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Homeowner Forum / Cleaning / October 2005clear glass shower screens
hello! after two months in this house i've discovered the second reason clear glass shower screens aren't very common - soap scum!! (the first reason they're not very common is entirely obvious, of course). is there some common household stuff (vinegar? metho?) or some sort of method i could use to keep soap scum under control round the bottoms of the doors? to date i've just been wiping it over, so a little bit stays behind every time (it appears). i'm not prepared to buy commercial glass anti-soap-scum cleaner unless there's literally no other way, because i know for a fact i'll only ever use it intermittently (say, just before we move, or something like that :-). thanks in advance! kylie > hello! > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > for a fact i'll only ever use it intermittently (say, just before we move, > or something like that :-). You can try using a steam cleaner or Bon Ami to do an initial cleaning or the glass. For tile and vinyl/pvc shower pans, you can use a paste of automatic dishwasher powder and a 3M scrubber sponge. After the initial cleaning, it just takes a few seconds after each shower to keep it clean. I have a hand-held shower, so when I am done with the shower, I use that to rinse down the walls and glass. That eliminates all the soap. I also use a daily shower mist to prevent spots and mildew. It only takes seconds to rinse and mist and is far easier than scrubbing the shower periodically to remove built-up soap scum. I was using a commercial shower mist, but now I make my own. I use two cups of chlorine bleach, 1/2 cup of borax (20 Mule Team) powder, and a couple tablespoons of dishwasher rinse agent in a gallon jug. I fill the jug with hot water and shake to mix. This prevents both mildew and the orange biofilm that would build up in the shower. I should note that I have a water softener. I don't know if that makes any difference. > I should > note that I have a water softener. I don't know if that makes any > difference. Soap is sodium or potassium with a fatty acid. Soap scum is usually calcium or magnesium with a fatty acid. Water softeners remove calcium and magnesium. If there is no sodium or magnesium in your water, I don't see how you could be getting soap scum. My soap scum is hard to remove even with harsh shower cleaners. I've found that scrubbing with a little baking soda or baking soda and salt, on a cloth or with my bare hand, does the job most easily. > > I should > > note that I have a water softener. I don't know if that makes any [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > found that scrubbing with a little baking soda or baking soda and salt, > on a cloth or with my bare hand, does the job most easily. I'm sure I don't get the build-up in the shower that people do with hard water. Still, before the rinsing and misting, there was some sort of scum that would form. > > > I should > > > note that I have a water softener. I don't know if that makes any [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > water. Still, before the rinsing and misting, there was some sort of scum > that would form. The definition of soap scum is an insoluble deposit formed when minerals in the water react with soap. Normally, the mineral is calcium or magnesium. It can be iron. Maybe your water softener doesn't remove 100% of the calcium and magnesium. My water comes from a reservoir. It wouldn't be considered hard, but there's enough mineral content to make soap scum. I wonder how much variation there is from household to household. My soap scum reminds me of wax that hasn't been polished. It causes water to bead but doesn't feel slick like a clean shower wall. As it accumulates it becomes visible. I tried commercial products and home remedies. Nothing worked very well. I discovered that baking soda works very well, but I've never seen it recommended. If others haven't recommended baking soda, maybe their soap scum is different. > > > > I should > > > > note that I have a water softener. I don't know if that makes any [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > works very well, but I've never seen it recommended. If others haven't > recommended baking soda, maybe their soap scum is different. I would say that your description of a waxy build-up is what I was getting. There have been a couple of times that the softener stopped working properly due to salt bridges, a clogged ventrui, and a problem with the float in the brine tank. Maybe it was enough to cause problems. My biggest issue has been an orange biofilm. After reading some recommendations here, I got some borax and added that to the shower mist. So far, so good. It seem to have eliminated the film. have used an Oreck steam cleaner on the shower doors, Kaboom, Spot X.....all of these did little to correct the problem. As a result.....hung a vinyl shower curtain on a tension rod just inside of the doors....least they are cheap and can be replaced easily. >> I should >> note that I have a water softener. I don't know if that makes any [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > found that scrubbing with a little baking soda or baking soda and salt, > on a cloth or with my bare hand, does the job most easily. thanks; baking soda i'd forgotten about for some reason. i can certainly try that. kylie > > "0tterbot" <spl@t.com> wrote in message > news:bhn3f.16733$U51.8377@news-server.bigpond.net.au... [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > glass >> shower screens aren't very common - soap scum!! try a Mr. Clean Eraser >> > "0tterbot" <spl@t.com> wrote