Well water, soap, and age had left a permanent fog on the shower doors. There was also a cruddy hard substance at the bottoms of each door. Nothing would remove this cement-like crud. Nothing would remove the fog. As a last ditch effort before purchasing new doors I tried something I've not found anyone mention.
First I removed the doors to the yard and leaned them up against a wall. I sprayed them with WD40 and let em sit. An hour later I rinsed. There was a gooey fatty substance on the glass now. But the cement crud was releasing it's hold. With help of a razor blade I got it off.
Now I needed to deal with the goo on the glass. You must have gloves for this step. I laid down the door on the tailgate of my truck. I took liquid Cascade dishwasher detergent and a 000 piece of steel wool (non-soap kind). I added generous amounts of Cascade to the glass and scrubbed. The soap will turn yucky the more you scrub. I added a little water as needed. I let it sit for about 3 minutes then I rinsed and turned over the doors repeating the process. As they dried I could now see what I had missed so I repeated the process and armed with the razor blade was able to get the remaining stuck on crud on the edges off.
They look beautiful. I saved myself the cost of new doors. It probably cost me five dollars all together in product and took a couple hours of work. It was well worth the effort.
By Jeannie from New Mexico
This page contains the following solutions.
Soap scum just flakes off into a powder by removing it with a single edge razor. Very simple. After years of spending money on chemicals for my shower doors, they are now clean!
Put peroxide in a spray bottle and spray on your shower doors and wipe with a dry cloth. The soap scum wipes right off. You can also do the same for shower walls. It works wonders.
I use Avon's skin-so-soft in a spray bottle on my glass shower doors. Spray on doors and wipe off with a paper towel, your doors will be clean and the bathroom will have that fresh scent of skin-so-soft, repeat about once a week.
I found the best way to clean water spots from shower doors. I tried vinegar soaked on paper towels and left it on there for forty minutes. It didn't work and I now smell like vinegar. I tried Comet with a scrub pad, it didn't work.
I hung a patterned shower curtain which I bought at the Dollar store, just inside the shower doors. It has a pretty design and adds privacy. Best of all, it saves me from having to remove lime build up on the doors.
Spraying Rain-X on your shower doors will make the water bounce right off and will also reduce the build up of soap scum.
This tip is for cleaning the glass on your shower screen and keeping it clean. To keep it looking good, use a really good car polish on it and it keeps it clean.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Tilex has left drip lines down my glass shower doors. I have tried Dawn and vinegar, glass stovetop cleaner, and Windex all to no avail. The lines are like a gray shadow running straight down.
Help! thanks.
One of the best products I've ever used is a magic eraser that you can get at any dollar store in the bathroom cleaner aisle. They aren't expensive and they work on ALL kinds of stains.
What tool do you use to clean BETWEEN glass shower doors where soap, shampoo and shaving cream get caught?
If they are standard shower doors, they should lift out and I just used a 8/1.00 toothbrush and some dollar tree spray foam. They have holes in the sides so they drain back into the tub, so if you want you can get down and dirty with some soapy water and it won't leak out on the floor side.
Use CLR and use a drinking glass cleaner for your kitchen. The kind with the plastic handle and soft sponge head. This fits nicely between the doors and the CLR works magic
My husband and I use a squeegee every time we use the shower, but it leaves rubber marks on the glass that are hard to get off. This is a brand new squeegee. What are we doing wrong and what is the best daily way to keep the shower door clean?
By Debbie
One great thing to do is take car polish wax and do the whole inside of your shower, doors & all, once every couple 3 months, water slides off, and then just leave the doors open on each end slightly to allow air to circulate & keep it dry. Been doing this about 35 years.
What I do to keep my shower clean is to just wipe down the shower from the ceiling the the bottom with a towel. I never have any soap scum build up. Every couple of months I just use some glass cleaner to wipe the shower down.
I'm not sure what you may be doing to cause the marks you have. I have used a squeegee for about a year and have never had any marks. The one I use has a plastic handle and plastic blade. When I first began using a squeegee, I tried an old one I found in the garage that had a rubber blade and metal handle. After a couple of uses, I dropped it in the tub and chipped the finish. Oops!! It went back to the garage and I bought the plastic one.
To remove those marks, you might use a Magic eraser or perhaps a microfiber towel with just water. I know you do not want to make more work for yourself by having to clean off the marks. I have found the squeegee does a good job of keeping the water marks and soap scum off the shower doors. Good luck!
Does anyone out there have any suggestions for cleaning glass shower doors? I have tried about everything under the sun, but have found nothing that works without using a lot of elbow grease. Please help.
