It took me a while, but I have finally figured out how to clean glass shower doors! Trust me, after you try this, you won’t need any other method.
When we bought our new home, one of our first purchases was a squeegee for our shower. We’d had a glass shower door before, but it was made of wavy, textured glass. This meant you couldn’t really see how dirty it got!
But in our new house, with clear, smooth glass and hard water, it was easy to see when the shower door got dirty.
Shower Doors Getting Dirty
At first, we used the squeegee every single time we showered. But soon, we’d be in a hurry and skip it. Or we’d think, “Oh, we won’t clean it this time.” Before we knew it, the glass shower doors were cloudy, murky, and just looked bad.
My mom has a shower with glass doors, and hers always looks clean. So, I asked her what she did! Besides using a squeegee, she would spray a mix of vinegar and Dawn dish soap on the doors.
I tried it, but it didn’t work for me. Windex didn’t work. Other shower scum cleaners didn’t work either.
Then I saw a friend talking about her own cleaning problems on Instagram. It turns out she had the same issue. She had even tried more “hacks” she’d seen online. I can’t remember them all, but one involved using aluminum foil. She said none of them worked.
I decided to create my own method using my mom’s idea. Since she was successful and I wasn’t, I figured I just needed to do things a little differently.
The Technique
First, I squirted Dawn dish soap directly onto the glass shower doors. I did this while standing barefoot in some workout clothes inside the shower.
I used my bare hands to spread the Dawn soap. You could use a dry rag, but make sure it’s not wet. I covered the entire door with Dawn dish soap.
Then, I let it sit for a while. I’m not sure exactly how long, but it was long enough for me to go about my day and then remember I still needed to clean the shower door.
I didn’t take pictures this time. It’s hard to photograph glass, and all my other attempts had failed and those pictures were deleted. So, I thought this probably wouldn’t work anyway!
This time, I put full-strength vinegar in my spray bottle and sprayed it directly over the Dawn soap I had spread on the glass.
I had a rag that I had gotten wet and squeezed out.
In a circular motion, I used the wet rag to rub the vinegar into the Dawn, creating suds on the shower door. This was a wetter process than just rubbing the Dawn, but it didn’t cause a lot of liquid to run down the door.
After I rubbed everything down again with vinegar, I let it sit and started working on something else.
When I came back to the shower at least an hour later, I sprayed the door with more vinegar. This time, I got my rag wet with water and started rubbing and cleaning the door. I would add more water to my rag often, sometimes squeezing it out and sometimes not.
I scrubbed all the glass. At this point, it was easy to see that it had worked! The glass was actually getting clean.
Then, I turned on the shower and used the handheld sprayer to rinse down the doors. I rubbed a few spots again with the rag once the suds were gone and I could see more clearly. But really, if I had missed a spot, usually just the rag wasn’t enough to clean it. The whole process needed to be done again.
Well, I didn’t have time for that! My main problem spot was the edge of the shower door. Knowing I missed some of that the first time, I was extra careful to clean that spot when I cleaned the shower months later.
Finally, Clean Glass!
Since it worked, I wanted to share my method with everyone. But I also didn’t want the grime to build up on my own shower door again!
Luckily, my daughter has a glass shower door that was murky. She hadn’t had any luck cleaning her glass shower door either. I told her to stop trying so I could do it and share the process with you.
All the process pictures you’re seeing are from her shower. While the pictures don’t fully show how amazing this process is, you still get the idea. Trust me when I say this works! It also works on your bronze faucet handles and tub spouts! Ours always seem to have white water stains, but the combination of Dawn and vinegar does the trick on those spots too!
Let me know in the comments when you try this and how it goes!
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Take a tour of our home when we first moved in HERE.
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