Hard water stains and soap scum are something we have to deal with almost regularly. Not just the shower doors, the same thing is true for bathtub, tile, shower curtains (vinyl), etc.
So, it’s very important you learn how to clean modern glass shower doors.
Depending on our bathing preferences and water quality, we may experience the soap scum problem differently, but we ALL do. In this, I will share some proven and cool tricks to deal with this problem.
You won’t have to wonder how to remove hard water stains from the shower anymore.
How To Clean Glass Shower Doors?
You may think soap scum and hard water stains make the shower doors look ugly, but the damages go beyond that. If you let them build up for a long time, it will cause etching and most importantly, it may bring permanent damage.
So, it’s important you get rid of them ASAP! The right way to do it is using either EnduroShield or ShowerGuard.
But I am gonna give you several ways to get watermarks off shower glass along with managing soap scum using home remedies. Some tricks will involve using squeegees, microfiber cloths, and other home-made solutions.
How To Clean Mineral Deposits From Shower Doors With Vinegar?
The right mix of white vinegar and dish soap can remove hard water stains from glass shower doors easily. The deep cleaning solution can fight the hard water etching on glass shower doors too.
Make sure the dish soap has a grease-fighting element.
This is what you should do…
Get a spray bottle. Mix one part of the dish soap and another part of distilled white vinegar in the bottle. The solution mix is ready but don’t just spray it on the door surfaces.
First, you should wet the glass door surfaces. You can either use the shower sprayer or a bucket to splash water on the shower glass.
The next step is to spray the solution mix on the front and back sides of the doors and make sure to thoroughly saturate the glass doors. Allow the solution almost 30 minutes to work its magic.
Within this time, the solution will loosen or cut through the grime. For the last step, scrub the surfaces using microfiber cloths. Now, you have to rinse off the solution with water and let it completely dry.
And you are done!
Do not forget about the pesky metal tracks. These tracks are the prime target for the soap scum and grime to build up. You can plug crevices in the tracks and fill them with vinegar. Wipe clean in the morning after waiting for the whole night.
But how often should you do this? Well, deep cleaning like this is highly recommended to do once every month.
The homemade vinegar solution also is known as ‘soap scum slayer’. It’s applicable for most shower doors but does not apply it to the doors. Vinegar can damage the shower if it is made of stone.
How To Get Water Marks Off Shower Glass With Baking Soda/Borax?
If you are wondering what removes hard water stains from glass shower doors apart from vinegar – it’s baking soda! If you don’t have it right now, you can do the same with Borax too. The choice is yours.
If your shower is made of stone, you should use baking soda instead of vinegar. Baking soda won’t damage the stone.
This is what you should do to remove hard water stains from the shower. Make a paste using water and baking soda/Borax.
Using a damp sponge, apply the paste on the door surfaces to loosen the hard water stains and soap scum.
Wait for a while, then rinse. When the surfaces dry completely, there won’t be any soap scum and stains. Like the first method, you should do this once every month.
Cleaning Glass Shower Doors Using Squeegees And Cloths
This is not a deep cleaning method but following this method will save you a lot from deep cleaning which is exhausting. Any squeegee will do the job but you have to pick microfiber cloth.
When you are done taking your shower, remove the water from the glass doors using the squeegee.
Now, you can’t reach hard-to-reach areas like tight corners and beneath door handles. That’s where you should use the cloth to remove any excess water.
For any reason, if you don’t have the microfiber cloth, you can use no scratch sponge too.
Turn on the bath exhaust fan for a while so that no moisture is anywhere inside the bathroom. If you don’t let any water build-up there, there won’t be any hard water stains in the first place.
So, the glass will always remain sparkly!
You can apply the same solution to remove limescale from shower cubicle too. You should keep the clothes clean too so that you can reuse it again and again. Tightly wring the clothes out and launder it on a weekly basis.
Use Lemon To Clean Shower Doors
In addition to the baking soda and water solution, lemon can be used to clean mineral deposits from shower doors. It has a super active cleaning ingredient to deal with soap scum as well.
You don’t have to make any solution to this. Just cut the lemon in half. Now, dip the cut side in baking soda and rub it on both sides of the glass door. You know that the lemon is full of acid, right?
Well, it creates a sudsy foam when the lemon of the acid reacts with baking soda. Now, clean the glass using freshwater. You can take it to the next level if you rub the glass with lemon oil.
The reason is pretty simple why you should do it. You see, it won’t let the soap dry on the glass because the lemon will repel the water to do so. There is another huge bonus to doing so.
You will get a lemon scent for a long time that is much better than the scent of bleach, right?
What now? What more you can do?
Well, don’t forget the edges of the shower door. They need cleaning too because these tracks are where soap scum and mold target.
Scrub the metal frame and rollers using the toothbrush. You can use a razor blade scraper or paint scraper to get the gunk out.
Long Term Solutions To Keep The Glass Shower Doors Clean
You, your partner, or someone else from your family will take shower daily and it makes it hard to remove hard water stains from glass shower doors on a daily basis.
Applying any of the above methods, you can have sparkly cleaning glass door surfaces but it will come back in a few days. So, you should take some long-term measures like the following:
- Avoid Using Bar Soap
Most of the Bar soaps contain talc which is solely responsible for the soap scum buildup. You should ban the bar soap to reduce the soap scum dramatically as a long term solution.
There are few non-talc bar soaps available in the market like Dove or any natural soap. You can opt to body wash too.
That way you will get rid of the soap scum but there will still be the water spots issue. That needs cleaning. But you won’t be having unsightly soap scum for sure.
- Do It Timely, Do It Regular
To avoid deep cleanings like the above-mentioned methods that involve time and energy, you need to pick the right time to clean it. Always clean the glass doors after the last person taking the shower for a particular day.
This is why it is important that you pick the best time…
After the last person takes the shower, the warm water will loosen up all the grime. You won’t be needing any toxic and harsh chemicals to do the job.
Just use a foam cleaning pad or sponge to clean the doors. This is also the right time to clean the floors and walls of the bathroom as well.
- Buy A Water Softener
It is an expensive solution but you should seriously think about if you have a decent budget. A water softener can significantly reduce the mineral buildup not only from your shower glass but also from dishwashers, showerheads, pipes, faucets, etc.
- Few Simple Tips To Make The Cleaning Easy:
- Keep the spray bottle in the popular shower caddy for easy access.
- Avoid using oily products. If you have to, be more prudent to clean the shower.
- Ensure better airflow in the shower. For that, leave the door open after taking a shower.
- Keep an old towel hanging inside the bathroom to regularly wipe the wet shower glass. Water spots happen only if you let the water sits on the glass.
- There are lots of ways you can soften the hard water. Look into ways to do so.
Conclusion
Did you really think a traditional glass cleaner will clean glass shower doors? It’s not that easy, right? I mentioned only those methods that are proven to work and with a little bit of your determination, you can give your shower doors a new look again.
