A couple of weeks ago my hubby was complaining about the “scum” on the inside of the glass shower door in our bathroom. Even though we squeegee the door after we shower (well, 8 1/2 times out of 10)…it always seems to build up.
I remembered reading SOMETHING about CITRUS and SALT and cleaning the BATHROOM…but that’s about all I could remember. I searched and searched for it again online…but to no avail. (I’m sure it’s lurking on someone’s Pinterest board somewhere!)
The closest I could come up with was this post at Re-Nest.com about How To Clean Your Bathtub With A Grapefruit & Salt. Close enough for me. I could improvise.
Since it was the hubster that was complaining about it, I armed him witha small bowl of kosher salt and a lemon, cut in half, and told him to knock himself out. To my surprise, he took the supplies without argument and went and took a shower! Men, they’re such multi-taskers.
I usually try and take pictures to document the success (or failure) of my “projects”, but there was nudity involved and no one needs to see that…this is a family blog afterall! ;-)
Suffice it to say, it worked very well! I wouldn’t put it on par with my “Miracle Cleaner“, but it worked better than anything else I’ve tried, and with minimal elbow grease involved.
Just dip that lemon in the bowl of salt, rub on the scummy glass, let sit while you shampoo and condition, then rinse off. The lemon juice, with the help of the abrasiveness of the salt literally eats the soap scum!
I have since read in more than a few places that putting lemon oil on the glass after you’ve cleaned it helps a great deal in KEEPING the glass scum-free. That is next on my list.
I used goo gone and a magic eraser on one of the worst ever tubs and shower doors i had ever seen and then finished with kaaboom and talk about a new look everyone was amazed
We used the same mix to clean the inside of coffee pots at the restaurant I worked at. We would put a 1/2 lemon, ice and salt and swirl it around, and voila the coffee stains were gone.
One question b/c I am about to try this but I do not have kosher salt. Does it HAVE to be kosher salt or can it be regular salt?
Laura, you could definitely use regular salt….just won’t be QUITE as abrasive. Might have to use a little more elbow grease. ;-)
I just put a little baby oil on a wet rag and wipe away. Fast and amazing results.
I had the same problem with my shower door… And hubby will NOT squeegee so it gets bad rather quickly. I searched the net over and found that smooth cooktop cleaner works like a charm. Apply it with a damp or dry cloth and buff it off with a dry cloth. Works every time. If you have a particularly dirty shower door you can add some baking soda to the cooktop cleaner for extra scrub power.
OK, I know this is an old post but your blog is so awesome that I just come here whenever I have a few minutes (or when I’m procrastinating – hahaha) and today I found this one. My question is, where would I purchase lemon oil? Thanks!
Trixie, try wal-mart, local grocery store, or even Amazon. You can make lemon oil, which is very potent if used just after making but it would require a lot of lemons (100+) to get even an ounce of oil.
It works really well!
Many thanks.
Ralph
The lemon juice and salt worked wonders on my shower door!!! My husband and I were at our wits end trying to figure out how to get it clean. Thanks so much for the solution!!!
I have used lemon pledge before. It seems to do a good job. Maybe there is lemon oil in it because I only do it once a month and even then it is not that bad. We do not squeegee either. I will try this! I think natural is better. Thanks!!
I tried it on my shower door and it worked wonderfully. So happy I found this blog.
The pics would be great! Tnx for the tip though. Now i wont need to smash closure
I need some help! I have tried everything known, from different blogs linked to HerbsnOil. From mixing lemon to baking soda, from heated vinegar to lemon, from salt and lemon, and all the chemically ‘infused’ commercially made products available frm Home Depo to Giant, I still can’t seem to remove the hard water stains from my shower door. Can somebody out there have any other ideas, well apart from buying a new shower door. We moved into this home couple months now and I have tried everything I know in the book, to get rid of the stain but just won’t budge. My hands are dry and really feels rough now with all the different things I have been doing for the past few weeks. Pls help! A million thanks.
Have you tried any of these ideas:
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2013/02/make-your-own-citrus-enzyme-cleaner-and-scrub.html
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/02/tub-and-shower-soap-scum-buster.html
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2011/08/my-kitchen-miracle-cleaner.html
Dear Jillee,
Tks for responding. I have tried the citrus enzyme cleaner as well as the shower soap scum buster and not the kitchen miracle cleaner. Am going to go get that done after responding to your msg and will keep you posted. I just don’t understand why it is not working especially with the soap scum buster. I used Dawn, the blue one, and heated the vinegar. It was a bit difficult to squirt but I managed and kept it for 4 hrs. I was so disappointed when the hard water stain on the shower door didn’t come off.
Jillee,
Bad news again. Tried the kitchen miracle cleaner on the shower doors and it didn’t make any difference. We have two shower sliding doors and I have been doing a trial on just one door for comparison. Sadly with all that I have been doing, both doors look the same as if I have made no ‘dent’ in this hard substance! Am so frustrated. I don’t know what to do anymore. If anyone out there has any advice, will be checking on this site. Tks.
@ Anna try The Works toilet bowel cleaner. Squirt that on the doors and then scrub.