Clean Your Shower Door In Seconds With This Laundry Room Staple

Cleaning a glass shower door can be an exercise in frustration. Dried on soap scum and hard water spots can be notoriously difficult to remove even with industrial strengthcleaners. But you don’t need to go through your arsenal of household cleaning products to get the job done. Instead, head to the laundry room and grab a few dryer sheets.

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Dryer Sheet Shower Door Cleaner

Using a dryer sheet to clean a shower door is a major time saver that anyone who dreads bathroom cleaning will appreciate. What’s more, it's not just a good way to clean shower doors, it's also effective for removing hard water stains from sinks, faucets, and bath tubs: 

• Start by soaking the dryer sheets in warm water, then squeeze out any excess moisture. The sheet should be wet but not dripping. 
• Rub the wet dryer sheet over the hard water stains on the shower door, working in a circular motion. The door should be dry to create the friction needed to scrub away the mineral deposits staining your door. You’ll likely need several dryer sheets to complete the job. 
• After removing the hard water, rinse the door to remove any leftover residue. 
• Dry the shower door using a microfiber cloth then follow up with glass cleaner to wipe away any streaks.

Why Does this Work?

• The right chemical makeup: Dryer sheets have fabric softeners that are surfactants. These chemicals are designed to soften fibers while reducing static. When applied to a door, they work to soften hard layers of soap scum. The chemicals on dryer sheets are also a little acidic, which helps to dissolve and break down the calcium and magnesium found in hard water. 
• Just abrasive enough: Dryer sheets are also made of synthetic fibers that are woven into a pattern. This gives the sheets a slight abrasive texture that provides just enough friction to remove soap scum or minerals from glass without being abrasive enough to actually scratch the glass. 
• A protective coating: After scrubbing, the dryer sheet leaves behind a residue that consists of a thin layer of silicone and oil that has a similar consistency to car wax. Like car wax, this residue causes water to bead up and roll off rather than sit on gloss where it can leave behind mineral deposits and sap scum when it evaporates. 

How to Keep Your Shower Door Clean for Longer

While dryer sheets can help clean your shower door, they work better if you take some efforts to maintain it:

1. Squeegee after showering to prevent  soap scum from building up on the door and to prevent hard water from leaving mineral deposits. 
2. Remove any stray soap or shampoo that ends up on the glass to prevent it from drying and caking onto the door. 
3. If heavier limescale forms on the door, you’ll need to scrub it with a brush and stronger cleaners to get rid of it. To get the most out of your dryer sheet cleaning method, clean your shower door once a week to prevent minerals and soap scum from building up.