Glass shower doors are a modern and elegant addition to many bathrooms. The transparent and reflective shower glass adds a layer of contemporary sophistication to any room, but it also presents additional challenges when it’s time to cleaning and scrubbing that same elegant door…
Like any bathroom surface, the constant exposure to moisture, mildew, and mineral deposits can leave streaky and caked-in areas of grime and gunk that seem impossible to remove. Removing scum, mold, mildew, mineral stains, and other pesky shower door tracks may feel like a near impossible task, but our expert guide will walk you through what to clean glass shower doors with.
Our team has researched, tested, and tried out a number of different popular and technical cleaning solutions, and the following guide represents the best methods for heavy-duty cleaning and protection for glass shower doors.
Before You Begin – Materials Needed
Spray Bottle
White Vinegar
Baking Soda
Microfiber Cloth
Lemon Slices
Salt
Dish Detergent
Seventh Generation Shower Cleaner
Removing Mold and Mildew:
The first step to cleaning glass shower doors is going to be cleaning off any dust, mold, or other residual debris on the exterior of shower doors. If you’re not thrilled by the idea of exposing your skin to all that debris or scraping it off by hand, don’t worry. You can actually clear off any mold or mildew by putting distilled white vinegar (3/4 Vinegar and 1/4 water) into a spray bottle and spraying down the entire shower door surface with the mixture. Let it sit for about ten minutes and watch as the vinegar dissolves most of the mildew and other gunk on the surface of the shower. Spray clean with water and move on to the next phase of your shower cleaning!
Stubborn Sections of Mold:
If you have more stubborn sections of mold that need to be cleaned out, you can make a DIY mold removing paste. Make a paste of 1 cup of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of dish detergent, and add water until you have a thick paste consistency. Spread the paste evenly over any mold areas using gloves and let the paste sit for a couple of minutes before wiping it away with hot water. This should remove any mold or dangerous mold residue on your door and leave you with a clean surface you can finish sanitizing.
There are plenty of commercial mold removers on the market, but sometimes these cleaners can contain additional dangerous chemicals or residues that are damaging to both the surfaces they clean and your health if left unchecked. For this reason, it’s probably wisest and safest to use natural mold-removing solutions as neither of these treatments are toxic or damaging when you apply them.
Removing Scum and Mineral Stains:
The next phase of cleaning your glass shower doors involves scrubbing away those caked and cloudy deposits on the outside of your glass shower door.
Have you ever spent what feels like hundreds of bottles of Windex or other glass cleaner and still struggled to cut through that cloudy and streaky surface left behind on your shower doors? That’s likely because of remaining soap scum or other debris on your shower doors. If you have hard water, that can also lead to remaining stains or caked in discoloration that doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to come off. If you’re ready to restore the original transparent and mirror glass finish to your shower door, we’ve got just the solution for you!
RemovingStains: For particularly stubborn stains or discoloration, start by dipping a lemon slice in baking soda. Then rub the lemon mixture onto stains and apply pressure until it forms a sudsy foam that covers the surface of the stain entirely. This acts as a natural and more affordable alternative to bleach and also smells less strongly of chemicals. After that has set, it’s time to whip up a scum-cutting solution that will soak off any remaining cloudiness or streaks on your glass door.
Sprayand Rinse: Heat distilled white vinegar and combine it with grease-heavy dish detergent. Mix this in a spray bottle and mist the entire shower door on both sides. Once every part of the door has been covered, let it sit for about fifteen minutes. Rinse thoroughly with cold water and wipe down with a microfiber cloth. You can also use this spray to clean away shower tracks and any other caked in debris that simply won’t leave your shower door, grout, or sliding tracks.
Keeping Your Shower Clean
This two-phase heavy-duty shower cleaning routine can be repeated every two weeks or so to help prevent serious growth of mold, mildew, or permanent stains caking in that can never be removed.
However, you should undertake daily cleaning of your shower in order to keep it clean and streak free as often as possible. This daily cleaning doesn’t need to be strenuous. In fact, the best method for regular shower cleaning involves buying a squeegee to keep in your shower. After every shower, take your squeegee and dry your door off to prevent moisture from collecting and turning into mildew. You can also spray it with a gentle commercial glass cleaner (our favorite is Seventh Generation Glass Cleaner) to bust any streaks or scum before they stain the glass permanently.
Daily Shower Spray:
For an all-natural daily shower spray recipe you can use to keep your glass fresh, clean, and streak-free, combine one cup of water, a half cup of vinegar, some dish soap, and ten drops of lavender or lemon essential oil and spray it on your glass before you squeegee it off for ultimate shine and good-smelling, clean glass that absolutely sparkles!
If you have particularly hard water or use shower products with a lot of lotion or moisturizing ingredients, you can also try this slightly tougher degreasing daily shower spray. Mix equal parts hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol with a teaspoon of dish detergent and keep in a spray bottle. Mist your shower door after every shower and squeegee dry to break down soap scum at its core and keep your glass free of clouds or streaks.
Glass shower doors are an elegant and stately addition to your bathroom, but cleaning them can sometimes feel like an unnecessary challenge. Using these time-tested and tried techniques, you’ll be able to boast shiny and clean glass shower doors every day!
sophistication to any room, but it also presents additional challenges when it’s time to cleaning and scrubbing that same elegant door…
