Shower cleaner

[Taz_Zoee]

Does anyone have a good recommendation for a powerful shower cleaner?
I do not clean my shower often enough :o and it gets moldy and has lots of soap scum accumulated in it. I'd like to find a powerful cleaner that needs the least amount of man-power. The reason I don't clean the shower often is because it KILLS my back. So if I could find something that will do most of the work with a little scrubbing from me that would be GREAT! :)
My shower (with a tub) is tile, and we also have sliding shower doors.
Thanks!

[Catty1]

I once made a paste out of Vim and vinegar. Vinegar really cuts away at stuff, but it needs a medium to stay in place. I found Vim had a good texture for that.

TSP is also a great cleaner.:)

I have a shower squeejee now to cut down on major cleanings.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'd like to know a good shower cleaner too. I have very hard water and I too don't clean my shower like I should. I'm just too tired by the time I clean up everything else. I also have the lovely shower doors which I hate. I can never get the tracks entirely cleaned up. How do you keep it clean? I can't remove the doors.

[caseysmom]

My husband it actually pretty good about cleaning the shower but I know he uses tilex and clr when it gets too bad.

[Freedom]

I bought one of these at Home Depot, it is a brush head:
http://www.homedepot.com/Cleaning/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xh3Zbqsi/R-100000029/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

The wood handle is sold separately, I bought that too. This stands in a corner in the bathroom. I use it to clean the tiles in the tub.

A bottle of Tilex hangs off the towel bar nearest the tub (I actually have a bar IN the tub, so mine hangs there.

After each shower, I try to spray the Tilex. Now and then I grab the brush and run it over the tiles.

Having the right tools makes it a bit easier; my back resists cleaning the tub tiles, too! :D

[Taz_Zoee]

I've never heard of Vim before. I know Vinegar is great for everything, my mother swears by it. LOL
TSP is worth a shot.

Tilex I've used before, but required much scrubbing. But maybe I could find a different type. I have used CLR before too when I lived in a place that got really bad rust stains in the tub. It worked great, so that might be a plan too.

Well thank you all for the great ideas! I'll see what I can find and I'll let you know which works best for me. :D

[pomtzu]

I use Simple Green or 409 Spray. No scrubbing required! ;)

[Catty1]

I meant CLR not TSP!!! my bad

If your water is very hard, you might get yourself a spray bottle and mix half vinegar and half water in it, and spray everything down for a bit and let it soak. Maybe reapply a couple of times - then go to work with the regular cleaner.

For the tracks - old toothbrush!:)

[Taz_Zoee]

Yup, I use an old toothbrush too! And I bought this other Clorox brush that you can put cleaner in the handle (but I don't) and it looks like a large toothbrush. I use that for the grout.

Ok, I think I will see what I can get at a good price and go from there. I already have vinegar at home.

[jennielynn1970]

Mine works really well.... I never have to scrub. It's called DAVE. :p;)

[Taz_Zoee]

Mine works really well.... I never have to scrub. It's called DAVE. :p;)

LOL, can I borrow him? Because my Bruce is broken. :p

[Freedom]

Please do not use TSP with pets in the home! :eek:

I refuse to let it get so bad that I have to use the ole toothbrush; that is just TOO much work, lol.

[gini]

I have the greatest shower cleaner ever - I use it all of the time and also use it on my kitchen sink as well. (I have an old house and it works great.)

It is called Shower Power. You used to be able to buy it at the grocery store and I am not sure why they don't sell it anymore.

http://www.buyshowerpower.com/?gclid=CO7uxYfNpKUCFQULbAodSnEoJg

It has a wonderful fragrance and the spray bottle is easy to use.

I highly recommend this product (and I am not selling it myself - ha ha!)

[Moesha]

Scrub Free It comes in an Oxy version and also one with bleach. It used to be made by one company but I think Arm and Hammer may have purchased it now. It is in a yellow bottle. It works well on soap scum.

[Catlady711]

Not sure what to tell you for long time soap scum build up short of Soft Scrub and good old fashioned Elbow Grease!

However for mold, mildew and keeping your shower clean with minimal work, try Clorox Clean Up (http://www.clorox.com/products/clorox-clean-up-cleaner/) and a squeege.

I HATE scrubbing my tub/shower too!

Once you get your shower clean it's easy to keep it that way though.

