How to Clean Soap Scum & Hard Water Spots from Your Shower Doors

Over time, the beautiful and elegant appearance of your glass shower doors can become cloudy and riddled with unappealing stains and residue. Fortunately, there is a wide range of different cleaning glass shower doors methods currently available for homeowners to attempt on their own with varying levels of success. When deciding which method is the right fit for your property, consider cost, effectiveness, and safety in mind. Not a single method is a perfect solution for every home, but all can offer big benefits in keeping your bathroom area clean and sanitized.

Cleaning with Vinegar or Lemon Solution:

Both vinegar and lemon solutions offer property owners an all-natural alternative to cleaning. The natural acidity of the products will cut through stubborn stains. For a vinegar solution, simply mix distilled white vinegar and with a dish detergent capable of handling grease, and spray on the affected areas. For lemon, combine with baking soda and rub on the dirty spots located on your shower door. Both of these solutions are cheap and easy to use. They are most effective for light-to-medium growth buildup. 

Cleaning with Ammonia

Ammonia is a highly effective yet dangerously strong cleaning solution. It is an excellent product to be used in situations with stubborn hard water spots and an intense build-up of soap scum; however, homeowners should be cautious when using it. When using ammonia, be sure to aerate the room and avoid using the solution on acrylic shower stalls. Ammonia is affordable for most homeowners, yet is more expensive than using vinegar. One thing to be highly careful when using ammonia is to avoid using the vinegar at the same time. The two components are highly reactive and can create toxic fumes if used altogether. 

Cleaning with Borax or Baking Soda

Borax and baking soda both function excellently as a cleaning solution. When mixed with water, the two mineral-based materials create a paste that functions as a cheap and convenient cleaning product. Use a damp sponge to apply the mixture towards the spot that need cleaning, and then rinse the material off. Dry off the cleaned area after scrubbing, in order to prevent any dampness from promoting mold growth. Baking soda is an everyday household product and inexpensive to purchase. Borax can be used to clean a variety of other surfaces as well as is highly affordable. 

Make use of Squeegees and Microfiber Cloths:

There are other cleaning tools outside of chemical solutions that can keep your shower look sparkling and pristine. Both squeegees and microfiber cloths are great preventive instruments that remove drops of water before the water turns into hard water spots of mildew.  Both tools are easy to keep in your shower and simple to use. After a shower, simply remove any lingering water on the surface with either the squeegee or microfiber cloth. 

Daily Shower Spray

Everyday shower usage can quickly cause soap scum and hard water spots to appear. Cleaning down your shower space with a squeegee and a daily cleaners can help lessen the harmful effects that come from daily shower spray. Just a simple clean after having a shower can make a big impact. Either buy one from the store or make a natural solution at home and store it near your shower for quick usage. 

When Deep Cleaning is required?

Cleaning can be broken down into 3 stages; daily, weekly, and monthly deep cleaning.
Daily and weekly cleaning are less time-intensive and mainly focus on proper aeration and removing build-up, once-a-month deep cleaning is necessary in order to ensure that every crack and crevice is thoroughly cleaned. 

Cleaning framed vs frameless shower doors

Cleaning framed shower doors often prove to be more challenging than cleaning frameless ones. The grime and mold build up in the metal tracks of framed doors and are difficult to successfully remove during cleaning. If your home has framed shower doors, an easy fix to the issue is to plug the metal track’s drains and fill the track with vinegar overnight. This effectively tackles scum or mildew. Homeowners with frameless shower enclosures do not need to worry about this extra step and can simply follow the recommended shower cleaning routine as normal. 

The ideal time to clean the shower door

While there’s never a bad time to tackle some cleaning around your household, cleaning the shower at the end of the day, directly after the last member of your house showers, is an optimal time. The warm water softens up tough grime, making removal easier. It also ensures that all surfaces dry clean and undisturbed. 

Tips to make shower door maintenance-free

Regular maintenance and care is the most effective way to keep your shower space in top-notch condition. However, there are a few long-term solutions that homeowners can use to help keep water from accumulating on their shower.
Products such as Rain-X and Water Armor both traditionally used on windshields in order to wick away water from the surface.
When used in the shower, these products repel water and limit unappealing residue. To apply, spray the solution on only the glass around once a month. 

Let’s wrap up the discussion 

Fighting against soap scum and hard water spots can be a chore, but these simple solutions can have a big impact on tackling any stains on glass shower enclosure. Regular maintenance and careful usage of cleaning supplies can effectively ensure that your bathroom stays sparkling-clean at all times. Determine for yourself which combination of cleaning tools and products fits your property best.