18 Quick and Easy Shower Cleaning Hacks
Cleaning your shower doesn’t have to be a dreaded household event. Check out our top tips and hacks for a quicker, easier, cleaner shower!
Power Your Shower Spray—Naturally
Stay on top of mold and mildew by keeping this daily shower spray within easy reach of all family members. Mix 1 part vinegar with 10 parts water in an empty spray bottle and you’re ready to go. Bonus: You don’t have to worry about a toxic cleaner hitting the baby’s bath toys.
Clogged Showerhead? A Solution Is in the Bag
It’s easy to remove mineral deposits from a showerhead without using harsh chemicals. Just unscrew it and submerge it in white vinegar overnight, and the clogs will disappear. If you can’t unscrew it, fill a small, sturdy bag with vinegar and attach it to the showerhead with duct tape, or use an old toothbrush and vinegar. To clean the screen in your showerhead, wash it with water mixed with a dash of dishwashing liquid.
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Get Rid of Mildew
Looking for an easy mildew remover? Simply scrub the affected area with an old, damp toothbrush sprinkled with baking soda. This natural cleaner works great for shower curtains—if small spots of mildew appear, dab with baking soda on a damp cloth.
Fight Shower Scum
To attack that stubborn scum in the shower, slice one lemon in half and dip it in a bowl of kosher salt, which adds an abrasive scrub to the already-powerful juices. Scrub the glass shower door and leave for a few minutes while the lemon gets to work. Rinse off with water, and say goodbye to scum!
Shower Curtain Saver
If mildew has made your shower curtain more disgusting than you’d like to admit, first wash it in hot, soapy water. Then rub a wedge of lemon on the stains and leave the curtain out in the sun. By the time it dries, the stains will be gone.
Related: How to Get a Shower Curtain to Stop Sticking
Another Use for Vodka
For a free mold and mildew fighter, try vodka! It works especially well on the caulking around your tub. Just spray on, leave for 10 minutes, and wipe clean.
Ceramic Shine
To keep ceramic tile sparkling, wipe it regularly with a sponge damped with water and a splash of vinegar. Or use rubbing alcohol—just pour it straight on, and mop or wipe until it dries. Avoid soapy or oily cleaners, and never use abrasives, which will dull the finish and make glazed tiles more prone to dirt.
Simply Clean Tiles
For an easy, natural tile cleaner, mix together ¼ cup baking soda and 1 gallon warm water. Scrub with a sponge or mop, then rinse. For tough stains, wait 10 to 15 before rinsing.
Spick-and-Span Shower Doors
Need to clean those dirty glass shower doors? You can wipe them down with leftover white wine (if you haven’t finished it off!). The wine contains the perfect amount of alcohol to battle soap scum and lime. Apply with a damp sponge, leave for 5 minutes, then rinse off. Finish by quickly buffing with a clean, dry cloth.
See Also: How to Keep Your Shower Looking New
Stop Dirt in Its Tracks
If you’ve ever wondered the best way to clean your shower door’s tracks, we’ve got it right here. First spray the inside of the tracks with your favorite bathroom cleaner, and let it sit for a few minutes to loosen the dirt and mildew. Then wrap a rag or paper towel around the pointed end of a screwdriver and use it to scrub the inside of the tracks. Rinse with water, and marvel at the results!
Never Clean a Soap Dish Again
Instead of letting your soap sit in standing water in your soap dish, put it in a mesh bag (like the kind you would get a bunch of onions in) and tie it to your faucet or an in-shower towel rod. The water will run right through.
Shear Shower Genius
Cut the bottom of your shower curtain liner with pinking shears (scissors with a zigzag edge used in sewing). The uneven hem allows water to more easily slide off, making bottom-of-the-curtain mildew a thing of the past.
Steam Out a Nasty Bathroom
If you’ve let the bathroom get so dirty that it now resembles a gas station restroom, turn on the hot water in the shower for 10 minutes with the door closed. The steam will loosen the buildup of mildew and mold. Then get in there and clean!
Beat Bathtub Ring
The grimy ring around the bathtub is one of the most dreaded and persistent enemies in the fight between clean and evil. That potent mixture of dead skin cells, body grease, oils, and soap has sticky superpowers on your tub’s surface. Instead of worrying about the bathtub ring after it’s already pasted onto the tub, take this easy step to prevent it in the first place: Simply drop a bit of baby oil into the water at bath time. It will keep dirt from clinging to the sides and send it down the drain instead.
You Might Need: How to Clean a Stinky Shower Drain
Rub for Your Tub
No matter how hard we scrub, we never seem to get the corners of our tub clean. The solution: Soak cotton balls in your tub cleaner (or just some rubbing alcohol) and leave one in each corner of your tub overnight. By morning, they’ll be as clear as day.
Get Rid of Copper Stains
Removing blue-green stains caused by high copper content in your water can be challenging, even with the help of bleach. Try treating your shower or tub with a paste of equal parts cream of tartar and baking soda. Rub into the stains, leave for half an hour, and rinse well with water. Repeat if necessary.
Blast Through Soap Scum
That combination of mildew, soap residue, mineral deposits, hard water, and oils from your skin is one of our most challenging household foes. To conquer the scum, use cooking spray or vegetable oil. The oil helps break up the slimy coating of soap scum. Spray the oil all over the grimy areas, let sit for 5 minutes, then wash off with soap and water and dry. Just make sure not to get it on the floor or tub, as it can be very slippery!
Shave Time Off Cleaning
We’re all for spending less time cleaning, especially when it comes to the “big jobs.” So here’s a great new way to get rid of grout stains in your shower and tub—shaving cream! After the last person of the day has showered, apply shaving foam to the grout, whose stains have already started to loosen thanks to the steamy shower. After that, it’s as easy as leaving on until the first shower the next day! Repeat for a day or two and your grout stains will be gone. Best of all, shaving cream doesn’t contain bleach, so it’s less harsh on your grout!
Just for Fun: Are Cold Showers and Baths Really Bad for You?