This guide on how to clean glass shower doors is essential for anyone who's tired of seeing their gorgeous glass covered in smears and smudges. We spend a small fortune on glass shower doors, so we want to keep them looking shiny and perfectly clear all the time.
Knowing how to clean a shower door is key to ensuring your space is always gleaming and looking its best. No matter how beautiful your tiles or how stylish your flooring, if you space isn't clean, it's simply not going to look great. Or make you feel cleab for that matter...
'One of the main reasons glass shower doors are constantly getting dirty is due to minerals in your shower water. When water evaporates post-shower, the remaining minerals cause residue on the glass. This is especially common if you don't have a water softener,' says Michael Dean, co-founder of Pool Research.
So from simple recipes for making natural and inexpensive cleaning solutions, to more hardy ways to treat your glass doors, we've spoken to industry experts to share how to keep your glass doors looking sparkling clean.
How to clean glass shower doors naturally
If you'd like to swap the often expensive and chemical packed cleaning products for something a little more natural, there are many options you can try. The most common are vinegar and lemons - here's how you can use them!
How to clean glass shower doors with vinegar – a basic step-by-step
You will need:
- Shower sprayer
- Empty spray bottle
- White vinegar
- Scrub sponge
- Baking soda
- Microfiber cloth
- Glass cleaner
Roman Peysakhovich CEO of national cleaning company Onedesk shares his failsafe step by step for an expert clean:
- 'Wet the glass with a shower sprayer.
- Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar and spray the door to thoroughly saturate the glass.
- Let the white vinegar soak for at least 10 minutes or longer.
- Dip a scrub sponge into baking soda and use it to scrub the glass doors.
- Once you're satisfied with how clean the glass is, rinse it off with fresh water.
- Dry the glass with a microfiber cloth, then use a glass cleaner to finish cleaning the shower door.'
How to clean glass shower doors with lemons
You will need:
- One lemon
- Lemon squeezer (optional)
- Empty spray bottle
- Distilled water
- Cloth
When life gives you lemons, er, use them to clean a glass shower door. Here's what to do:
- Squeeze your lemon to get around three tablespoons of juice.
- Mix your lemon juice with a cup of distilled water in a spray bottle.
- Spray the glass.
- Leave for five minutes, then wipe, and dry.
How to clean glass shower doors with vinegar and Dawn
You will need:
- White vinegar
- Microwaveable container
- Dawn dish soap
- Empty spray bottle
- Microfiber cloth
- Squeegee
- Put one part white vinegar into a microwaveable container, and heat for 60 seconds.
- Mix with one part dish soap like Dawn and let cool, then add to a spray bottle.
- Spray on to glass shower doors and leave for three to five minutes before wiping with a microfiber cloth.
- Rinse then squeegee dry or use a microfiber cloth.
How to clean glass shower doors with shampoo
You will need:
- A bottle of shampoo
- Water
- Microfiber cloth
- Window squeegee
Victorian Plumbing has shared TikTok user @malsabena quick and easy hack to achieve a streak-free shower screen by simply using water and a bottle of shampoo.
'First, she soaks a microfiber cloth in a solution of water and shampoo and wipes the surface in a circle like motion. She then removes it with a window squeegee.'
Victorian Plumbing recommend rinsing the shower well when using this method. 'Shampoo is a detergent, but as this hack doesn’t seem to rinse the shampoo away from the shower screen, it could cause a build-up of soap scum and limescale. If you wanted to try this hack, it’d be worth rinsing the shower screen before using the squeegee to remove any drips and streaks.'
How to clean your shower if you live in a hard water area
There’s nothing like hard water to turn sparkling glass doors into dull and grotty looking surfaces. If you live in a hard water area (that’s plenty of us), then you’ll know how quickly this can happen.
You can try the natural methods as above to remove hard water stains, but in some cases, these may not be strong enough. It's worth trying out off-the-shelf cleaning products. Always check the pack instructions, but make sure you follow these golden rules–
You will need:
- White vinegar
- One lemon
- Microfiber cloth
- Working from the top of the shower door and horizontally with your vinegar, lemon or other cleaning agent and going from left to right is the best way to tackle hard water stains.
