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Today on Chemistry Cachet, we are sharing our ultimate guide on how to clean a glass shower door.

This post is very detailed and thorough so you can make sure you do everything you need to when it comes to cleaning a shower door.

A few years ago, we shared a little tip to clean your shower door in this post about natural shower tile. This particular method was one I used for the shower door I had at the time that was in bad shape.

While this tip is still going to be an important one to keep on hand, let’s discuss further everything you need to know about those shower doors!

Of course, this is all based on science too ? Don’t forget to follow us on instagram!

How to Clean a Glass Shower Door

Earlier this year, we had our master shower redone. It turned out beautiful, and one of my favorite parts of this new shower is the glass shower door.

We had a nice shower door put in that opens both ways, thick glass, and a great coating on it. This coating is called EnduroShield. If you put in a new glass door, I highly recommend getting this coating. It is the best stuff! It makes cleaning quick and easy.

If you have an older glass door, this guide is perfect for you too. We have all the tips!!

What You Will Find in Chemistry Cachet’s Guide to Cleaning a Shower Door:

Included in this post:

• Important beginning tips
• Homemade glass shower door cleaner
• How to keep shower doors clean with daily maintanence tips
• How to remove bad water stains and buildup from the glass doors
• Using the magic eraser method
• Using the dawn and vinegar method
• Using an abrasive on a glass shower door
• Store-bought glass cleaners
• Big list of reader’s FAQs

So, you can see this post is a great one to always keep on hand!

The first thing to do before going any further with cleaning your glass shower door.

This is important! Before you start to clean your glass shower door, you need to figure out a few things.

First, try to find out the manufacturer of your door or what type of door you have. Not all glass looking shower doors are actually glass. If you aren’t able to locate the manufacturer or the type of door you have, that’s okay! Just use caution when you begin to clean it!

Second, and this is the most important thing to keep in mind, if your shower door is OLD or doesn’t seem to respond to any of the methods we have in this post, you might have permanent etching. Over time, hard water build up can actually scratch or etch glass when it isn’t cleaned properly. This means no matter how hard you clean it or what product you use, it will not come off. It is scratched! So, keep this in mind when you clean.

How to Clean Glass Shower Doors with Vinegar

The next section of our shower door cleaning guide is a homemade solution made from vinegar.

According to most of the shower door manufacturers I have looked at, this homemade shower door cleaner is safe to use. Please double check with your manufacturer if you know what is.

While vinegar is not a good option to use full strength on class, it is a great option to use for hard water and for coated glass or regular glass shower doors if you use it properly.

Homemade Glass Shower Door Cleaner

This simple DIY glass cleaner is great for removing hard water stains.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water
• 1 cup vinegar
• Microfiber Cloth

Directions: The glass shower door manufacturers recommend a 4:1 ratio of water to vinegar. I like to use 4 cups of water to 1 cup of vinegar. Feel free to use more or less depending on what size you are cleaning. Remember to keep this ratio.

1. Spray entire shower door top to bottom.
2. Allow solution to sit about 3 minutes.
3. Wipe with a dry microfiber cloth, buffing out any streaks. Using microfiber is very important for this step. This type of material is soft on glass, but also removes all moisture. It cleans well alone too, but combined with the vinegar/water solution, it is very effective.

How Often Should This Be Used?

This homemade glass shower door cleaner is the solution you should use every few weeks to keep up with your shower door.

Keep this homemade cleaner on hand for when you get hard water build up. Next, we are going to share with you important maintenance methods to do before you use this homemade cleaner!

How to Keep Glass Shower Doors Clean

I am a firm believer in keeping up with cleaning. This is especially true for things in the bathroom where you are using the surfaces each day. Maintenance is key!

By using these daily routines, I have not had to use the homemade shower door cleaner above with vinegar more than once per month.

Daily Shower Door Maintenance Steps

Step One: Squeegee the shower door dry after each use.  I keep a squeegee in the shower, so after I turn off the water. I quickly remove water from the shower door with this.

Step Two: Every few days, dilute a very small amount of dish soap in water. Dip a microfiber cloth in it, and clean the surface of the door. Then, shower as your normally would. Squeegee just like you did in step one. By doing this every few days, you keep hard water stains away.

Step Three: If these methods above have done a good job of keeping your shower door free from water droplets and stains, then you can use the homemade glass shower door cleaner as needed.

These are all tips I have learned from the manufacturer of my shower door. This works great for coated doors too like mine with EnduroShield. It is also great for non-coated and older doors too.

How to Remove Bad Water Stains From Glass Shower Doors

If you have used the above methods, but you still see bad water stains, you need to do something a little stronger.  Shower doors that have gone too long without a proper cleaning or haven’t been maintained will have stronger stains on them.

This is where the method using a magic eraser comes in. We talked about it briefly in this post about natural shower tile.

Please visit this post for more details.

