After you take a shower, what happens to the dirt? Most makes it down the drain, but your shower only gets dirtier with each use. With these helpful tips, keep your shower clean so you can be the cleanest you can be after each use.
When Does My Shower Need to be Cleaned?
A shower should be cleaned once a week, or at a minimum once per month when you deep clean your entire bathroom. By maintaining a set cleanliness in your shower, you make your deep clean that much easier for yourself. Whenever you shower, a squeegee or towel should be used to wipe down the walls and doors of the shower. Additionally, hang up loofahs and washcloths to dry out totally. Everyone dreads this part, but you need to be pulling out the hair from the drain after each shower. Nothing is worse than when the drain starts to back up because someone else’s hair is clogging it. By following these easy steps every time you shower, it will only make cleaning the shower once per week that much easier.
Showers with Tile
The easiest part to get dirty with a tile shower is the grout. Grout is porous, which makes it a perfect place for mold and mildew to thrive. Acquire a shower and grout cleaner, bleach, a sponge, rubber gloves, an old toothbrush or soft-bristled brush, and a squeegee. Remove everything from the shower and wipe down each item. This is your bottles of shampoo and conditioner, loofah, razor, whatever you have in there. You might surprise yourself at how dirt your shampoo bottle is. You will need to get the walls wet and ventilate the room by either turning on the fan or opening a window. With everything out of the shower and the walls wet, get rid of the mildew. A solution of one part bleach to two parts hot water can be used to clean the grout. Apply the solution to the grout with a sponge and allow it to eat at the mildew for a minimum of ten minutes before scrubbing with a brush. Rinse off the grout with hot water before using the tile and shower cleaner. Same as the solution, allow the cleaner to work at the grout for ten minutes. If you have not noticed yet, most of grout cleaning is allowing the products time to do their job to make your job easier. After the ten minutes have passed, scrub out the shower and rinse it out again. Use a squeegee or old towels to dry the shower so no new mold or mildew starts to form in your recently scrubbed-clean grout!
Showers of Fiberglass
When you have the right tools and cleaning products, fiberglass showers are painless to clean. The only catch to a fiberglass shower is you do not want to scratch it; dirt will make its way into the scratches causing a difficult clean. Before you dive in, collect distilled white vinegar, baking soda or borax, a sponge or soft-bristled brush, a squeegee, and a spray bottle and bring these items to the bathroom. Take everything out of the shower, spray the shower with the distilled white vinegar, and squeegee the walls. Clean the floor of the shower by sprinkling baking soda or borax and giving it ten minutes to work its magic before scrubbing it away. After you cleaned your shower, use a fiberglass boat wax on the walls to keep that shine longer. Never put wax on the floors as it will only make them even more slippery than before.
Showers Made of Stone
Stone showers require a different cleaning method. Stone showers should be wiped down after every use. This will provide you with an easier clean that does not have to be performed as frequently. Vinegar and other harsh chemicals should be not be used as they may cause damage to your stone. Go through your apartment and gather a non-acid, ammonia-free stone cleaner or dish soap, bleach, microfiber cloths, and a spray bottle. Once you have taken all items out of the shower, spray the shower with the stone cleaner. If you cannot acquire stone cleaner, a solution of one tablespoon dishwashing liquid to one quart of hot water can be used in its place. But your stone cleaner or solution onto a microfiber cloth and wipe the stone. All mold and mildew you see should be eradicated with an equal solution of bleach and water. The equal part bleach-water solution should be left alone for fifteen minutes prior to scrubbing it off. Once the stone has been dried, you will have to reseal your stone. A stone sealer will have to be applied in small sections, carefully following the manufacturer’s instructions. Resealing should be done approximately two times per year.
