How to Clean Shower Doors with Vinegar

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Vinegar is great for cooking, baking, and other meal preparation – and it makes an excellent cleaning agent.

Vinegar is safe, non-toxic, and chemical-free, making it the perfect cleaning solution for households that prefer a more organic approach when cleaning (or households with pets and children).

With its high acidity, this multitasker makes the ideal product for cleaning the bathroom shower door. Bathroom shower doors are prone to soap scum buildup, watermarks, and hard water stains. This often makes it look foggy, cloudy, and stained.

Cleaning shower doors sometimes requires a lot of elbow grease and scrubbing. While there are many ways that you can get your bathroom shower door clean, vinegar provides the best solution to keep it consistently clean.

Check out my step-by-step guide on how to clean shower doors with vinegar.

Why use Vinegar to Clean?

Vinegar is a very safe all-natural cleaning solution that is toxic and chemical-free. It is one of the best all-purpose cleaners because of its high acidity and ability to kill germs and cut through some of the deepest stains and dirt.

What’s beautiful about it is that you can use it to clean almost anything in the home, from the floors to the coffee maker, cutting board, laundry, and the glass shower door. 

With the glass shower door, vinegar helps to remove hard water stains and soap scum build-up. You can also use it to kill mold in the bathroom.

Vinegar’s eco-friendliness and non-toxicity make it ideal for households with pets and small children. It is less harsh than bleach and other abrasive cleaners and is unlikely to activate any allergic reactions in the home.

Lastly, this natural cleaner is extremely cheap and easily accessible since you may already have it in your kitchen cabinet. So why wouldn’t you use it to eliminate that unsightly grime on your shower glass door?

Supplies Needed

• White Vinegar
• Spray Bottle
• Microfiber Cloth
• Magic Eraser or Sponge
• Liquid Dishwashing Soap – I prefer the Dawn brand dish soap.

How to Clean Shower Door with Vinegar

Step 1 – Create the cleaning solution

Start by combining a cup of white vinegar, a cup of water, and a teaspoon of dish soap in the spray bottle.

Step 2 – Spray the door

Spray the vinegar cleaning solution on the shower door and let the vinegar soak for five to ten minutes. You can leave it on much longer for tough stains and stubborn stains. Be sure to start at the top of the door and work your way down.

The dish soap will act as a degreaser and help the cleaning solution stick to the shower door cutting through any dirt, grime, and soap residue.

Step 3 – Wipe down the shower door

Use a damp sponge or magic eraser to wipe down the door.

Step 4 – Rinse the door

Wash off the door with fresh water and use the microfiber cloth to wipe it down. The microfiber cloth will give it a streak-free shine with a clean, sparkling finish.

Alternatives for Cleaning the Shower Doors

While vinegar might be the most effective way of cleaning glass shower doors, many other alternatives will work just as well. These options include:

1. Vinegar and baking soda – Adding baking soda to the vinegar gives it some grit and works to really penetrate the soap scum. Use a bowl to mix the vinegar and baking soda together, making the solution pasty. Use a sponge to apply the mixture onto the shower door. Let it sit for a few minutes, and then wash it off with warm water and wipe it down with a microfiber cloth.

2. Lemon juice and salt – This requires the same steps as using vinegar; instead, you replace the vinegar with lemon juice.

3. Hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol – Like the vinegar solution, you will use half a cup of hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol and one teaspoon of liquid dishwashing soap to create this alternate solution.

4. Use a brand-name shower spray.

Consider using brand-name commercial cleaners like Rejuvenate Soap Scum Remover, Ecos Bathroom Cleaner, or Rain X Shower Door Water Repellent. Both cleaning products are well-touted as strong and highly effective cleaning agents and will help to reduce water marks and remove soap scum.

Ways to Keep the Shower Door Clean

Once the door is cleaned, it will be important to maintain cleanliness between cleanings. The last thing you want is to clean your shower door constantly. The good news is, you don’t have to. So follow these cleaning tips on how to maintain a clean shower door.

• Use a clean cloth to dry off the shower door after each shower. This will help to reduce the moisture buildup in the space.
• Alternatively to cloth, you can use a window squeegee after each use to help dry off the shower door.
• Keep the vinegar cleaning solution next to the shower and use it daily on the shower door.
• There’s a good chance that the reason why you have so many stains on your shower door in the first place is that you have hard water. If you happen to have hard water, then you may want to consider adding a water-softening method to your house. A whole house water softener will greatly reduce the hard water spots on your glass doors.
• The soap you use could be the main culprit for scum buildup, so you may want to consider switching your soap. Scum buildup comes from paraffin wax that exists in most bar soaps, so you may want to consider switching to a bar of talc-less bar soap, body wash, or liquid soap to reduce the scum buildup issue.
• Air out the bathroom after each use by leaving the shower door open and turning on the vent or opening up a window. This will help your shower to air out and reduce the moisture in the space.

Vinegar is one of the best natural methods for cleaning shower door glass. Using vinegar will reduce the need for harsh chemicals that produce noxious fumes.

This shower door cleaner will have your shower door looking just as new within a matter of minutes—so time to say no to cloudy shower glass and yes to sparklingly clean shower doors.

Other cleaning ideas you might like:

• How to Clean Mold in Shower and Safely Prevent It 
• How To Clean Vinyl Plank Flooring
• How to Clean a Couch with a Steam Cleaner or Upholstery Cleaner
• How To Clean a Glass Stove Top

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