What if I told you that your shower is one of the largest breeding grounds for bacteria and germs in the bathroom? Would you really feel clean washing yourself in a shower full of bacteria and build-up?
Well, unfortunately it’s true. Your shower is the ultimate bacteria host. Because of its location and environment, it’s basically a receptacle for nastiness. Not only is it a collector of dead skin, dirt and soap residue, but its close proximity to the toilet makes it a magnet for other invisible debris and particles.
The humid environment of your shower makes for a cozy spot for bacteria to fester and grow. But if you get in the habit of regular cleaning and maintenance, you won’t have to worry about any of these things.
Safety pit stop: There are a few rules about bathrooms around here. Always wear gloves, and run your fan or open a window. We don’t mix chemicals in the #cleaningarmy! Read your labels. Wipe and rinse thoroughly with warm water between changing from one chemical to another.
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Clear it out and vacuum
Make the job easier for yourself by clearing out the shower before you officially start cleaning:
- Remove bottles, razors and accessories.
- Recycle any empties in your shower.
- Rinse all shampoo and conditioner bottles with water in your sink to remove any gunk and grime. (Wait until after the shower is cleaned to replace.)
Once the shower is cleaned out and you have a blank slate, use your handy horsehair brush (Canada) (USA) attachment on your vacuum (Canada) (USA) to suck up any hair and dust around the shower. If you spray cleaner all over the place without vacuuming first the dust and dirt turns to mud and is much more difficult to clean up.
Be sure to vacuum the top ledges as they tend to collect the most dust! This is also a good time to clear any excess hair from the drain.
Hard water build-up.
Hard water buildup is most commonly found on your showerhead or faucet. The easiest way to tackle it is to:
- Fill a bag with vinegar.
- Secure the bag over the showerhead or faucet with an elastic (making sure it is fully submerged in the vinegar).
- Let it sit for 20 minutes (or even overnight, if it’s bad) and the vinegar will do the rest!
Check out our Dealing with Hard Water article for more detailed instructions.
Shower glass and fixtures.
Next, it’s time to clean your shower glass and fixtures. Here’s our simple two-step process:
- Spray shower doors and fixtures (levers, brackets, frames for glass doors, drains, faucets etc.) with our shower door recipe (1 cup white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of blue Dawn® dish soap mixed in a spray bottle). This will tackle grime and hard water in your shower.
- Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes minimum, scrub the shower door and fixtures with a soft sponge. If your first attempt is unsuccessful, try again leaving the recipe on longer. (Do not use anything abrasive because these doors are easily scratched.) Rinse very well with hot water and squeegee to remove the excess water. You are going to be grateful for your fan running when you smell this stuff!
While you are waiting for the vinegar/Dawn® mixture to work, take the plastic strip off the bottom of the shower door. Did you know that they are removable? A lot of people do not know these come off, which can result in permanent staining from mold, mildew and soap scum. It should be clear, not orange or green! Simply slide or pop it off the bottom of the shower door. After you have removed the strip, all you need to do is spray it with Clorox® Clean Up or our water, bleach and Tide® recipe and scrub clean with a scrub brush.
Shower grout.
Use the WBT (water, bleach, and Tide®) recipe (below) to clean and restore the color of your shower grout. (DO NOT use on marble!)
For best results scrub with a scrub brush that has strong bristles. Be careful around caulking to avoid damage. Microban 24® bathroom cleaner is also a great product to use if you are finding WBT unsuccessful (or have marble to contend with). Having a detachable shower head will make rinsing everything easy, but if you don’t have one, a large measuring cup or tupperware container will do the trick. See our article to Deep Clean Nasty Tile Grout.
Pro Tip: If you are finding that your grout stains quickly, it might be time to re-seal it!
Stains.
For stains caused by anything from purple shampoo to minerals in your water, Liquid Bar Keepers Friend® is your best friend. Before you begin, test the Bar Keepers Friend® on an inconspicuous spot to assure it is the right product for your shower. Apply a layer of the product to the stain and use a dry cloth to rub the stain off. If this method does not work the first time the product may need to sit longer.
Dry it out and polish.