Using a magic eraser on your shower door will help remove very heavy duty stains. We have a DIY magic eraser in the eBook if you want to try it out or use less chemicals.

What NOT to Use this Magic Eraser On:

Do Not use the magic eraser method on coated shower doors!

Use it on glass or plastic.

What about a homemade shower door cleaner with vinegar AND dawn dish soap?

I have received this email from readers many times over the years, so I wanted to makes sure to include it. Above, our homemade glass shower door cleaner is 1 part vinegar and 4 parts water. This is a recommended ratio by the manufacturer of both the glass and the coating.

We also talk about using diluted dish soap as a maintenance program for cleaning the shower door.

So, you might be wondering if you can just combine them to clean the glass?

The answer for this is no.

It is very important to keep the ratio of vinegar, acetic acid, the same for glass. Glass manufacturers warn against using too strong acetic acid percentages which can etch glass overtime.  For this particular method, you want to make sure to use the vinegar solution only when needed. The dish soap is more for the maintenance part and works better diluted with water and applying with microfiber.

Vinegar and dish soap are great combined for overall cleaning in the shower (like the one in our eBook), but not for the glass shower door. SO, keep this in mind.

Can You Use an abrasive cleaner for a glass shower door like vinegar with baking soda? Or baking soda alone?

We are including this particular question as part of our guide because many articles on the internet say you can clean a glass shower door with baking soda and vinegar. Or just baking soda with other things. First, baking soda and vinegar don’t work together like you might think. Visit this important article about the combination of baking soda and vinegar. Second, baking soda or any abrasive should not be used on a coated glass door or glass itself. It can scratch it.  As mentioned above, the magic eraser is slightly (very slightly abrasive), so should not be used on coated glass. Only regular glass doors. It will not scratch like straight baking soda or something similar.

Bon Ami is a favorite method of mine for glass stove tops. It is a mild abrasive. They say you can use it on glass shower doors (not coated), but most shower door manufacturers don’t recommend it. Bon Ami is good for the dark glass type stove tops. I did use this product on my old shower door which was in bad shape, it worked for this door, but I don’t recommend trying it on anything new.

What About Using a Mirror or Glass Cleaner on the Shower Door?

Many store-bought class cleaners contain ammonia, which is a good option for glass. However, if your shower door contains the coating like mine, they recommend not using a commercial glass cleaner very often. It should be used sparingly.

Chemistry Hacks for Home and Outdoors contains a great glass cleaner with an alcohol base, this is great for regular glass shower doors, but not coated ones. When it comes to the coated glass, stick to the homemade glass shower door cleaner we mention above with the 4:1 ratio of vinegar and water.

Can you use this method for cleaning a shower door that is not glass?

If you have a shower door that isn’t glass, you can still use all these methods above. Shower doors that are plastic can get the etching or permanent stains we mentioned in the beginning more easily, so if you can’t seem to get your door clean, this could be the case.

Chemistry Cachet’s Summary For Cleaning A Glass Shower Door

In Conclusion, there are a few important facts to keep in mind for your glass shower door.

• If you can’t get your shower door clean, it might be permanently damaged from hard water.
• Use the homemade glass shower door cleaner with a 4:1 vinegar water ratio when needed.
• Keep up with cleaning! After each use, squeegee the door completely clean.
• Use diluted dish soap every week and rub down the shower door with a microfiber cloth before showering. Take a shower and rinse the door. Then squeegee dry as normal.
• If you have a NON-coated glass door and the hard water stains are bad, you can use our magic eraser method. Find a safe, homemade magic eraser in our eBook if you would like.
• Save this post to reference for the future!

Reader FAQs

This post is new on Chemistry Cachet, as reader questions come in, I will update this section more. For now, here are some of the top questions I have received through email regarding glass shower doors.

What if my shower door is cloudy? – cloudy shower doors are from soap scum and hard water. You can use all the tips in this post to remove it. Soap scum can be difficult to remove. When you finally get it clean wit these tips, keep up with the cleaning each day to make sure it doesn’t build up again.

Can I use your DIY all-purpose cleaner from the eBook? – YES! But NOT if you have a coated door. If it is regular glass, you can use it. You still need to follow all these tips to make sure your door stays clean.

What if the homemade glass shower door cleaner didn’t remove anything from my door? – try using the maintenance tips first. Use diluted dish soap and a microfiber cloth to rub down the door really well, shower, then squeegee it clean. Next, use the homemade shower door cleaner to see how it helps.

I thought vinegar wasn’t good for glass?? – undiluted vinegar is not recommended for glass surfaces. This is why manufacturers recommend the 4:1 ratio of water to vinegar. And this ratio should be use as needed, not every day.

What if none of these tips work for me?? – it could be your shower door has some permanent damage. My old shower door had a permanent scratching on the side from hard water, this cannot get clean as it is etched in the glass.

I hope you enjoyed this post on how to clean a glass shower door! These are tips we have been working on for many years, and they have been very helpful for keeping things clean!

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