Mandy PhillipsThe embarrassment and pain of having a constantly dirty glass shower door is something most of us can identify with.
You scrub and rinse like crazy, but your glass shower door is just never clean enough!
And then there are hotels that can magically have gloriously streak-free and perfectly shiny glass shower doors. How do they do it?
Discover how hotels keep glass shower doors clean and you can too with this easy-to-follow 4 step guide.
Why Are Glass Shower Doors So Hard to Clean, and Why Do Hotels Get It Right?
Well, glass is a particularly difficult surface to keep clean since it is completely transparent. Therefore, you will see every streak and spot. While the other bathroom surfaces may be as stained or mucky as your glass shower door, they don’t show it as easily.
Certain parts of the U.S. have “hard water.” Chemicals and minerals are added to tap water to improve the water quality and help general health, but as a result, your pipes, fittings, and glass shower doors develop a buildup of mineral deposits. This deposit reacts with the chemicals in soap, creating the gray sheen that dulls glass and metal.
Hotels get it right because:
- They clean daily
- With an HVAC, they can reduce humidity, promoting shower dryness
- Some hotels have water filters on their water mains, reducing mineral deposits
4 Steps To Keep Your Glass Shower Door Clean
These four steps will help you maintain a shining and clean glass shower door.
Step 1. Begin With a Thorough Cleaning of Your Glass Shower Door
It may seem easy to say, but achieving a spotlessly clean glass shower door and shower interior is harder than most people think. Starting off, you need to begin with a fresh and clean shower. This means you need to remove all buildup and soap scum. You can reasonably expect this to take a bit of time, so choose a time when you will not be rushed.
- Clean Everywhere
Be sure to clean in between the tiles, in the edges of the door panels, the handles, and right up to the frame of your glass shower door.
Use a good quality product that will strip away the built-up soap scum that may have accumulated over time in your shower.
- Dry Your Shower Completely
Showers are notoriously damp places, and a dripping showerhead or tap can cause an endless supply of moisture that will leave your shower smelling very “off.” Once you have cleaned every inch of your shower, be sure to dry it thoroughly.
Remove excess water with a squeegee and dry the whole surface of your glass door with a microfiber cloth. Ventilate well for at least 30 minutes before the next step.
Step 2. Make Your Glass Shower Door Water Repellent
If you can ensure your shower door simply shakes off water, then you will find it much easier to clean on a daily basis. Applying a water repellent product will ensure you don’t have a daily buildup of scum and hard water deposits.
Once your glass shower door is bone dry, you can apply the water repellent product, wiping it on with special wipes, sponges, or clean microfiber cloths. Use a circular motion, like you would if you were polishing your car. Allow the product to dry, then wipe down with a fresh microfiber cloth until the glass is completely clear.
You now have a perfectly clear glass bathroom door that will shake off water stains with ease.
Step 3. Regularly Take Care of Your Glass Shower Door
You should ideally clean your glass shower panels each day to prevent buildup from forming. This can be a tall order unless you are prepared and make daily cleaning a ritual. Having the right equipment helps, as does having the right cleaning solutions.
- DIY Cleaning Solutions
There are many home cleaning combinations that will leave you with streak-free glass shower doors. Mixing half a cup of white vinegar, a few drops of dishwashing liquid, and a cup of water can help sort out most of the obvious scummy stains. Keep this in a spray bottle, and once you have showered for the day, you can use your squeegee and the spray to clean the shower daily.
- Get In the Groove
Most people don’t realize how quickly a shower becomes mucky or how easily soap scum builds up along with the mineral deposits that we find in the water. While you can wipe the glass panels, the edges and areas that are less easy to clean tend to show deposits the quickest, and these areas may become moldy too.
To maintain a clean glass shower door, you need to clean right into the grooves, and this may require a weekly cleaning with a stronger detergent, a shower scrubbing brush, or a shower steaming brush.
Step 4. Schedule Deep Cleaning of Your Glass Shower Door
While the daily wipe down along with a weekly scrub may sort out most problems, you need to keep in mind that each cleaning will remove not only soap scum, mineral deposits, and residue, it will also reduce the water repellent coat you have applied.
This means you need to schedule a shower day at least once a month to clean your shower with a heavy-duty chemical, dry it up, and reapply the water-repellent chemical layer again.
