Scrub-Free Vinegar Soak for Shower Doors

Guest post by my sister, Rebecca

My husband and I installed new shower doors during our bathroom renovation a few years ago and were disappointed when they were quickly covered by scale buildup.  We had opted for a silk finish on the doors and were concerned that abrasive cleaners might mar the finish.  After many trials and little success with various cleaners including vinegar, I finally sprayed a paper towel with vinegar and effectively “soaked” a small section of the shower door.  To my relief, the vinegar soak was successful in removing all of the scale buildup. 

I recently cleaned the shower doors again and decided to take some pictures to show the amazing results.  This time I used a spare roll of liners for cloth diapers as the soaking material (since I never bother using the liners in our cloth diapers).  Any thin material that will cling to the glass shower doors when soaked with vinegar should work.

Here are the steps that I took to clean the shower door.  This method also works on tubs and surrounds.

1. Drape a thin material (e.g., paper towels or cloth diaper liners) over your shower door and spray it with vinegar until it is well soaked.  If necessary, smooth out the material so that it is in complete contact with the door.  Allow to soak for 10 or 15 minutes. 

2. Remove the soaking material and wipe down the shower door with a damp cloth.  If the vinegar has had enough time to penetrate the scale buildup, little to no scrubbing will be necessary.

3. Transfer the soaking material to another section of the door, and repeat the process.

If you are not fond of the smell of vinegar, keep in mind that as it dries, the odor will dissipate.  As I was growing up, I always hated the smell of vinegar when Mom used it to clean; now that I have small children of my own, I buy vinegar by the gallon and know that it is a safe and effective cleaner for our home.

The pictures below show the vinegar soak (on the left) and scale buildup (on the right).  I’m so glad that we are able to restore the look of our shower doors to their new condition.  As a lasting solution to the problem of scale buildup, we are currently researching water filtering options for our home.  Although we will likely choose to install a whole-house filter in addition to our water softener, another solution would be to install a showerhead filter.

You can see the vinegar soak on the left side of the door.

If you look really closely, you can see the scale buildup is on the right side of the door, but no longer on the left.  

Thank you Rebecca for taking the time to share your cleaning success story.