air-bath system it does direct adding bleach to a full bath of water, which is a dilute circulating flush of the pipework rather than a cleaner applied to the acrylic itself.
Properties
Sensitivity
- Acids
- Not known
- Alkalis
- Sensitive
- Chlorine bleach
- Sensitive
- Heat
- Not known
- Abrasion
- Sensitive
- Porous
- Not applicable
“Not known” means nobody has established this, not that the material is unaffected.
Hacks and claims involving this
- Never use an abrasive in the bathroom Disputed
- One spray for the whole bathroom Does not work
Sources for this page
Sources
KALLISTA (Kohler Co.) · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That abrasive cleansers and solvents must not be used on acrylic, that aerosol products and routine detergents or disinfectants are to be avoided, that full-strength bleach or ammonia must not be used on airjet baths because chemically active solutions can damage the surface, and that dull or scratched units are referred to the manufacturer. (states this directly)