The shower door track is probably the last thing on your mind when it comes to cleaning your bathroom. This underrated and often overlooked fixture is one of the most important aspects of your shower, preventing water from spilling everywhere each time you take a bath.
As the shower tracks get wet during showers and baths, they accumulate hard water stains, soap scum, mold, and mildew as a result of constant exposure to moisture. The ridges of the tracks don’t help in draining water away, so more often than not, water becomes stagnant in the nooks and crannies of the fixture.
In this guide, we’ll provide you some DIY methods on how to clean your shower tracks, so you can enjoy a top-to-bottom clean bathroom - ready for any bath time!
Cleaning Door Tracks Made of Aluminium and Chrome
Wondering how to clean shower door tracks made of aluminium, stainless steel, or chrome? What these materials lack in stain, they make up for in dullness. Aluminium, steel, or chrome tracks may not hold stains well, but the mineral deposits that build up around the fixture can cause the surface to look dull and dim.
Instead of reaching for harsh chemical cleaners that can dissolve the protective coating of your shower door tracks, go for distilled white vinegar instead.
- Apply a layer of distilled white vinegar directly onto the tracks. Make sure to use a spray bottle to make the application easier. Let the vinegar sit for about 10 minutes to dissolve the minerals.
- Using an old toothbrush, sponge, or scrub brush, carefully scrub away at the loosened grime, making sure to get into the corners and crevices of the shower door tracks.
- You may opt to rinse the vinegar off, or wipe dry with a soft cloth. Keep a spray bottle of vinegar on hand for general cleaning.
Clean Shower Door Tracks Using Lemon and Baking Soda
Like vinegar, lemon juice has strong acidic properties that dissolve mineral deposits and soap scum. When mixed with baking soda, you can create a gentle abrasive cleaner that will inhibit the growth of mold, polish your door tracks, and leave a pleasant lemony scent in your bathroom. Plus, the lemon rind acts as a natural scrubber!
- Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda over the door tracks, getting into the nooks and crannies of it.
- Using half a lemon, squeeze the juice out over the baking soda-covered shower door tracks.
- Let the combination react and fizz, then use the lemon rind to scrub the minerals and soap scum away.
For those hard to reach corners, cut the lemon into a wedge.
Clean Shower Door Tracks Using a Steam Cleaner
Hot water and steam cleaners deodorize, disinfect, and loosen gunk from most surfaces, and for fixtures like the shower door track that has multiple ridges and hard to reach areas, steam cleaning may just do the trick to get into those tight spaces.
Before using your steam cleaner, make sure you know what you’re doing. Read the manufacturer’s instructions first before you do any sort of cleaning. Next, double check with the surrounding tile whether they can handle steam or not. Most tiles can, but some grout may turn brittle under prolonged exposure to steam and heat.
- Move your shower doors away, and use the steam cleaner on the tracks to loosen up any dirt.
- Grab an old toothbrush, and scrub away the loosened grime, getting into the crevices.
- Re-apply steam for tough spots, and rinse off the grime with some hot water.
- Wipe dry afterwards.
You can use the same method to clean shower doors.
Clean Shower Door Tracks Using Hot Salt Water
Salt has antiseptic properties, while hot water disinfects surfaces. Together, salt and hot water can provide enough cleaning power to remove common grime from your shower door tracks. Using rock salt ensures that the salt won’t dissolve immediately in the hot water, while providing a gentle abrasive to thoroughly clean your shower door tracks.
- Pour hot water directly on your shower door tracks, and let the water loosen the grime.
- Apply some rock salt, and using a sponge, scrub the salt into the nooks and crannies of the shower door tracks until the dirt has been completely removed.
- Rinse, and you may clean the shower door in a similar manner.
Clean Shower Door Tracks Using Dish Soap
Dish soap, like Dawn Dish Soap, does not only clean dishes, pots, and pans! The grease-fighting properties of dish soap makes it perfect for cleaning shower tracks as it removes films of bodily oils, soap scum grease, and oils from conditioners and other cleansing products.
- Fill a spray bottle with dish soap diluted in clean water, and use the solution to clean your shower door and tracks.
- Using a sponge, work the solution into the grime, and brush away the heavily stained areas.
- Rinse thoroughly with hot or warm water, and wipe dry afterwards.
Keeping It Clean
The best way to clean your shower tracks is to scrub it often. Put the shower door tracks on your scheduled list of items to clean alongside your shower doors at least once a month for optimum cleanliness; more often if you use the shower multiple times a day.
For more bathroom cleaning tips and tricks, check out our blog. We have compiled a list of cleaning hacks that will bring the shine to your home!