A dry shower is a clean shower! It is important to dry your shower walls, floor and glass after cleaning if you want to avoid watermarks and create a smoother finish. Squeegee away as much moisture as possible, then use a dry cloth or towel for anything left.
If you wish to polish your shower (we always do!), use Windex® and a microfibre cloth. The CarbonTuff® Cloths (Canada) (USA) from OceanSales work wonders for any streaks left on your shower glass.
Maintain.
If you tend to deal with lots of hard water buildup, keep a bottle of our shower door recipe in your shower for a quick spray and rinse. Another important step to avoid hard water buildup is to squeegee off your shower glass after each shower. It takes two seconds and will make a huge difference when it comes time to clean.
Now you are all set with some simple steps to a flawless shower that will level up your bathroom as a whole.
To tackle the rest of your bathroom read this; 9 Steps to a Sparkling Bathroom! And for more simple cleaning tips for the entire home, check out our 75-minute interactive “Basic Training” course!
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- Denise @GoCleanCo
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gocleanco
Nov 18
I circled rollerblades in the Sears Wish Book every year…and every year my mother would patiently explain that we lived on an acreage with gravel roads and rollerblades do not work on gravel…and every year I would be so disappointed when they didn’t show up under the tree. 🤣🤦🏼♀️ #nostalgia #christmastime
gocleanco
Nov 15
PSA: A lot of people don’t know you can do this when you order a gift off of Amazon. At check out, you can select that the item is a gift and then choose the option to add a gift bag and a custom message and this is how it is delivered! You don’t have to worry about the surprise being ruined if they open the box because it’s already wrapped and they can plunk it under the tree. Perfect if you have family far away that you won’t be seeing this holiday season. Saves ya time and energy in the chaos of the season. 🎁🎄🎅🏻🕰️🕰️🕰️ #christmastime
gocleanco
Nov 13
Nostalgic Christmas!!!! Bring on the tinsel and the garland. I can handle it. 🤭We have some fun things planned to take you back to the days when we made ornaments outta fishhooks, so STAY TUNED ya filthy animals! 🎄🎁 ⛄️ 🎅🏻 🤶🏻❄️ ☕️
gocleanco
Nov 12
Best part of getting my hair done is hanging with sister @hellohairhouse the results aren’t too shabby either
gocleanco
Nov 9
Just out here doing the lords work. meganrreed_
gocleanco
Nov 4
Okay my DM’s are full of people asking for this to live on the feed. Brew a cup of coffee. I use a @nespresso pod but any regular cup java will do. Add in one scoop of your fav protein powder (or do half if you find this too sweet). This-is-a-wing-it-to-how-you-like-it-recipe as most cups of coffee are. I used vanilla protein powder here with a sprinkle of cinnamon, tastes a Christmasy! My go to is usually chocolate protein because it tastes like a mocha. Froth it with frother and drink it hot or over ice. This gets me 26 grams of protein right in the morning which helps cause I’m not a breakfast person. I’m trying y’all. 💪🏻 🍑
gocleanco
Nov 1
You asked and I delivered! You have been requesting I test the viral Tineco floor washers forever so here they are! Full break down of the S5 and S3 model in my stories plus they are both on sale at Canadian Tire and Amazon! @tinecoglobal #sponsored #floorcare #evolutionofclean
gocleanco
Oct 28
Best one yet. 🤣😂🤣🤣 I told you guys he looks like @mrclean
gocleanco
Oct 25
I have shared my new BLANCO sink and faucet but let’s talk about accessories, did you know BLANCO also has under sink organization systems? I completed my BLANCO UNIT with the BOTTON II, it tidies up the mess under your kitchen sink and it pulls out like a drawer; you can store your cleaning supplies in it and also has a handy dandy little handle so you can take your supplies with you around the house. I have a post up on their blog that goes into depth about BLANCO maintenance and care, and more tips in my stories so make sure you check them out. You folks had lots of questions about BLANCO last round and I am happy to help. Plus BLANCO customer service can answer any maintenance questions you might have. #sponsored @blancoamerica1