in message >> news:bhn3f.16733$U51.8377@news-server.bigpond.net.au... [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > try a Mr. Clean Eraser hm, well i'm sure i could if i knew what that was ;-) would i find such a thing in a hardware shop, or...? thanks. kylie >>> > "0tterbot" <spl@t.com> wrote in message >>> news:bhn3f.16733$U51.8377@news-server.bigpond.net.au... [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >would i find such a thing in a hardware shop, or...? In the US, they're available in supermarkets, drug stores, most large retailers. http://www.homemadesimple.com/mrclean/index.shtml Nan > You can try using a steam cleaner or Bon Ami to do an initial cleaning or > the glass. it occured to me i could actually try my usual cleaner in an inobrusive spot (to check if it scratches). For tile and vinyl/pvc shower pans, you can use a paste of > automatic dishwasher powder and a 3M scrubber sponge. After the initial > cleaning, it just takes a few seconds after each shower to keep it clean. > > I have a hand-held shower, so when I am done with the shower, I use that > to > rinse down the walls and glass. That eliminates all the soap. i miss a hand-held shower. when i had one of those i did the same, cleaning was much easier. :-) thank you for the info. kylie > hello! > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > thanks in advance! > kylie I know this is before the fact rather than after the fact, but I keep a squeegee in the shower, which has glass doors, and squeegee all the surface with it then dry with the bath towel I've just used (including the track). It only takes a couple of minutes. It may sound fusspot, but it beats cleaning everything after the scum has formed (and I have a high mineral and iron content, with no softener, so I've been there and done that). Try it once you have cleaned to your satisfaction using the other suggestions here. Dora > I know this is before the fact rather than after the fact, but I keep a > squeegee in the shower, which has glass doors, and squeegee all the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > that). Try it once you have cleaned to your satisfaction using the other > suggestions here. thanks dora. i would, because i know it does work, but i also know that every time i look at a squeegee in someone else's shower i say "hello squeegee. life's too short." :-) > "limey" wrote >> I know this is before the fact rather than after the fact, but I keep a [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > squeegee. life's too short." > :-) Laugh! Life's longer using a squeegee than slogging away cleaning all the scum in the shower! Dora >> "limey" wrote >>> I know this is before the fact rather than after the fact, but I keep a [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > Laugh! Life's longer using a squeegee than slogging away cleaning all the > scum in the shower! i know - it quite possibly ends up that way - but i can't change the way that i feel :-) kylie >hello! > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >for a fact i'll only ever use it intermittently (say, just before we move, >or something like that :-). I don't know. You're not moving now and you want to clean it. >thanks in advance! >kylie Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also. > hello! > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > for a fact i'll only ever use it intermittently (say, just before we move, > or something like that :-). If at all possible get rid of the glass shower doors and get a shower curtain - much easier to keep clean, glass shower doors a major PITA. And if you do remove the glass shower doors be prepared to retch when you remove the metal frames - ALL kinds of gunk collects inside the frames, no matter how clean you think you keep it. -- Best Greg > > hello! > > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > the metal frames - ALL kinds of gunk collects inside the frames, no matter > how clean you think you keep it. The high-end, thick, frameless doors are pretty nice, but the conventional ones can be nasty. http://www.dirkseglass.com/residential.htm >> > hello! >> > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > conventional ones can be nasty. > http://www.dirkseglass.com/residential.htm Very nice, but also very costly. If you're on a budget, trackless frames really aren't too bad, assuming you routinely clean them. It's the tracks that accumulate most of the crud.  SignatureWayne Boatwright *¿* _____________________________ http://tinypic.com/eikz78.jpg Meet Mr. Bailey >> "Gregory Morrow" >>> If at all possible get rid of the glass shower doors and get a shower >>> curtain - much easier to keep clean, glass shower doors a major PITA. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > you > routinely clean them. It's the tracks that accumulate most of the crud. i had a look at the tracks after gregory's post. indeed, there is NO confined track at all! so there's nothing in there that is scary at all. (which is a big relief). to me, not a natural engineer, the whole thing looks to be held together with magic (and little rollers), but there you have it. so i don't know how the whole thing holds together, but it's still only the bottom 1/6th of the glass that needs sorting out. i cannot, of course, do anything definitive ABOUT it because it's a rented house, but it's nice to see that if such silly things as glass shower doors have to exist, at least now they're trying to make them workable. this is interesting - i just went & had a rub at it with an ordinary pencil rubber!! it came right off!!!! wow. kylie |
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