With so many innovations and solutions available to make bathroom cleaning easier, cleaning your bathroom can still be a daunting task. Factor in unavoidable aspects such as mold and dust in plumbing, and you’ve got a chore that is permanent on your weekly to-do list.
More often than not, cleaning the bathroom almost always refers to cleaning the toilet, bathtub, and bathroom floor. Sometimes we forget that the shower area needs weekly cleaning too. The shower is where we clean ourselves, so keeping it clean is essential for our health and overall cleanliness.
How Often Should You Clean the Shower?
If you're doing a weekly wipe down of your shower, then you’re on the right path. A shower needs to be meticulously cleaned at least once a week to be properly maintained. Cleaning your shower isn’t difficult, and doing daily maintenance can greatly reduce the grime buildup in your shower area.
While you cleanse yourself in the shower, and feel squeaky clean, your shower is actually festering with dirt, grime, soap scum, and mineral deposits that can leave stains once they settle. What’s more, bacteria and germs can grow on moist surfaces, ready to spread to the next person using the same shower.
Rather than allow all of these germs and bacteria to accumulate, get into the habit of doing a 60-second maintenance after every time you use the shower. This small change in your routine minimizes the need for deep cleaning services, and reduces the frequency of needing to maintain your shower area.
The Easiest Way to Clean Your Shower
Once you've completed your shower, take a cleaning sponge or a clean cloth and use it to give the shower’s walls and doors a quick wipe down. If you've been using any items such as a sponge or loofah, hang these items up and allow them to drip dry while you clean the drain of any extra hair that might clog it.
This habit would remove any grime before they stick to your shower tiles, shower head, and grout. Here are a few more tips and tricks on easy ways to clean your shower:
1. Turn Up the Steam
You may not realize this, but steam is a fantastic cleaner as well as a disinfectant. Just turn on the hot water and allow the steam to gather in the bathroom and loosen all the grime, soap scum and dirt that is left on the shower’s walls and door.
2. Use a Squeegee
After every shower, just take a squeegee and run it over the walls and doors of the shower to eliminate the moisture. This swift bit of preventive care will go a long way towards preventing the buildup of mold and residue.
3. Use the Exhaust Fan
Damp, warm spaces are ideal for mildew and mold to thrive. After every shower, be sure to turn on the exhaust fan and allow it to run for at least 15 minutes in order to reduce humidity in the bathroom.
How to Clean Ceramic Tile Showers
While ceramic tile showers are stunning and easy to maintain, they have points where grime and mold love to settle in: grout. Because of its porous texture, grout is an excellent hiding place for mold and mildew spores to settle.
What You Need
- Store Bought Shower And Grout Cleaner, Or
- A Homemade Mixture Using A Spray Bottle Filled With Equal Parts Vinegar And Water
- Chlorine Bleach
- Rubber Gloves
- Sponge Or Mesh Scrubber
- Squeegee
- Brush With Soft Bristles Or A Toothbrush
Instructions
1. Empty Shower
You will have an easier time of it if you remove all of the extras scattered about, such as shampoo, razors, soap, wash cloths, etc. Give each item a fast wipe down using a cloth dampened with hot water to get rid of any sticky residue. Take any hair out of the drain.
2. Use Fan and Wet Walls
To provide ventilation for any vapors arising from the cleaning supplies you are using, and to ensure the shower will dry fast. Turn the bathroom exhaust fan on, make sure the bathroom door is open, and open at least one window. With the help of either the shower head or a bucket of hot water, wet the shower walls.
3. Eliminate Mildew
If you happen to notice that there is mildew on the grout, deal with that first before working on the normal dirt and grime. Create a mixture using one part chlorine bleach and two parts water. Using rubber gloves, put the mixture on the mildewed grout using a sponge. Let that sit for about ten minutes and then attack the grout with a brush that has soft bristles or a toothbrush. Give the area a thorough rinse with hot water.
4. Put the Cleaner On and Let it Sit
It doesn't matter if you are employing a commercial or a homemade cleaner, the way to easier cleaning is to allow the cleaner enough time to do what it's supposed to. Just spray the product on the shower walls and floor and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
The longer you can wait, the better job it will do. This gives the cleaner the time to break down the soap and dirt and thus you won't have to do as much scrubbing.
5. Scrub Clean, Rinse
Take a sponge or plastic mesh scrubber and begin to thoroughly clean every part of the walls and floor. Never use a metal scrubber or a hard-bristle brush as these may damage surfaces. Use clean water to rinse off the walls beginning at the top and working your way down.
