Your shower is not only a practical, functional element of your bathroom- is also a calm space to relax and take care of yourself. A nice hot shower is good for the body and the mind and can leave you feeling much more at ease. You need to clean and maintain your shower to ensure it stays in good working order and is a pleasant space to wash in.
If you don’t keep on top of it then a build of up of limescale, dirt, soap scum, and even mold can cause damage to the shower and prevent it from being hygienic. Every part of the shower needs to be cleaned- from the showerhead to the drain. We have put together a useful guide to help you keep your bathroom looking clean and to make your shower last longer. Keep reading to find out how to make your shower sparkle and shine. If you have the need for a commercial Shower cleaner, hire CLEANA professional commercial cleaner in Sydney.
How Often Do You Need To Clean Your Shower?
Exactly how often you should clean your shower depends on how many people are using it and how often it gets used. As a general rule, you should give your shower a nice thorough clean once a week. This should include wiping down the shower walls and doors and clearing the drain.
You should complete a deep clean once a month which involves a much more in-depth clean of the shower walls and doors, cleaning the showerhead, and washing the shower curtain.
There are also a few things you can do each time the shower is used to stay on top of cleaning and to keep your shower in good condition. After your shower, use a squeegee or a microfiber towel to remove excess moisture from the walls and doors of the shower.
Check the drain for hair, and make sure that any flannels or body sponges are hanging up so they can drip dry. This should only take a minute or so but will keep your shower looking much neater.
Clearing The Drain
The first thing to do when you start cleaning your shower is to clear the drain. It can easily become clogged with hair, soap scum, and dirt.
This not only looks dirty but prevents the shower from draining properly. If you leave it too long, the drain can even begin to smell! Put on some rubber gloves and use your fingers to pull out any clumps of hair and dirt that are blocking the drain.
If the hair is too deep to reach then you can use an unravelled wire coat hanger to help you. Next, you can pour hot water down the drain, or a cleaning product diluted into hot water.
If the water is not draining well, you might need to use a drain-unblocking gel. The more often you clear the drain, the easier this job will be.
Once you have cleared away any blockages, use a cloth or sponge to wipe around the inside and the rim of the drain to make sure it is clean.
Cleaning The Shower Walls
Before you start cleaning the shower walls it is a good idea to remove all toiletries and accessories from the shower. This gives you a clear surface to work with and stops you from getting cleaning products on your flannels and body scrubbers.
As you remove the bottles of shower gel and shampoo etc from the shower, give them a quick wipe-over to remove excess water and any mildew or soap scum.
Next, you need to rinse the shower walls to remove any hair or loose dirt. If your shower is detachable then you can use the shower to do this. If not you can use a bowl, jug, or bucket of water.
Before you spray the tile cleaner, make sure your bathroom is ventilated. You can open the door or window, or turn on the extractor fan.
Check that whatever cleaning spray you are using is suitable for the material that your shower walls are made from, or you could end up causing corrosive damage or staining.
Spray the product onto the shower walls- you might want to split the wall into sections while cleaning to ensure that the spray does not dry before you have reached that section.
Work top-down or left to right. Some cleaning sprays require you to leave them to soak in for a few minutes before you wipe them, so make sure you check the bottle.
Use a sponge or a cloth to rub the cleaning product into the walls of the shower in circular motions. If your shower is quite dirty you might need to rinse the cloth and complete this step a second time. Once you have wiped all of the shower walls you can rinse them again with the shower or a jug of water.
As part of your deep cleaning, you will need to clean the grouting on your shower walls. The best way to do this is with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar, or hydrogen peroxide.
Mix it into a paste, then use a toothbrush to apply it to the grouting and scrub. Rinse the walls to remove any residue.
Cleaning The Taps
If you have tapped in your shower then you will need to give those a clean too. To remove watermarks and get the metal to look shiny again, make a mixture of equal parts hot water and distilled vinegar.
Rinse the taps with water, then clean them with this mixture. Use a dry cloth to wipe down the taps afterwards to ensure that there are no streaks.
Cleaning The Shower Head
It is very easy for your showerhead to become discoloured and dirty with a build-up of limescale. This can also affect the performance of the shower, as it can clog up the nozzles and reduce the water flow. As part of your deep cleaning, take your shower head off and soak it in distilled white vinegar.
If your showerhead is not detachable you can fill a plastic bag with vinegar and tie it around the showerhead. Make sure you rinse the showerhead afterwards.
If there are any stubborn bits of dirt or limescale you may need to remove these with a cloth or even an old toothbrush so you can scrub them off.
You can keep the showerhead looking fresh in between your deep cleans by wiping it down with a cloth once a week.
Cleaning The Shower Door
Your shower door is likely to get some watermarks on it as well as some soap scum, but both of these things are easy to remove.
You can use a window or glass cleaner, or make your own by mixing water and distilled vinegar. Spray this onto the door, then use a lint-free cloth like a microfibre cloth to wipe the door.
Put in some extra effort in areas where you notice streaky watermarks or dried on the soap. The more effort you put into buffing the glass, the better it will look.
Wash Your Shower Curtain
The final step in cleaning your shower is washing your shower curtain. You can keep your shower curtain clean by spraying it with a cleaning product once a week and giving it a wipe.
This helps to prevent mold and mildew from building up on the shower. As part of your deep cleaning, you should remove the shower curtain and wash it by hand or in the washing machine.
Summary
If you follow all of these steps, your shower will be sparkling clean and will always look fantastic. It will also be well-maintained and will last you longer.
