The glass shower door is the heart and soul of a contemporary bathroom space and its beauty lies in the transparency and radiance of the modernistic glass. These doors are designed to add a touch of sophistication and elegance in the interior space and can truly revamp the entire outlook of the bathroom. However, cleaning these radiant and sparkling shower doors is a daunting task as it can accumulate hard water stains and soap scums on its surface over time.   

These stubborn stains are incredibly hard to remove and can spoil the main beauty and splendor of the glass shower doors. Removing these stains is difficult for many homeowners but it can be made easy for you if you know the right technique and ingredients for cleaning the shower doors. This is a definitive guide for all homeowners and design enthusiasts who want to learn the art of cleaning shower doors and want to maintain the elegance of their treasured bathroom. 

How to Clean Glass Shower Doors?

There are numerous cool tricks and techniques to clean a glass shower door and the majority of these techniques use homemade cleaning solutions. Glass is a delicate décor element and it must also be cleaned delicately. That’s the reason why the first thing every homeowner needs to remember is to stop using harsh chemicals made from bleach and ammonia on the elusive & subtle surface of the glass shower doors. 

In place of harsh chemicals, homeowners can easily make multiple unique and effective cleaning solutions in their homes. Most commonly, baking soda, white vinegar, lemon, dish soap, vodka, and peppermint are used to make a homemade glass cleaning solution. Undoubtedly, the most effective cleaning solutions among these are often made with a mix of vinegar and distilled water, dawn, or other key ingredients. 

Besides cleaning solutions, it is also essential for the homeowners to understand what they are cleaning. Hard water and soap scum are two of the most stubborn glass enemies and often leave a dogged and hard-to-clean stain on the glass surface. These stains can easily fight off the external cleaning solutions and hard scrubbing that normally does more harm than good. So, here’s how you can remove the hard water stains from your glass shower doors.

• How to Remove Hard Water Stains from your Glass Shower Doors?

The best way to get rid of hard water stains is to frequently clean the glass shower doors. Giving a few minutes to clean the shower glass after a hot bath is a great idea as the humidity helps remove the soap scum from the glass. Otherwise, it is preferable to open a hot water faucet before cleaning to utilize the steam for cleaning purposes. 

There are two common ways to apply the cleaning solution on shower glass. The homeowners can use either a spray bottle or a sponge to apply the cleaning solution. The best part of using homemade cleaning solutions is there are no toxic gases produced in the entire cleaning process. In addition to this, a paper towel, microfiber cloth, squeegee, and a newspaper are the other essential elements to keep in hand while cleaning the glass shower doors. 

The shower door cleaning and hard water stain removal process often remain the same regardless of the cleaning solution used. The key to sparkling shower glass is to clean the shower glass multiple times a week. Following are the basic three simple steps of cleaning a glass shower door:

Step 1 – Applying Cleaning Solution

The first step is to apply the cleaning solution on the surface of the glass shower door. It is often best to start the cleaning process from the exterior side and move toward the interior side. The cleaning solution can be either sprinkled with a spray or applied with the help of a dunked sponge. It is preferable to let the solution rest on the glass surface for 10 – 30 minutes. 

Step 2 – Wash Down the Solution with Water

The next step is to wash down the solution with running water or a clean sponge. Make sure there is no solution left on the surface and water runs thoroughly across the shower glass door.

Step 3 – Dry the Shower Glass with a Squeegee

It is obvious that the hard water stains come from hard water and in the majority of urban cities in America, tap water is normally hard. That’s the reason why it is essential to run the shower glass dry with the help of a squeegee after cleaning off the solution with water. Homeowners can also use a microfiber cloth or a paper towel to dry the shower glass. 

• How to Clean Glass Shower Doors with Vinegar and Dawn?

There are many vinegar-based and homemade cleaning solutions for cleaning the shower glass but there is hardly any solution better than a mix of vinegar and dawn. This inexpensive & homemade solution can easily restore the sparkling shine of shower glass and cleans soap scum effectively that even expensive ammonia-based cleaning solutions fail to do. This incredible vinegar & dawn combination cleans the glass by working effectively in tandem. The dawn plays its role by breaking down grime and grease while the vinegar removes all the residue and brings back the sparkling shine of a shower glass door. 

Making Vinegar & Dawn Cleaning Solution

Making a homemade vinegar & dawn cleaning solution is incredibly simple. All one needs is one and a half cup of white vinegar and one and a half cup of dawn liquid. To make this cleaning solution, the first step is to heat the vinegar in a microwave for 2 minutes and add it in a spray bottle. Then, add in equal part dawn liquid in the bottle and shake vigorously. And that’s all you need to do, the most effective homemade glass cleaning solution is ready. 

How to Clean Shower Door Tracks? 

It isn’t uncommon for homeowners to forget to clean the sliding shower door tracks and it is often the most overlooked element of the shower door. However, these tracks can also accumulate tons of weird and dirty stuff over time and the grossest thing is some of it is even alive. Days and weeks of overlooking leads to an accumulation of soap scum and minerals from hard water. These tracks become home to many dirty bacteria & germs and this even affects the doors’ sliding mechanism. 