6. Dry Using Squeegee
Take a squeegee or old towels, and remove any water that is lingering on any surface. Don't think that you can eliminate this step and it won't matter, as doing so will leave water spots behind.
How to Clean Fiberglass Showers
You should have no problem cleaning your fiberglass shower provided that you make certain you have the proper products and tools. One of the things you must keep in mind is that it is essential that you refrain from using anything that will scratch the surface of the fiberglass.
The big thing about scratches, besides the fact that they dull the shower walls and don't look very nice, is that dirt settles into them and makes cleaning all the more difficult.
What You Need
- Distilled White Vinegar
- Borax Or Baking Soda
- Brush With Soft Bristles Or Sponge
- Spray Bottle
- Squeegee
Instructions
1. Spray and Squeegee
Spray the shower’s walls and floor with vinegar. Wipe walls down with a squeegee. The purpose of the vinegar is to cut through any lingering soap scum and minerals that are located in water spots.
2. Scour Floor
Normally, fiberglass floors require scouring to eliminate dirt and grime because they are textured. So scatter baking soda or borax on the floor and let it sit for 10 mins. With a sponge or bristle brush scour the dirt off and use plain water to rinse it off.
Top 3 Fiberglass Shower Cleaners
How to Clean Stone Showers
If your shower has granite, marble, or some other type of natural stone for its finish, it needs to be clean in a different manner from the usual. If you observe the habit of wiping down the walls every time you shower, it should only require cleaning once a week.
What You Need
- Stone cleaner that is acid-free and ammonia-free, or mild dishwashing liquid
- Chlorine bleach
- Warm water
- Stone sealer
- Spray bottle
- Cloths made from microfiber
Instructions
- Spray - Spray the stone cleaner or a mixture of one tablespoon dish washing soap in a quart of warm water onto the walls. Use a microfiber cloth with wipe down. Use clean water to rinse and a microfiber cloth to dry, beginning at the top of the shower and moving to the bottom. This method will eliminate streaking.
- Eliminate Mildew - If there is any mildew on the grout or stone, create a mixture of one part chlorine bleach and the same amount of water. Don rubber gloves, use a sponge to apply on the mildew. Any smaller areas of grout can be easily accessed with a toothbrush. Give the mixture 15 mins to work, then scrub with a brush that has soft bristles, and rinse with water.
- Reseal - Natural stone requires a type of barrier to keep water and chemicals from seeping into the stone. Sealing will further keep bacteria and other germs from staying in the crevices of the stone's surface. Once the stone has dried, put the sealer in small sections and buff using a soft cloth so that the sealer is totally absorbed.
Top 3 Stone Shower Cleaners
How To Clean Textured Shower Floor
Textured shower floors can be difficult to clean, but easy for grime to settle in due to its miniscule nooks and crannies that dust can settle in. To clean a textured shower floor, you would ideally want as minimal scrubbing as possible, since scrubbing can push dirt further into the textured surface.
What You Need
- No-Scrub Bathroom Cleaner
- Warm Water
- Soft-bristled Brush
- Microfiber Cloth
Instructions
1. Apply Your Preferred Cleaner
Spray or apply your chosen cleaner (our recommended products are listed below), and let sit for the time period as directed. Rinse with warm water and brush away the loosened grime and stains, and allow the area to dry (or wipe dry with a microfiber cloth) before using.
Top 3 Textured Shower Floor Cleaners
How to Remove Tough Stains From Showers
Even the most difficult stain, one that you are absolutely certain will never come out can be removed.
Rust Stains
Did your can of shaving cream leave behind a rusty ring in the shower? No worries. Just put a paste of lemon juice and baking soda down and it should get rid of the stain. If the stain is large or has settled, you will have to enlist the help of a commercial cleaner with oxalic acid.
Mold Stains
Mold and mildew got into your grout and left a dark stain that won’t come out? Apply a paste made from baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, and watch the stain magically lift away with just a bit of scrubbing.
The Best Way to Clean Shower
While cleaning it is never pleasant, even if you know the best way to clean your shower, you can certainly make things a lot easier on yourself if you follow a few simple procedures regularly.
It just goes to show you the importance of routine and regular care for your shower and how much time and energy it saves you in the end. Along with taking a little extra care with the cleaning process, and you can have a clean and sparkling area to be proud of every day.
