Cleaning the Bathroom Shower and Getting a Crack at Those Shower Doors

One of the most disliked cleaning jobs around the house is cleaning the bathroom. And at the top of that list is the shower.

Due to the design of the whole shower area and the clingyness of soap scum it makes that job when you’re cleaning the bathroom that much more of a headache.

I do my best to clean our bathroom showers each week. So here are a few tips I use to simplify cleaning the bathroom shower as much as possible.

Tools

Showerhead: Now of course you can clean your shower without one but using a  handheld showerhead will make rinsing your shower much easier.

Just in case you’re wondering how a handheld showerhead will help you clean your shower think of all the times you have to reach hither and yon with a bucket or bowl to rinse away your applied shower cleaner. Do you ever have to pause and take a deep breath after all that bending and stretching? I used to. Not fun! This is where the handheld shower head comes in. Just stand outside the shower and point in all directions to give your shower a good rinse. Most of them come with a 6 foot hose which is plenty for an average shower.

A friend tuned me in to this one and she was so right. I purchased a low cost one and then once we started to realize how much we liked the various shower sprays we upgraded to an Ana Bath ’cause we like our showers. Now a days most of them also come with various water settings so you get two benefits for the price of one. Something to help you clean your shower that also gives you a good massage!

Microfiber Mop: I use my microfiber mop to scrub the shower. The microfiber gets the  soap scum      and I save my back with a telescoping handle.

Shower Cleaner: Make sure you are using the right cleaner for the job. Most times you are looking to get rid of soap scum and hard water deposits in the shower so read your cleaners and make sure you purchase one that says it will do that AND is safe for your shower finish. You can also mix up an eco-friendly shower cleaner from baking soda (for the scrubbing power), vinegar (to get the soap scum), dish soap (for the anti-bacterial properties), and water (to dilute).  With natural products sometimes you have to let them work a bit so after applying (to damp shower walls) let it sit for several minutes before rinsing off.

If you are using a microfiber mop steer clear of cleaners with bleach.

Shower Cleaning Steps

1. Step in shower and clean doors first (if you have them)
2. Wet shower doors. Apply cleaner. Rinse
3. Now step outside of the shower
4. Wet down the shower walls
5. Apply cleaner (here’s where I use a long handled microfiber shower cleaner mop to get this done)
6. Let sit a few minutes (don’t let it dry) and rinse
7. Use a dry cloth to dry shower.
8. Now buff up the chrome and fixtures.
9. Wipe down the outside of the doors.

More Details

• If you have buildup in the door tracks here is where you take those toothbrushes I was talking about and scrub it away. Rinse and dry well.
• If your shower head has mineral buildup (you can see it and you will have poor water flow) tie a plastic baggie that has vinegar in it to the shower head and let sit overnight. In the morning run the shower to dislodge the mineral deposits.
• You get the idea. Vinegar can remove that hard water build up in your bathroom.
• Don’t wait until Spring Cleaning to clean your shower. Clean it at least once a week or the build up will be mind boggling. I personally know of one family that cleans their shower after every use… no it’s not mine but it is something to think about.

 A Note on Cleaning Glass Shower Doors

Do you have glass shower doors? I do and they are a bear to clean. Just a few months after having new glass shower doors I started seeing the dreaded spots build up. Oy vey!

Simple glass bathroom cleaner wasn’t cutting it. So I did some research to see if something I had around the house would help the situation. Now bear in mind, depending upon how long your shower doors have looked this way, different things work for different people.

Here’s the List of Products I Used to Clean My Glass Shower Doors

• The Dawn and Vinegar mix : This left my bathroom clean but did little to get hard water spots off the shower doors.
• Fabric Softener Sheets: These kind of work but again only if your build up is minimal. Wet the dryer sheets and wipe on the doors. Let sit a few minutes and use a gentle scrubber to scrub off. Rinse and dry.
• Straight Vinegar: My doors laughed at this. I’ve heard you need commercial strength but I haven’t found any.
• Straight up Lemons: Again my doors laughed.
• Glass Stove Top Cleaner: This worked but took a lot of elbow grease.
• Lemi Shine and Lemon Pledge:  So I had heard that Lemi Shine, normally for dishwashers, worked for cleaning glass shower doors. I had a friend give me half a bottle of hers so I decided to give it a try. First I dissolved 1/4 cup of the Lemi Shine in a cup of hot water and put that in a spray bottle. I sprayed it on the doors and proceeded to wipe it off. My doors looked cloudy and I was not happy. No matter how I wiped (with a cotton cleaning cloth) they just looked cloudy. I happened to have some Lemon Pledge sitting on the floor. I sprayed it on and wiped it off. Ohmigoodness! As I wiped the Lemon Pledge seemed to combine with the Lemi Shine and managed to scrub a lot of the water spots off! It wasn’t as they were when brand new but it was pretty close.  Now I’m out of Pledge so I have to pick some more up.
• Now when you’ve gotten your doors back to almost new looking be sure and put on some Invisible Shield Surface Protectant to keep your doors clear for many months.