Organizing Quick Win: Crystal Clear Glass Shower Doors

Clear glass bathroom shower doors are the latest trend. They look clean, classic and add light to any bathroom space. There is hardly anything negative to say about them . . . . except when you go to clean them!

When we upgraded to a glass shower door in our new master bath remodel, we actually thought that it would be less work to maintain. We paid a little extra when the glass was made to have it coated with something that would make it easier to clean. In our minds, we thought a quick spritz of Windex and it would be fine.

What we didn’t realize was that glass that is dirty cleans up relatively easily but glass that is constantly exposed to water suffers from more troublesome stains. In our case, hard water stains. However, children that like to “paint” on the glass with body wash and shampoo probably don’t help things either.

Our brand new shower door began to look very aged after just a few months. It was becoming almost opaque. Granted, we could be more diligent in our housekeeping efforts but still, this seemed a little ridiculous.

I scrubbed the glass with Comet cleanser and got more of the water stains out but it still looked pretty terrible. I noticed that if I scratched at a spot with my fingernails, however, that it would come off. So, I knew there had to be some cleaning solution that would work.

A little searching found this site with numerous options for glass door cleaning. The first tip was to try Bounce fabric softener sheets. Since we had a ton of these lying around, I wanted to test this out.

Interestingly, there must be some sort of soap-like substance in these sheets. Just wet the dryer sheet, wipe and rinse.

This solution did make a noticeable difference and was cheap!

But it wasn’t quite enough. If your doors aren’t too dirty or you clean regularly, this might be enough for you.

The next tip I tried was cornstarch. I made a paste of cornstarch and water and used it to scrub the door. This was difficult to apply and honestly didn’t make any difference. If Comet hasn’t worked for you, the chance that cornstarch will, seems pretty low as well.

But cornstarch is a mild abrasive and a “green” cleaner so it was worth a shot.

I was getting tired of cleaning the shower door at this point and needed something that would for sure work. The next tip I tried was to look for a water-spot cleaning product at an auto supply store. I have had great luck with auto detailing products for our cars so I had a lot of confidence in this solution.

It goes on like car wax or silver polish and you have to rub a bit. There are thankfully no harsh fumes.

And it worked! It took out 90% of all the spots. The ones that remained were so light they could not be captured by my camera!

There were still a few spots that would not come out even with this product, near the door handle though, but they don’t distract from the overall gleaming look! Overall, I was very impressed!

If you are considering a glass door upgrade for your bathroom, just keep this cleaning obligation in mind. A few times a year you might have to “polish” the door and perhaps use a dryer sheet once a month. To me, this is a small price to pay for the light and appearance the glass door gives to the shower area.

Have you struggled with cleaning glass in the bathroom? Did you find a solution that works for you? Please share in the comments.

*I have no affiliation with Mother’s Polish or any other product mentioned here.