The Step by Step Guide to Cleaning Glass Shower Doors

Glass shower doors are a popular trend in homes today. For walk-in showers, they are not only beautiful and more elegant than typical shower doors, but they can give your bathroom a more open and spacious look and feel. One downside to glass shower doors, however, is the fact that they do gather droplets of water that soon become layers of hard water and soap scum which eventually cloud those beautiful doors and make them look unappealing and dirty. In order to keep your glass doors clean, clear, and sparkly, there are steps you want to take as regular maintenance care, plus steps for deep cleaning. Keep reading for a step by step guide to cleaning glass shower doors.

1. Squeegee after each use

Every time you take a shower, all those water droplets from the running water, and from your body have to go somewhere besides down the drain. They hit the walls and the doors and every drop adds one more layer of the minerals and sediment in the water, to the entire interior of your shower, including on your glass doors. If you didn’t realize it, your glass doors have pores and if the has time to dry into the pores, those mineral deposits will quickly build up and cloud up your clear, unobstructed view into your shower, according to AIA.

First things first, squeegee your shower after every shower. Using a squeegee after each shower helps prevent hard water sediment build up, so readily have a squeegee you can reach after your shower and, starting at the top of the walls, pull the squeegee downward to pull the water droplets off. Make your rounds around the shower walls, the floors, the glass doors too. It’s recommended that you do your best to even reach the little nooks and crannies of the shower to thoroughly remove the water. It may be time consuming, but it will help lessen the time you have to spend during the more deep cleanings you give to your doors.

2. Use the right tools

You should give your glass doors an overall, good cleaning, at least once a week to keep them clear and sparkly. The in-between squeegee jobs help to keep too deep of a layer of hard water mineral deposits and soap scum from forming, but over time, it’s inevitable that your doors will become clouded with these elements and start to lose their luster, so it’s important to spend time cleaning them more thoroughly with a glass cleaning agent to remove all the water spots and other deposits on them.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Rubber gloves – Wearing a pair of rubber gloves, no matter what type of cleaning agent you use, can be helpful for protecting your hands, plus they help give you a better grip on your rag or other cleaning materials.
• Rags or other scrubbing materials – Rags, sponges, paper towels, or newspaper can be used to clean with. Rags should be clean to avoid depositing pieces of the material on the doors, and keep in mind that using newspaper can leave ink behind on your hands, so wearing gloves is recommended if you use printed paper.
• Dryer sheet or Mr. Clean Magic Eraser – According to Wikihow, many people have found these two items to be useful in the process of cleaning glass shower doors.
• White Vinegar – Vinegar is a known household item to be useful in cleaning many things, including shower doors.
• Dish soap – Dish soap can be used in conjunction with vinegar for tough stains.
• Glass cleaner – A glass cleaning agent may be sufficient for your cleaning efforts. Choose one that doesn’t have harsh chemicals or irritants, is ammonia-free and recommended for glass shower doors to remove hard water stains and soap scum. It can be a personal preference to what cleaner you choose and has proven to work for you.

4. Use your dryer sheet or Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

Start with either of these products. Dampen whichever product you choose and wipe it over obvious mineral water stains till they disappear. You may need to use a little pressure on tough stains, and keep in mind that not all stains may come right off with this method, but it is a good way to start the process of cleaning to help loosen or remove individual hard water mineral stains. Once you’ve finished, rinse the areas with water to remove the product.

5. Use your white vinegar with a sponge

To get the most out of this next step, warm 1/2 a cup of white vinegar in a microwave for thirty seconds. You want the vinegar fairly warm but not too hot so that it burns you. Moisten your sponge with the vinegar and go over a small area of the doors where there are noticeable hard water spots and soap scum. As soon as you see the vinegar start to dry, re-moisten the area to keep the area continually wet for five minutes so the vinegar can work. After five minutes, rinse the area with warm water. Keep in mind that the vinegar can leave an unpleasant smell, so if you have ventilation, you might want to use it.

6. Mix dish soap and white vinegar

For hard stains that haven’t been removed with the two products and steps listed above, mix equal parts of white vinegar and dish soap together and with your rag, sponge, or other cleaning material, scrub over the tough stains and they should disappear easily with this combination of products. Rinse the area with warm water when finished.

7. Use your glass cleaner

Once you have tackled all the hard water and soap scum stains that stand out, spray your glass cleaner over small sections of the doors and clean with your clean rag, paper towels or newspaper to clean all the areas of the doors and give them their final shine. Newspaper has always been said to give glass a silky shine. Many people swear by the way it cleans, and according to How Stuff Works, it’s mentioned that it could be the fact that the paper itself is gritty, making it a great scrubber, or possibly the type of ink. Whatever the reason, it helps to cut through dirt and grime, plus it’s absorbent. So wipe your doors free of glass cleaner and watch your glass doors sparkle and shine, giving your bathroom a bright and airy look again.