gocleanco
Oct 22
You can’t win them all. 🐷🩰
gocleanco
Oct 20
Ghosts have chores too! #happyhalloween
gocleanco
Oct 13
It’s a blessing and a curse, really. #housework
gocleanco
Oct 11
Me for the last 24 hours straight 🥴😵💫 What didn’t you snag that you had on your heart set on for Prime Big Deals Days? Drop ONE THING you didn’t nab in the comments below and maybe we will do some surprise Amazon deliveries! 🥰 The only thing I have had time to buy for myself is a Home Alone Pillow with Kevin’s face on it and some Tide Rescue 😂 Swipe to see ➡️➡️➡️
gocleanco
Oct 9
It is the final week of the Fall Cleaning Challenge which means we are cleaning the Common Area’s in our homes (that’s hallways, closets, mudrooms, porches and laundry rooms) we are ALSO taking our buckets, Aquablades, power washers and shop vacuums outside to clean up our outdoor spaces before the ❄️ hits. This is a big week. What’s the biggest disaster area that you need to tackle this week? I’ll go first. It’s my scary linen closet which currently it has a sign on on it that says CAUTION ⚠️ 😂 I also got a new leaf blower that I am very excited to blast some dirt and 🍂 with. Pace yourselves, WE GOT THIS! 👊🏻 #cleaningtips
gocleanco
Oct 8
If you are sick of doing dishes, we got this off Amazon for Stella’s apartment cause she didn’t have a dishwasher and she would not stop complaining about it. The little window is so cute, you can watch everything that happening in it, it’s almost as dramatic as and episode of Love is Blind. 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ from Stella! #amazonfinds
gocleanco
Oct 7
Hiiiii 👋🏼 Sarah here. I’m the one behind the cleaning hacks, motivation, business tips, home design, decor and sometimes fashion advice and sassy commentary. Oh and I wrote some books in the early days too 🤓 How long have long have you been following along for the ride? Thanks for sticking with me 💕💕💕
gocleanco
Oct 6
Takes me just as long to pick a blanket as it does a pillowcase. 🫠🤣 Everything is linked up in my Amazon Store front! Link is in my bio. Reminder it’s Prime Deals Days next week so expecting lots of stuff to be on sale next week! My rug is from @ruggable and is 9x12 and called the Kamran Hazel. #falldecor
gocleanco
Oct 4
Entering spooky season but it’s just a regular Wednesday for us. Today I learned not everyone pronounces it 👻—GUR 🤣🤣🤣 #happyhalloween
gocleanco
Sep 24
Heya. 👋🏼 Sarah here. We are wrapping up Week One (Kitchen Week—the most overwhelming) of the Fall Cleaning challenge. How is it going? What have you got done? My job during these Challenges is to motivate and help educate you on the most efficient and effective ways to clean so you feel confident about moving onto the next week with us! The Cleaning Challenges get easier each time we do them as it’s a scheduled, routine deep clean that helps you stay on top of things before they get out of hand. If you deep cleaned in the Spring Challenge with us, I know (based on the hundreds of DM’s🤣) that this week felt easier because you lined the tops of your cupboards with parchment paper in the Spring! I find it hard to put into writing how cleaning can make you feel SO GOOD, satisfied and proud of your home. I can’t explain the feeling feeling until you roll up your sleeves and get to work and feel it yourself. Once one room is done, please stop and stand back and survey your work. Take a minute to feel the accomplishment in your bones. This is hard but rewarding work and you CAN do it—I will cheer you on the entire way. Keep sending me your before and afters! They make me so happy and proud of each you, I feel like I am helping clean millions of homes around the world and that’s honestly pretty cool. 😎
gocleanco
Sep 22
It’s Kitchen week of the Fall Cleaning Challenge and I can finally share my new kitchen sink from BLANCO that everyone has been asking about. I am very excited to be working with @blancoamerica1 they are THE kitchen experts and a global brand with over 95 years of experience. Head to my stories to see how I care for this beauty on the daily and how easy it is to treat stains. BLANCO is more than just sinks; they also have faucets and organizational systems (like the BOTTON) that work together as an integrated UNIT. #ad