Scrubbing Bubbles® new Mega Shower Foamer claims to clean your shower, making scrubbing "virtually obsolete." I tested the product to find out if the claim is true.

I purchased a can of Mega Shower Foamer from Target, on sale for $3.97. The regular price was $4.79. Mega Shower Foamer comes in a big, hefty aluminum can, containing a good twenty ounces of cleanser. Checking the FAQs on the Scrubbing Bubbles® website, I found that twenty ounces is estimated to provide four "full cleanings" of a typical tub-and-shower enclosure, or around $1.25 per use.

The company says that Mega Shower Foamer is different from regular Scrubbing Bubbles® in a trigger-spray pump container in that Mega Shower Foamer sprays a wide, thick penetrating foam that completely covers the surface. The claim is that the foam cleans more soap scum than regular bathroom trigger-spray cleansers upon rinsing only.

The directions say that you can use Mega Shower Foamer on porcelain sinks, ceramic tile, chrome fixtures, fiberglass and on vinyl shower curtains. If you have an acrylic shower surround, you can't use the product.

I tested the Foamer on my tub-shower enclosure, the bathroom sinks and the kitchen sink. Following the directions, I gave the can a good shake, and then sprayed the enclosure walls, glass doors, and tub from a distance of about twelve inches. The foam was thick and sprayed in a wide pattern, just as advertised. However, even at this close range, a fine aerosol mist immediately filled the air making it difficult to breathe. I put on a little 3-M dust-and-particle mask, which helped quite a bit and continued.

After spraying the tub enclosure, I closed the glass doors and waited two minutes. I could hear the foam fizzle and deflate. I was happy to see the tub getting noticeably shiny. At two minutes exactly, I turned on the shower water and rinsed.

When everything was thoroughly rinsed, I let the tub enclosure dry for about an hour and then came back to check. The tub was still nice and shiny, and my enclosure walls were sleek and pretty. The glass doors looked a bit hazy. The fixtures, which are chrome, looked fine, though not as shiny as the porcelain tub. I took a sponge to the glass doors to remove the haze, but I left the fixtures alone.

I then sprayed the Mega Shower Foamer in the bathroom sinks. Because of the force of the spray and the width of the spray pattern, this was, in retrospect, a mistake on my part. I found it difficult to control the spray pattern and had quite a bit of over-spray. Two minutes later, I rinsed the sink, and found my first problem.

My sinks were grungy to start, with a rust-colored scum around the drains. When I normally clean my bathroom sinks, I spray with my regular Scrubbing Bubbles cleanser and scrub the scum around the drains with a sponge. Mega Shower Foamer did nothing to tackle the drain-scum, and I had to take out my sponge and give the drains a scrubbing.

Next, I tried Mega Shower Foamer on my big farmhouse-style sink in the kitchen. This is a big, deep porcelain sink that is hard for me to climb in and scrub. I sprayed the foamer as best I could, trying in vain to keep the over spray off the granite counters. Two minutes later, I rinsed. My kitchen sink didn't look any better or worse, but after reaching in with a sponge and some Formula 409 cleanser, it looked much better.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines the meaning of "virtually" to be "Almost, but not quite." So I suppose that the company's claim that Mega Shower Foamer makes scrubbing "virtually obsolete" is virtually true. It makes it possible to scrub a lot less. Even though I'll still have to scrub some things. I'll likely use Mega Shower Foamer now and then, but only in the tub-shower enclosure, and only when I'm doing a fast clean up.

See the Scrubbing Bubbles® website: http://www.scrubbingbubbles.com/products.aspx?product=mega-showerfoamer