How to Remove Soap Scum from Glass Shower Doors

Having glass shower doors are a beautiful addition to any bathroom design, as they allow the natural light to filter through better, brightening up the space, and helping it feel more spacious and luxurious. The downside to glass shower doors is if you don’t know how to remove soap scum from them effectively, they end up being magnets for soap scum residue buildup, which is quite unsightly. 

Read on to learn what causes soap scum, how to remove soap scum from your glass shower doors, and what you can do to keep your glass doors shiny and clear from future buildup. 

What Causes Soap Scum To Form on Glass Shower Doors?

If you don’t regularly wipe down your glass shower doors after use, the water from your shower head will deposit trace minerals like calcium and magnesium particles onto their surface. When these minerals come into contact with soap suds, they become trapped along with the fats, oils, and debris that the soap picked up from you during washing. Once trapped in the soap, they all bond together to create that scaly film you see on your shower glass doors. 

While soap scum itself is not harmful to you, leaving it for too long will make it notoriously difficult to remove. Eventually, it may damage your glass shower doors, as the minerals from the water can seep into the glass and cause etching (scratching). Plus, it can easily seep into really tough nooks and crannies like your shower door tracks, making it even more difficult to clean. 

How To Remove Soap Scum: A Step-by-Step Guide When Using a Commercial Cleaner

The first thing you want to do is gather all of your supplies, which should include a commercial-based cleaner (we recommend a R.O.G. 3 Kit), a few clean rags or non-abrasive pads, and optional items like gloves to wear, and a toothbrush for those hard to reach areas are recommended. 

1. Don your gloves and spray your commercial cleaner directly onto glass shower doors. If you’re using a commercial cleaner like R.O.G. 3, then you’ll need to attach the foaming spray head.
2. Make sure that the soap scum is completely covered. Let the commercial cleaner sit for 5-10 minutes.  Note: if you have a lot of soap scum that you need to remove, let the cleaner sit for longer than the upper limit as noted on the bottle. 

1. After letting the cleaner foam up and sit, grab a clean rag or non-abrasive pad, and begin scrubbing away at the soap scum using a circular motion. With a commercial cleaner, the soap scum should come right off and require very little “elbow grease”. 

1. Repeat the above steps for your glass shower door tracks, and use a toothbrush to get into the tough-to-reach corners and edges.
2. Once you’ve removed the soap scum from the glass shower doors, rinse the doors off with warm water until you’ve removed all the cleaning foam/spray.
3. Dry your glass shower doors off with a clean microfiber cloth. Don’t skip this step, as this ensures that there are no minerals being left behind by the water rinse!
4. Repeat these steps as necessary until all the soap scum is removed from your glass shower doors.

Why We Recommend Using Commercial-Based Products

A simple glance online and you’re going to find tons of resources recommending that you use natural-based options for cleaning away the soap scum on your glass shower doors. The problem with these options is that: 

• You run the risk of not removing all the soap scum, which can lead to it coming back faster. It may also take you hours to make a small dent in the soap scum if you’ve left it for a long period.
• You may damage the glass with abrasive choices like vinegar and baking soda mixes. Your glass shower doors (and the entire bathroom) will likely end up smelling like vinegar or lemon, which isn’t always pleasant or easy to remove. 

• Acidic options may drip down and damage other surfaces in your bathroom and cause wear and tear on the gel-coating or slip-protection coating that is present on these surfaces. You may end up getting discoloration on your bathroom countertop or flooring,  if you’re not careful during the cleaning process. 

• You need to spend quite a bit of time researching the right ratios for natural mixes, but end up disappointed when you don’t get the results you were hoping for. 

A commercial-based product like R.O.G. 3 is always your best option when learning how to remove soap scum from glass shower doors. This is because it is specifically designed to cut through soap scum quickly, by breaking down the natural bonds that soap scum creates, without damaging your glass shower doors in the process. 

4 Tips For Keeping Your Glass Shower Doors Free From Soap Scum

Now that you know how to remove soap scum from glass shower doors, here are a few tips you can follow to keep them free from soap scum for longer: 

1. Wipe down your glass shower doors after every use with a squeegee or clean cloth. This will help remove any water and soap residue before it has a chance to form into soap scum. 
2. Don’t leave excess moisture on your shower tiling or upper walls! Wipe these down with a dry, clean cloth. This will help deter trace minerals from sticking to these surfaces, and prevent mildew growth.
3. If your bathroom tends to get very humid or moist, consider keeping your glass shower doors open when not showering to prevent condensation from forming. 
4. Invest in a good bathroom fan that will help circulate air, and keep everything dry.

We hope this guide on how to remove soap scum from glass shower doors was insightful and helpful!  As always, if you have any questions or would like assistance cleaning your glass shower doors, our team at R.O.G. 3 is more than happy to help. Give us a call or email us today!