If you’re cleaning glass shower doors, then you know that one of the most challenging household tasks is keeping them clean and streak-free. Water spots, soap scum, and hard water stains can build up quickly, making your once-clean glass shower doors look dirty and dull. But don’t despair! With a little elbow grease and the right cleaning solution, you can get your clean glass shower doors back again! Read on for my top tips on how to keep glass shower doors clean all year round!
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How To Keep Glass Shower Doors Clean?
I get it; it seems like no matter what you do, those glass shower doors just don’t seem to get any cleaner! Today I’m going to share seven of my favorite cleaning tips that work well on glass shower doors to remove hard water stains.
And yes, there are some tips on how to prevent mineral buildup and keep mold and mildew out of your bathroom!
What is the Best Thing to Clean Shower Glass?
Keeping your shower doors clean is essential for maintaining a pristine home interior. It’s tempting to rely on tough scrubs, but distilled white vinegar is the best thing to clean your shower glass!
Vinegar comes in liquid form and can be mixed with equal parts of water for a more eco-friendly solution for cleaning shower doors. Not only does this natural cleaner cut through soap scum and residue on your shower door – it won’t leave streaks, unlike some glass cleaners.
Contrary to what many people believe, vinegar won’t harm the glass in your showers, either. For an extra sparkle that will last, polish off with paper towels or newspaper afterward for a streak-free finish.
How Do I Keep My Shower Glass Clean Daily?
Don’t take a shower! I’m just kidding; that would be really gross. Okay, so when you first get out of the shower, use a squeegee to remove the excess water from your glass doors. Doing this will help prevent hard water spots from building up on your glass shower door. Leaving your glass shower doors open will help to dry the shower out. This is essential for preventing mold, mildew, and other gross stuff from accumulating and growing in your bathroom.
What Causes Hard Water & Soap Scum Build Up
Hard water derives from built-up levels of calcium, magnesium, and other minerals dissolved in the water supply. Soap scum is formed when the components of the water – specifically calcium and magnesium – combine with regular body soaps to produce a precipitate on bathroom surfaces.
This white film can cause staining, clogging, and course textures that can be difficult to scrub off quickly. As such, it’s important to understand the root of the problem so that household members can identify an effective solution to prevent or at least reduce the accumulation of hard water deposits and soap scum.
A water softener can also aid in reducing mineral buildup. A water softener is a device that is used to reduce the number of dissolved minerals in the water, such as calcium and magnesium. Water softening works by exchanging ions from the hard minerals with sodium, resulting in soft and improved-tasting water.
Water softeners may also reduce deposits left on dishes or clothing and will extend the life of household appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines that use hot water for cleaning. Homeowners often choose to install a homemade or professionally installed whole-house water softening system to enhance the quality of their home’s water system.
But, if you don’t have one of these miracle devices installed in your home, mineral stains will be the bane of your existence (ask me how I know). So vinegar has become by best friend, and I highly recommend using it, along with baking soda for really tough stains, especially along tracks for the shower.
How Do You Clean the Glass Shower Doors (The Right Way!)
There are many different ways for cleaning shower doors, and we’re going to talk about these different methods now. Try a few of these solutions before giving up. Depending on the severity of the buildup, some of the more robust, but natural, cleaning methods may work better than the others listed.
DIY Cleaning Solution With Vinegar & Water
Do you know when it comes to finding the best glass cleaner for your glass door, homemade solutions work the best! Us moms always have white vinegar sitting in the pantry. Cleaning glass shower doors with vinegar is a much less expensive solution!
On the plus side, you can use vinegar all over the house as a natural DIY cleaning solution, so it’s a worthy investment to keep a gallon or bottle on hand at any given time.
What you need
- Water
- Distilled white vinegar
- Spray bottle
- Microfiber or soft cloth
Here’s how to make it
- First add the vinegar (half a cup)
- Then double the amount of fresh water (two cups).
- Mix them together and put in a spray bottle.
