Chances are, if you have a walk-in shower, you have glass shower doors! More and more people are going tub-less and opting for a beautiful walk-in shower with stone or tile and sparkling glass shower doors—at least for the first couple of weeks. Then those beautiful glass doors that were sparkling can easily look dingy, streaked with leftover soap and accumulated water spots. It is at this time many people make the fatal mistake of reaching for the Windex to clean those pesky marks off of the shower door but don’t do it!! Windex, while a great option for glass, can ruin your beautiful, and likely expensive, shower doors. So instead of reaching for Windex, try reaching for a different household product.

Chemistry

I’m not the biggest fan of chemistry either but I always find it easiest to remember to do or not to do something if I learn what is behind it. All shower doors come with a coating on the doors to repel water. This coating can be harmed if you use an ammonia-based cleanser on the glass. To steer clear of harming the glass, you’ll want to select a cleanser that is acidic-based or Ph-neutral. 

 

The Cleaner I Like

There is a great variety of glass cleaners on the market but my favorite general glass cleaner is vinegar and water. Use distilled white vinegar and mix it in a 1:1 ratio with water and pour it into a spray bottle.

 

For Cleaning 

I like to mist the shower doors with my vinegar and water solution, then grab one of my microfiber towels, and wipe down the door. This usually only gets about 90% of the water so then I wipe down the door again with a paper towel. Using the paper towel, I feel a lot of friction but that’s how you know you’re getting the doors really well! The microfiber serves to remove any soap scum more effectively than just the paper towel would and it also conserves how many paper towels you use. I’m also a fan of using the Norwex Window Cloth to take the place of a paper towel and really polish the glass shower door. 

 

For Stubborn Buildup on Glass

All glass doors will show wear over time, especially if you live in an area that has hard water. However, this takes a long time for most shower doors. The only shower doors that I have seen that I haven’t been able to clean are one that have had ammonia or other harsh cleanser used on them. 

 

Sometimes there will be a lot of built-up soap. In these cases, I very gently use a wet non-scratch sponge to remove the buildup. If you go in with a brand new, dry, non-scratch sponge and scrub really hard it will still scratch your glass. Beware and use caution! 

 

While I love the vinegar and water solution for regular maintenance, I do find that every so often I need something with a little more oomph to my cleaning and the product that I have found that I really like is Rain-X Shower Door Cleaner. This is a particularly nice product for removing any oil-based soaps that have left a residue on the glass shower door. 

 

So there you have it! What products have you used to clean your glass shower door? Any recommendations? I would love to hear from you!