However, homeowners can certainly take a sigh of relief as cleaning these sliding door tracks requires no additional ingredients other than vinegar and distilled water. This simple DIY home cleaning hack helps you clean the dirty grime off the sliding door’s track so you can get a newish track to accompany the sparkling and clean shower glass door. 

• Cleaning Aluminum Shower Door Tracks

Cleaning aluminum shower door tracks can be made easy with the helping of the vinegar-based cleaning solution described above. So, all you need is to get quarter to half cup white distilled vinegar, cotton balls, toothbrush or grout brush, distilled water spray, and microfiber cloth. Here are the three simple steps to clean the aluminum shower door track:

Step 1 – Apply Vinegar on the Sliding Door Track

The first step is to dip the cotton balls into white distilled vinegar and apply it along the sliding door tracks. There’s no need to flood the tracks with vinegar and the goal is to drizzle the track and make it wet. The vinegar needs to sit on the tracks for up to five minutes to clean the dirt and grime from the rails.

Step 2 – Scrub the Tracks with Grout Brush or Toothbrush

The next step is to scrub the hard water’s mineral residue and soap scum from the tracks with the help of a toothbrush or a grout brush. Gentle scrubbing surely does the trick as the vinegar solution softens up the grime and filth accumulation. 

Step 3 – Clean and Dry the Shower Door Tracks

Following this, the distilled water is sprinkled along the tracks to effectively remove the vinegar solution or any other residue from the shower door track. This cleaning with distilled water is followed by drying as leftover water can turn into grime and filth with time. A microfiber cloth works the best to dry the tracks.   

How to Clean Shower Door Frame?

The entire shower door frame can be cleaned similarly with the vinegar and distilled water solution in the way described above. Though, this is not the only way to clean a filthy and dirty glass shower door frame. There are also other popular techniques to clean an aluminum shower door frame and perhaps one of the most common techniques is cleaning with a streamer.

• How to Clean Aluminum Shower Door Frames?

The aluminum frame gives the glass shower door its touch of stability and solidity. That’s why frequent maintenance of the shower door frame holds the utmost importance and must always be kept in mind. Cleaning the shower door frame with a steamer is a highly effective and chemical-free way to clean the lustrous aluminum frame. This method only requires a steamer, microfiber cloth, and a plastic putty knife or spatula. With these simple tools, homeowners can easily clean the mold & mildew off the glass shower door frame. Here is a simple three-step guide to clean the aluminum shower door frame with a steamer. 

Step 1 – Clean the Shower Frame with Steamer and Wand

The first step is to use a steamer’s wand to loosen the mold, mildew, and strains trapped in the shower frame. The wand greatly helps in disrupting the stains and helps make cleaning simpler.

Step 2 – Clean Hard-to-Reach Crevices and Edges with Spatula

A peculiar shape of a spatula works the best for cleaning the hard-to-reach crevices and edges in a shower door frame. Wrapping a microfiber cloth around a spatula makes it a great cleaning tool for removing grime and filth from the creeks and crevices of the shower door frame. Besides spatula, a plastic putty knife can also be used to reach these tricky places and clean them properly.

Step 3 – Wipe Away the Residue with a New Microfiber Cloth

The next and final step is to wipe away all the remaining residue accumulated during the cleaning process with a fresh and new microfiber cloth. This entire cycle of cleaning can be repeated multiple times to perfectly clean a shower door frame. 

How to Clean Plastic Shower Doors?

In today’s world of contemporary design, many amazing alternatives to glass are both durable and affordable. In this long line of décor elements lie the increasingly-popular plastic shower doors. These plastic shower doors give the same aesthetic appeal as a traditional glass door and are a more frugal design option. However, soap scum can even ruin the beauty of this contemporary shower door and its lustrous surface becomes soiled due to hard water, dirt, and body oils. 

The good thing is the process of cleaning these contemporary plastic shower doors is similar to the glass shower door cleaning process. These plastic doors are often easily scratched and it is essential to clean them gently and with a soft microfiber cloth. The cleaning solution for these doors encompasses 2 tablespoons dish soap, quarter cup white vinegar, and 2 cups distilled water. This combination makes a gentle and effective cleaning solution to clean plastic shower doors. 

Best Shower Cleaners

There are surely many effective homemade shower cleaners to use for cleaning the shower glass doors, tracks, and frames. However, there are amazing and highly effective shower cleaners also available online including the likes of Sparkle Cleaner & Stain Removal, Mirror Cleaner & Polish, and Glass & Mirror Cleaner Foam made by Fab Glass and Mirror. These shower cleaners are not only affordable and effective but also leave the bathroom space with a pleasant aroma. 

These shower cleaners are completely safe-to-use, as they contain no harsh chemicals such as ammonia. The best thing about these shower cleaners is their wide use around the home and they offer an excellent solution for cleaning all kinds of glass. This even includes the likes of plexiglass, tempered glass, and fiberglass. So, it is evident that these shower cleaners are surely worth a buy and can be used effectively to bring back the sparkle and shine to glasses and mirrors around the house.