After every shower: rinse down ALL the soap residue, and use the squeege to get the worst of the water off the walls and sides of tub. Trust me, those extra 2-3 minutes pay off big time later. Using a fan, opening a window or turning on your vent for about 20 minutes helps speed drying time and thus prevents ALOT of the mold from forming. Keep your shower curtain pulled across and as least folds in it as possible, gives less places for mold/mildew to form.

Once every week or two (depending on how much mold you get) just spray the Clorox 2 on everything, even your shower curtain on the inside, open a window or turn on your vent, close the door (you want to keep the pets out and the bleach smell is a bit powerful), and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Go back in, rinse down everything with hot water, squeegee it down the drain. Again keep your shower curtain pulled across and as least folds in it as possible. Keep fan/vent going or leave window open until totally dry then you can open the door again without fear of pets drinking any standing water left and your tub/shower is now clean as a whistle with NO scrubbing.

I don't have a vent in my bathroom, but I do have a window in the shower itself and I put a fan on top of a cabinet so it blows over the curtain rod and out the window to make drying time faster. About once every few months I do take Soft scrub to the tub only but I don't have to scrub, more like a quick wipe down and rinse.

[Taz_Zoee]

I am going to make a list of all of these things and take it with me to the store. :)

I have doors, not a curtain. And there isn't mold on that, just soap scum. The drying it out part would be the hardest. I take showers at night and Bruce takes them in the morning. And there is only a small window, not in the shower. That's probably why it does get so moldy. And we always keep the doors closed so the animals don't get it.......ALWAYS.

This is our only shower and right now our only toilet. We do have another toilet but you have to make sure you hang around after flushing so you can make the water stop running into it. :rolleyes: I guess I'm going to have to figure out how to fix that, since he won't.

But I will definitely try one, or more (maybe all) of these ideas. :D

[Catlady711]

I have doors, not a curtain. And there isn't mold on that, just soap scum.

Even easier! Shower doors dry better and are easier to squeege than a curtain.




The drying it out part would be the hardest. I take showers at night and Bruce takes them in the morning. And there is only a small window, not in the shower. That's probably why it does get so moldy. And we always keep the doors closed so the animals don't get it.......ALWAYS.


Do you have a vent in the bathroom? If not put a fan in there somewhere like I had to. Anything for air circulation. Keeping the bathroom door closed all the time probably isn't helping if you're not doing something else for ventilation too. Just means you'll have to clean more often because you'll have more mold.

I know getting a hubby to squeege and turn a fan on is like pulling teeth, but if nothing else when you get up after he showers you can always squeege then and turn fan on for awhile, it will help. I have to do that with my own hubby.:rolleyes:

[shais_mom]

ok I'm TOTALLY confused - what the HECK is TSP?
I have heard of the rest of the stuff. I hadn't even read this thread yet and you inspired me to clean my shower - I have an older shower that has a roughness to it so that it wouldn't be easy to squeegee. I used LA's TOTALLY AWESOME. Which I use for everything. Clothing stains, pet stains, Its available at the dollar store for $1 for a spray bottle or $3 for a gallon! I sprayed it good - let it set over night then sprayed it again and then scrubbed it. It is coming out for the most part. I really should probably use bleach but I HATE the fumes that come with it. I even sprinkled baking soda on the brush and scrubbed the walls. It still needs some work but it sure looks a lot better!
I LOVE using vinegar for stuff. I use vinegar for almost anything else that I can't use the LA awesome for! I keep a spray bottle of vinegar at the sink and spray it on my pet dishes and any dish that the dog has licked b/c it helps cut the saliva slime on it - I just spray the vinegar on it and wash regularly. No soaking required!

[Taz_Zoee]

Even easier! Shower doors dry better and are easier to squeege than a curtain.






Do you have a vent in the bathroom? If not put a fan in there somewhere like I had to. Anything for air circulation. Keeping the bathroom door closed all the time probably isn't helping if you're not doing something else for ventilation too. Just means you'll have to clean more often because you'll have more mold.

