How to Remove Soap Scum from Glass Shower Door – Easy Methods

Soap scum can be one of the most challenging things to clean. However, unless you completely avoid taking a shower or bath, it will pop up in your home from time to time. Keeping your glass door looking clean and transparent can be far more complicated than you may expect. If you’ve ever tried scrubbing soap scum off of a glass shower door, you may know just how hard it can be.

To get soap scum off of your glass shower door, there are a few tricks that can make your life much more comfortable. With the right tools and knowledge, it is much easier to clean your shower door than it may be otherwise.

In this article, we’ll go through a few different options for removing soap scum from your glass shower door.

Squeegee

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to remove soap scum is to use a regular squeegee. Soap scum is only formed and hardened when the shower is not cleaned regularly. If you’re looking to avoid scrubbing your shower door later on, you should quickly remove the water from them with a squeegee after your shower.

You can find many squeegees for very cheap. They come in many different sizes and materials, but the basic premise is always the same. Rub the squeegee over your shower door whenever it is damp, and the door will stay much cleaner over time, leading to less soap scum.

Vinegar

You can also use vinegar to breakdown soap scum. Vinegar can dissolve soap scum on contact, reducing the amount of scrubbing you’ll have to do. Just use a spray bottle to spray a bit of vinegar over your shower and leave it to sit for at least a few hours. Then, wipe it away.

You can mix 1 part vinegar with 1 part dish detergent to give the mixture even more oomph. Adding vinegar to your shower after each use will also prevent soap scum from forming, to begin with.

Ammonia

If you have a severe issue, you may want to consider using ammonia. This substance is made with nitrogen and hydrogen and typically used for severe cleaning problems, which may include soap scum.

Spray your shower with watered down ammonia. Let it sit for a few minutes before giving it a good scrubbing. This should loosen the soap scum, which should then be washed away with water. Do not leave the ammonia to sit in the shower, as it can be a skin irritant. Be sure to thoroughly rinse your shower when you are done.

Ammonia is a somewhat dangerous compound. For this reason, you will need to wear gloves and other appropriate gear when cleaning. Only use it in a well-ventilated area and always use ammonia watered-down, not at full strength.

Baking Soda

You can use baking soda for a massive variety of things, including cleaning soap scum. Mix baking soda with borax for the best result. Borax is another abrasive compound that is great for cleaning soap scum. The two substances work very well together.

Add water to the two substances to make a paste. Then, apply it with a wet sponge. Scrub the scum off, and then rinse it thoroughly. Most people have borax and baking soda on hand, so this is an easy method when you’re looking to remove soap scum from your shower quickly.

Prevent Soap Scum

While soap scum is sure to develop at some point or another, you should do your best to prevent it, to begin with. This is actually quite a bit easier said than done. If you dry the glass after each use, soap scum will have little chance to develop. This will allow you to spend less time cleaning and worrying about soap scum.

If you have hard water, you may want to invest in a water softener. Most soap scum is caused by hard water. Removing this issue prevents soap scum from developing.

Tips & Tricks

Showers with plenty of airflow will stay wet for a short time, which will prevent the soap scum from hardening and forming in the first place. Some shampoos and conditioners are particularly oily, which can cause a lot of soap scum in a short time. If your shower seems to get dirty relatively quickly, you may want to avoid using particularly oily products. Liquid soaps are more easily dissolved, so it is best to use them if you’re looking to avoid soap scum.

Don’t forget to add vinegar at the end of your shower to prevent soap scum from developing. You should also wipe down the shower door. If you don’t leave the water to evaporate on the glass door, then soap scum will not develop to begin with.

Featured Image Credit: tete_escape, Shutterstock