Shower Screens: Keep it Clean and Spotless

Glass shower screens add a touch of elegance and sophistication to the modern look of your bathroom. Installing them can be beneficial as they are flexible, durable with many attractive qualities. But you will often find shower screen appear dull and cloudy. So, what can be the reason for this unattractive grime? How can you make shower screen spotless and appear clean? Home-owners are adapting the latest trends in home decoration and the installation of shower screens in the bathroom has become the norm. Cleaning regularly will save extra time and effort in the long run and help the shower to work properly.

Why do you need to clean shower screen?

The reason shower screen gets cloudy and stained is soap scum and mineral deposits accumulate on the glass. It forms chalky or whitish filmy layer in patches across the surface. The main factor behind these deposits is hard water.

Hard water has higher concentration of dissolved minerals such as magnesium and calcium. When water gets dried, the minerals will be left behind forming deposits of lime-scale or hard water to form cloudy appearance on the glass. Hard water will prevent soap from dissolving completely, with soap bonding to minerals in the water for producing a film that sticks to shower screens.

The deposits of hard water and soap scum are just an eyesore. But when they are not checked, they may accumulate and harden for making the removal more difficult and growing of mildew and mould. The combination of soap scum and minerals will cause damage to the glass surface with etching and pitting.

How to clean shower screen for daily cleaning

Prepare cleaning solution with white vinegar

Using white vinegar for cleaning is the suitable way to make your shower screen appear sparkling. It is a natural solution for cleaning glass shower screen as the presence of acid in it may eliminate the lime-scale and residue. It also dissolves soap scum, horrible watermarks and accumulation of waste materials. Take 1:1 ratio of warm water and vinegar in spray bottle for preparing white vinegar cleaning solution. Take purified water as tap water has minerals like sodium and calcium that create ugly marks on the shower screens.

Clean by using fabric softener

The combination of one litre of water and some fabric softener is what you will require for cleaning glass shower screen. It is an effective way to remove soap scums and residue on the glass door. Try to rub this mixture on glass door with a smooth sponge and then rinse it off with warm water. If you are having a dryer, it is a good idea to wipe dryer sheets with shower door and remove soap scum.

Clean with salt and lemon juice

If the shower screen is made of metal, it is the best cleaning tip for glass shower screen. You may find rust appears on the glass and makes it look dirty. Prepare a paste with 2 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Take toothbrush to rub this mixture into metal areas where rust appears. Allow it to sit for a few minutes before rinsing it off with warm water.

Clean screen with multi-use tools

For glass shower screens, take a toothbrush to scrub metal frame. This brush will clean shower screens and paint scraper can eliminate water spots easily. Make sure you do not use too much force when scraping metal frames.

Clean the frames thoroughly

If the shower screen has frames, you should clean them first and do not drip filthy water on the panes. Use warm and soapy water to clean them. Try to fill a bucket and wipe around the glass frames with a sponge. Take clean and soft cloth before you move onto the next step.

Proper cleaning of glass frames

Apply the solution of white vinegar on the shower screen and wipe it on the surface with a clean and microfibre cloth. Make sure it goes all the ways into the corners for deep cleaning.

Wait for some time to dry

You should give a few minutes for the solution to sit on shower screen before wiping it off with a dry and clean microfibre cloth.  These clothes are suited for this purpose as they are lint free and will not leave the streaks behind. After wiping off the solution, the shower screen will look sparkling and spotless.

4 Ways to clean shower screen for deeper cleaning

1. Prepare shower glass – You may begin by wetting shower screen with hot water. Do it with a small jug of water or spray bottle. Put towels on the floor to prevent creating puddles. Clean glass frames with warm and soap water for keeping them dirt-free.
2. Soak screen in white vinegar – After this, you need to refill spray bottle with white vinegar and use it to saturate shower glass thoroughly. Wear gloves at the time of handling chemicals to avoid irritation and drying hands. Leave white vinegar to soak on the glass for 10 minutes as stubborn stain marks will require longer time. Try to leave them for at least30 minutes, if necessary.
3. Scrub glass screen– Take baking soda and scrubbing sponge to clean shower screen. Soda bicarbonate is a powerful abrasive which eliminates leftover soap scum and limestone that vinegar will begin decomposing. Make sure you do not overdo scrubbing and apply gentle approach for allowing ingredients to do the work.
4. Rinse off and then dry– When shower screen appears clean, rinse off baking soda and vinegar with lukewarm water. Dry off with clean and microfibre The shower screen will appear new and free from bacteria and lime-scale.

How to clean lime-scale from shower screen

If you need to eliminate lime-scale completely from the shower screen, there is a combination of bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar which will work as natural cleanser. Soak shower screen in white vinegar for at least 30 minutes before you put baking soda. Dip scrubbing sponge in baking soda and then scrub the glass. Dab stubborn stains than rubbing it as it will possibly make it worse.

Glass screens are a delicate choice and so, if you want to give the screen deep cleaning to remove the lime-scale, a gentle approach is needed to prevent any damage. Do not use brillo pads for cleaning the shower as they might scratch and damage glass in due course.

Best way to clean your shower screen

One of the effective ways to keep shower screen clean is to ensure you stay on the top of lime-scale and soap scum build up. This has caused white marks on the shower screen. The longer you will leave it for cleaning, the harder the soap scum and limestone will be to remove.

When using the right products, white vinegar will be sufficient for daily cleaning as the acidity is ideal for decomposing bacteria found in warm and damp environments. Though there are inexpensive cleaning products available in the market, it is more effective to create your cleaning solutions. ‘These cause less damage to the environment.

You can also use shower enclosure in the bathroom which surrounds shower area and provides protection to the bathroom from water splashbacks.

Clean shower screen to make it spotless

After you know what causes the accumulation, the next question will be how can you clean shower screen? When looking for the shine to replace your shower screen, below are some tricks to try out for cleaning hard water deposits and soap scum.

Use an abrasive to get rid of some of the accumulation before you use cleaning product. Some examples include – cleaning pastes with steel wool of fine grade and fine abrasives. Though these have been designed to lessen the risk of scratching glass, it is important to test them on a small section of the glass, at first. You may consider using fabric softener or dryer sheets directly on the shower screen to eliminate the patches of lime-scale or soap scum. Make sure you dry and wipe down shower screen immediately after rinsing them off with water for making it appear spotless.

How often you should clean shower glass and when

Cleaning the shower screen on a daily basis can go a long way to maintain clear, spot-free and sparkling finish. By giving glass quick wipe down and drying it off regularly, you should be able to go a few weeks or so between deep cleaning where you scrub out the shower. If you want to make it easy on the cleaning muscles, clean shower glass right after someone takes a shower. The warm and steamy water will loosen the build-up and wipe away with minimal effort.

Quick tips to keep shower screen clean and dirt-free

The most effective way to deal with the accumulation of lime-scale and soap scum is to prevent it from happening at the first place.

• Spend some time when you use shower to wipe down the glass with a cleaning spray and remove soap residue. After this, you have to dry the glass immediately to prevent water stains from developing. This hand-held squeegee is a great tool to do it quickly.
• Apply water repellent to your shower screen which makes it difficult for soap scum or water deposits to form at all.
• Try to switch out bar soap for liquid soap, which will less likely form soap scum on the shower screen.

Thus, unlike shower screens, you will find folding shower screen which work by folding on its own. It has unique design that d not need large clearance space outside shower area and offers easy access to the tub. It is certainly a good choice for children, elderly people and small bathroom.