With a spacious bathroom, it is not uncommon for you to have a separate showering spot. The idea behind it is to give you a soothing effect while bathing, without distractions. The glass doors enhance bathroom aesthetics and maintain hygiene by controlling water spillage, but you need to avoid the hard water and soap chemicals that affect glass shower doors badly. So, If they are not cleaned properly, soap scum starts building up, taking their shine and transparency away. If your glass shower doors are not shining and have a hazy appearance, then let us help you. In this article, we provide you with quality tips on how to clean soap scum off shower glass. Believe us, this post talks exactly about what you are looking for, so keep reading.
What Causes Soap Scum on Shower Glass?
Bathing soap, the most common item we use for bathing, contains oils and fats. When these oils and fats come in contact with hard water minerals, they form soap scum. Over time this soap scum gets deposited layer-by-layer on the glass shower doors, giving them a foggy appearance. This is something that you don’t want in your bathroom. Let’s see how to get rid of soap scum on shower glass, below.
How to Clean Soap Scum off Shower Glass?
How to remove soap scum from shower glass? Various methods can be employed for cleaning the soap scum off the shower glass. We are keen to share only those methods which demand minimum effort and save time. We recommend you read the section below carefully to clean shower door soap scum properly.
4 Best Ways to Remove Soap Scum from Glass
How to get soap scum off shower glass and bring back its visual appeal? Please follow the tips below.
- Vinegar and Baking Soda: Take a 100ml cup and fill it with 50ml water and 50ml vinegar. Then transfer this solution to a spray bottle and add 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Shake the bottle well to mix all the ingredients. Now start spraying this solution over the glass shower doors. Wait 15 to 20 minutes, then wash the doors with warm water. After cleaning, thoroughly wipe the doors with a cotton cloth.
- Glass Cleaner: Commercial glass cleaners are the best soap scum remover for glass shower doors because they are made for this purpose specially. Spray the glass cleaner onto the shower door and leave for 5-10 minutes for the stain to dissolve, then rinse off with water. With their use, it is also possible to bring back the original shine and see-through visibility of glass shower doors. Commercial cleaners are inexpensive ways to quickly clean glass shower doors if you don’t want to use any workarounds.
- Lemon Juice and Table Salt: Take 50 ml of lemon juice and add two tablespoons of common salt. Use a sponge to apply this mix to your glass shower doors. Again, wait for 15 to 20 minutes then wash the doors with warm water. Dry them as soon as possible to avoid water stains.
- Bleach: You may ask does bleach remove soap scum? We say yes! For tough stains of soap scum bleach can be used. But before working with bleach ensure your safety and wear protective gear like gloves. Also, make sure that ventilation vents are open in your bathroom to let gases escape. Mix two parts water and 1 part bleach (2:1 ratio) and mix the solution well. Apply the solution directly to the affected parts of the glass shower doors. Wait 15 to 20 minutes, then scrub the grime off and clean the glass with warm water. Immediately wipe the shower glass doors with a dry wipe or a cotton cloth afterward.
How to Prevent Soap Scum on Shower Glass?
If cleaning the glass shower doors is tiresome to you, then try preventing them in the first place. We have some effective ways for the topic of how to prevent soap scum on shower glass. Here, prevention is way better than cleaning shower doors because it saves time and energy. Read the preventive tips below.
- Stop Using Soap: There would be no scum if no soap there in your bathroom. So, replace your soap with a good quality gel-based body wash. These body wash products are fat-free and do not react with hard water to form scum. They are also easy to clean from glass surfaces.
- Use a Wiper: Here, recall how a car wiper works. It wipes the glass windscreen to give you a clear view. You must do the same thing for your glass doors after every shower. Use a good quality wiper and wipe all the water droplets from the glass shower doors. This tip not only cleans the glass surface but also dries them instantly.
- Maintain Ventilation: If you maintain proper ventilation in the bathroom, then this keeps the glass shower doors dry because overall moisture in your bathroom will be reduced.
- Choose Quality Shower Glass: Some shower glass doors have a special coating that protects the surface from soap scum buildups, condensation, and the effects of hard water. For example, Myhomeware’s various types of framed, semi-frameless and frameless shower screens come with a nano-coating that effectively prevents stain build-up on the shower door and is easy to clean.
Conclusion
We hope after reading this post, you don’t have to look for more resources on how to clean soap scum off shower glass. Whether you want to clean or prevent soap scum on your glass shower doors, this post is enough for both purposes. By regularly checking signs of grime and taking preventive measures whenever needed, you can have the cleanest shower doors in your bathroom.
FAQ about How to Clean Soap Scum off Shower Glass
Years of soap scum buildup results in hard layers of grime on glass shower doors. We recommend using bleach or commercial glass cleaning agents. If the stains are too tough then you may need to clean them multiple times to retain the original shine.
No, though bleach is a strong cleaning agent, it won’t damage the glass shower doors if you are diluting it to use. We don’t recommend using it in concentrated form which is highly corrosive. It’s best to use a mild cleaner and mild ones are enough to clean most scum or stains off the glass shower doors.
Hard water contains minerals such as calcium and magnesium. When glass comes in contact with hard water, it may attract some of these minerals to its surface. Over time these minerals form a solid layer over the glass surface. This layer can be white or grey, which impacts the visual appeal of the shower doors.