- Rinse as necessary.
- Dry the glass with a microfiber cloth when you finish, otherwise you’ll just be leaving new deposits on it which will turn into – you guessed it – hard water stains.
How to clean glass shower doors with soap scum
This method works with limescale, too, so you can get two nasties off the glass at once. Do this daily or weekly as a preventative measure for mucky shower doors also.
You will need:
- White vinegar
- Bathroom sponge
- Baking soda
- Microfiber cloth
- If soap scum is spoiling the look of your glass shower doors, then firstly wet the shower glass.
- Put white vinegar into a spray bottle and apply evenly all over the glass.
- Leave to do its work for 10 minutes – or longer if this is a job you (or the previous residents of your home) have neglected.
- Dip a bathroom sponge into some baking soda and use this to clean the glass.
- Rinse this off.
- Dry the glass with a microfiber cloth.
How to clean treated glass shower doors
A treated glass shower door should give you fewer cleaning headaches in the first place. The coating is designed to protect the door against stains and soap scum – to which we say hooray.
You will still need to keep up with the cleaning weekly, though. Use a mild detergent as recommended by the door manufacturer applied with a microfiber cloth, and rinse and dry.
You can treat your own shower door with a barrier spray made for the job, opt for a shower door cleaner that also acts as a repellent, or use a product designed to repel water from car windshields. You’ll need to re-apply regularly, and always take care to spray only the glass.
How to clean tempered glass shower doors
Simply use your preferred method, natural or not. There’s no need to be concerned as tempered glass is simply a type of safety glass that, if it breaks, won’t fall into dangerous shards.
How to remove more stubborn stains
If the stains and marks have really built up, the best way to clean glass shower doors could be by investing in a set of magic eraser like Mr Clean from Amazon .
These really do work like magic to tackle very stubborn marks on your glass door. You’ll need to moisten the eraser first, and then scrub the effected areas to remove stains. Always ensure to wear household gloves to protect your hands. Go gently, too, to keep the glass looking its best.
How do hotels keep glass shower doors clean?
Glass shower doors in hotels are super clean, and for the same effect, we recommend the natural method using vinegar.
Bear in mind, however, that these doors could have a protective coating that repels the water and helps put a stop to stains and marks. It's also likely that the glass shower doors in hotels are cleaned much more than yours – unless you, too, are doing the job daily.
Regular thorough cleaning prevents build-up of grot on their doors. And finally, hotels may well have water softeners preventing the hard water deposits that make stains on glass shower doors.
How can I keep my shower doors looking cleaner for longer?
'If you want to keep your doors shiny for longer, it’s necessary to wipe and squeegee them down after every use. Otherwise grime will build up and you’ll be left with those cloudy, opaque doors,' says JJ at Brosnan Property Solutions.
How do I clean the seals on my shower door?
The seals on your shower door can often get grubby, and if you leave it too long, these marks can become irreversible. No matter how clean and shiny your shower doors, the overall look can easily be ruined by black marks around the seals.
The best way to clean the seals is to spray on cleaning solution to completely cover the area. Then let this soak in for about 10 minutes to help lift the dirt. Using either a scouring pad or a toothbrush, scrub the area until clean – this may need some elbow grease for the most stubborn stains.
It's a good idea to keep on top of this and scrub your seals around once a week to prevent permanent staining.
Do dryer sheets clean shower doors?
It sounds bizarre doesn't it, but dryer sheets really are a secret weapon when it comes to cleaning shower doors. Dryer sheets help to soften fabric and absorb static. So when this is rubbed onto a shower door, it softens soap scum and gently eases it away.
You firstly need to wet the dryer sheet, rub it over your door, and then rinse with water. Oh, and the best bit is that you don't even have to worry about using up all your dryer sheets and having non left for your laundry.
Dryer sheets can work to clean your doors after you've used them once before in your dryer. It's recycling and we are here for it. If you live in a hard water area, it's worth keeping in mind that dryer sheets may not quite be strong enough to remove some marks, and sticking with solutions like vinegar or classic glass cleaner may be your best bet.
Your glass shower door cleaning essentials