- Now, quick spray this concoction all over your glass shower doors. Leave it sit for 2-3 minutes, then wipe off with a microfiber cloth.
- Pat yourself on the back, you did a wonderful job, and now you have clean glass shower doors. You’ll want to repeat as necessary to keep that sparkle.
DIY Cleaning Solution With Vinegar & Baking Soda
Another must-have in your arsenal is baking soda! Baking soda is fantastic at breaking down soap scum that doesn’t want to leave! And as mentioned before, baking soda also has a variety of uses within any cleaning routine, so it’s best to keep some around. You never know when this solution is exactly what you’re looking for.
What you need:
- Baking Soda
- White Vinegar
- Microfiber Cloth
- Spray bottle
Here’s how to make it
- Throw some baking soda over the wet glass surface.
- Pour the vinegar into the spray bottle and start spraying the baking soda.
- Let it sit for 5-7 minutes.
- Use the microfiber cloth to remove all of the baking soda from the glass shower door.
- Check for stains; my guess is you should be nicely streak free.
DIY Cleaning Solution With Lemon & Baking Soda
This is a great way to not only clean tough stains from your shower area, but it also leaves your bathroom smelling nice! Best of all, it’s a diy cleaner, so you are saving money!
What you need
- Lemon juice
- Baking soda
- Spray bottle
Here’s how to make it
- Add enough lemon juice to the spray bottle (the small bottles are perfect for this)
- Cover your glass shower doors with baking soda.
- Spray the glass shower doors with the lemon juice.
- Let it sit for 5-7 minutes.
- Then wipe clean with a microfiber cloth.
- Check for stains on the shower door.
How Often Should You Clean Glass Shower Doors
I don’t know about you, but I love a clean shower. It’s the first thing I see when I walk into my bathroom, and when the glass shower door is not clean, it practically waves to me! I can see all the mineral buildup, and the water droplets covering the entire glass door and I hate it. I want clean shower doors, is that too much to ask?!
Like you, I don’t have the time to do a daily deep clean on my bathroom, but if you wipe it down with a squeegee, this will definitely help to keep hard water stains away on a regular basis. If you can find the time, I would recommend the glass shower get cleaned regularly, and it’s a good idea to clean your glass shower twice a week before soap scum buildup happens from liquid body wash. Always remember to put the fan in the bathroom on to let the air circulate. This will help prevent mildew and mold growth.
What Do the Professionals Use to Clean Shower Glass?
If they aren’t using homemade DIY methods, like vinegar, most professionals use store-bought glass cleaner with warm distilled water.
General Tips on How to Keep Glass Showers Spotless
Aside from cleaning regularly, you can also add a hydrophobic compound to your glass to keep mineral deposits at bay. A hydrophobic compound acts as water repellent, but you’ll need residue-free glass before applying to the shower door.
What’s great about this repellant is that you can add it to most surfaces to eliminate the buildup of bar soap, liquid dish soap, and other forms of soap or dish detergent.
How To Clean Glass Shower Door Tracks
Don’t you hate those red rust marks when you open the glass shower door? I hate them, but I have found a super easy way to keep them clean.
You can either spray some white vinegar, or dab the vinegar using a paper towel along the track. Leave it to sit for around 30 minutes, and then start scraping up the dirt using an old toothbrush or paint scraper. If you need some extra help, grab a magic eraser and use that for cleaning those stubborn hard water spots.
Simply rinse the dirty water down the drain hole, and you’re done! A simple and safe way to keep your shower door tracks looking fresh is to mix the following:
- a half-cup of rubbing alcohol,
- a half-cup of hydrogen peroxide,
- one tablespoon of any dishwasher rinse agent, and
- one teaspoon of liquid soap in a spray bottle.
This combination creates an effective glass cleaner that is perfect for cleaning shower walls and the door. It can also be used to remove built-up minerals and debris from your shower head, as well as any other surfaces within the shower space. By cleaning this regularly, you can not only enjoy a sparkling door but also reduce the health risks associated with mold growth.
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