By wilma from Jacksonville, NC
Wet down the doors, use a "magic eraser" with baking soda, rub that in, then spray vinegar (I keep some in a spray bottle) over the baking soda, let sit for 5-10 minutes, respray again and wipe with magic eraser. Rinse. Should sparkle and no harmful vapors. Hope this helps!
Hi! I'm from J-ville, too! The very best way to clean shower doors is with a used dryer sheet. They are just slightly abrasive, and leave a nice smell, too. I have also found that they doors stay nice and shiny longer when I use a dryer sheet.
My grandmother has glass shower doors and uses a squeegie to "wipe" them down after she showers. She says it saves her lots of work trying to scrub them. I've also heard friends praise how well the Magic Erasers (or generic equivalent) work on glass shower doors.
Have you tried Oxyclean? Make up a spray bottle of it and after your shower spray it on and in the track area and watch the grime disappear.
Kate
A cleaning friend uses dish soap, slick as a whistle and looks really good.
I have tried everything with no luck! So I finally found something that works wonders!! I fill up a bucket with warm to hot water and some Dawn dish soap and place it in the shower. Then I put some 20 Mule Team Borax into an unbreakable dish and jump into the shower. After wetting my rag/sponge in the Dawn/Water solution and wringing it out somewhat, I dab it into the dish of Borax. I apply it to the glass and keep repeating this procedure until I've done the whole door. Rinse it down with hot water from the shower and it's like new! I dry the door with flour sack dish towel(s) without fabric softener! You could also use a scrapper blade if it's really bad. I just bladed all the shower stall tiles and on the stall flower also. It just takes it away!
Happy Cleaning!
I'm having the same problem. I'm fed up that I'm about to just do it the easy way out and just replace with brand new showers doors on sale, then just make sure I do the upkeep of maintence on the new doors after every shower everyday.
Can you tell me what to use to keep, my shower door sparkly clean? Thanks.
By Brenda M.
My glass shower doors are stained. I have tried all types of cleaning products, but nothing has worked so far. Can someone out there help?
By Elena
How do you get glass shower doors to sparkle?
By Peggy
Fly Lady has a good solution that works. Shampoo of any kind and scrub, even if you can only do a small portion at a time. When you rinse the area that has been scrubbed you will see amazing difference.
I have frosted glass shower doors. I use Scrubbing Bubbles on the inside which works great. When I used it on the frosted side it looks like the spray is still there. Can anyone help me get this off?
By christine from Sanford, ME
You're seeing the chemical residue left behind so just rinse really well after cleaning with a water only rag and wipe dry.
Best way is to keep a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser in the shower and wipe it down before you get out and dry it. This keeps it from the build up. Also I found a great product called Greased Lightning very cheap and works great on everything! Walmart yellow spray bottle! I clean houses for a living and I make sure all my customers have this on hand!
What is the secret to cleaning and shinning glass doors for a shower? I clean and do not get to squeegee them after a shower. I have tried the stuff you use on car windshields, oiled them to repel the water, etc. Help.
By Terri Simmons from Dallas, TX
Use vinegar for everything else will give the vinegar heated and eraser a try and the Dawn. Thanks for the tips!
Use soft scrub! Put a little soft scrub paste on a regular dishwashing sponge and gently scrub it all over the door. Then I let it dry up and rub it off with dry paper towels. Then just use regular windex to give the glass a final shine!
I live in an apartment and the previous tenants didn't ever clean the shower doors. They are extremely stained. I have tried lemon juice, vinegar, and Lime Away, but nothing seems to work. Please help!
By Rick B.
My shower doors are old and the glass gets grimy even when I have scrubbed it clean with ammonia. Then I tried using a dryer sheet which kept it clean for a little while, but now it is back to looking terrible. I tried Turtle wax, but again with hot water and a lot of use (5 people in the family), this does not work for long either.
By Maggie T. from Fraser, MI
I have a new shower enclosure. What can be put on it to make it clean easier? I have heard car wax and also Rain-X. Are any of these suitable?
By jean
Some people have good results removing soap scum from shower doors with baby oil. Applying a light coat after cleaning will help prevent future buildup for a time. This is a page about using baby oil for cleaning shower doors.
Sometimes a household cleaner can leave a streaky, cloudy residue or appearance on the area cleaned. You may need to go back and clean it again using a different method or product. This is a page about bleach cleaner left shower door cloudy.
Glass shower doors can get soap scum build up pretty easily and be difficult to clean. This is a page about cleaning between glass shower doors.
The texture of dryer sheets is helpful in cleaning shower doors; used ones work as well as new. This is a page about use dryer sheets to clean shower doors.
This is a page about cleaning water spots on shower doors. Hard water can leave spots on your glass shower doors that are difficult and time consuming to remove.