I know getting a hubby to squeege and turn a fan on is like pulling teeth, but if nothing else when you get up after he showers you can always squeege then and turn fan on for awhile, it will help. I have to do that with my own hubby.:rolleyes:

No vent, just a small window. And I keep the doors on the shower closed, not the bathroom door. Sorry if I explained that wrong.
Yeah, it would be difficult to get him to do anything. I am constantly complaining about him not putting the lid back on the hairspray. So now I use my own can. Oh, and I get up and leave around 6:30. He doesn't get up until about 8:30...or so. :rolleyes:
I'd like to leave the shower doors open after showering to help air it out, but he doesn't like that. Maybe I can convince him it will help cut down on the mold.

Wow, Staci! You can come clean mine next. You wouldn't mind a trip to California, right? :p

[shais_mom]

Wow, Staci! You can come clean mine next. You wouldn't mind a trip to California, right? :p

heck no - I LOVE CALI! ;)

but I still don't know what TSP is!

One of my friends married a guy from Germany and on one of her trips over there she had JUST gotten there carried her bags in and her now mother in law handed her a toilet brush and told her to clean the toilet in the basement bathroom. :eek:

[Catty1]

TSP = TriSodiumPhosphate

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/inftsp.html

[Catlady711]

No vent, just a small window. And I keep the doors on the shower closed, not the bathroom door. Sorry if I explained that wrong.

I'd like to leave the shower doors open after showering to help air it out, but he doesn't like that. Maybe I can convince him it will help cut down on the mold.

Ok, like mine then, just add a fan in there will help. I have one of those little 8" personal fans on top of a cabinet in my bathroom.

Does your shower stall completely enclose all the way to the ceiling? In my case my shower curtain is about 1 foot from the ceiling so even with my shower curtains drawn across I can still shoot air over the bar and into the shower forcing the moist air out the window.

[Taz_Zoee]

There is a HUGE space between the doors and the ceiling. I just don't know where to put a fan. The only place is the counter and that's pretty full. And there is only one outlet. I'll have to figure something out though. Because once I get this clean I want it to stay that way!!! :)

[Moesha]

Another thing that will help get rid of stuck on soap scum is Casade liquid dishwasher detergent.

[Taz_Zoee]

See how often I clean my shower? I haven't cleaned it since I started this thread. :o
I took a list of suggestions to the store with me, and of course didn't buy anything on the list. I bought a product called Kaboom with Oxy Clean. While it doesn't state it good for mold/mildew, it said it was good for lots of other things. So I gave it a try. And I'm pleasantly surprised. I spray a section, let it set for a few minutes then go back and lightly scrub the area and rinse. While it's not perfectly clean, it sure looks a whole lot better than it did. I have one more section soaking as I type. It will be nice to shower in a cleaner shower tonight. :D
I think we have some Tilex so I'll have to start using that on a regular basis.
Thanks for all the suggestions!! :)

[Cataholic]

On some home show, they suggested using a baby bottle cleaner(bristle brush) to clean the tracks. Much better than a toothbrush cause the baby bottle cleaner is round with bristles every which way.

If it were me, I would remove the doors! I hate those things.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

The only thing that will kill the mold/mildew is bleach. A bleach pen might be easiest?

[Taz_Zoee]

On some home show, they suggested using a baby bottle cleaner(bristle brush) to clean the tracks. Much better than a toothbrush cause the baby bottle cleaner is round witness bristles every which way.

If it were me, I would remove the doors! I hate those things.

Ours do not have the tracks on the doors. It's one flat area, only a small piece of plastic in the center acts as the tracks.
I like the doors. We had a curtain when I first moved in here and switched to doors. I don't like curtains blowing in a sticking to you. Ick!


The only thing that will kill the mold/mildew is bleach. A bleach pen might be easiest?

That's a great idea! I don't like working with bleach, but a bleach pen might be the answer. Thanks! :)

[Taz_Zoee]

So, just wanted to update this thread. I've been leaving the doors open after I shower at night. And I've even noticed Bruce leaving them open after he showers in the morning. It is working GREAT!
Thanks Pet Talk for all the help, as usual! :D :D

[krazyaboutkatz]

I tried cleaning my shower some yesterday. I always leave the shower door open a while to air out before I close it up again. I also leave the bathroom fan on for quite a while too so it airs out the bathroom. If I could do it easily, I would remove my shower doors and install a curtain instead. I hate my shower doors and they're so hard to keep clean. Removing the doors probably would be easy but removing the tracks that they're in would be much more difficult.:(