This homemade shower cleaner is one of my all-time most popular pins on Pinterest, so chances are you’re looking for an effective, natural shower cleaner you can rely on. You can keep a clean shower clean with a simple daily hydrogen peroxide shower cleaner, but you’ll need something stronger if your shower is as grimy as mine used to be!
Between hard water stains, mildew, and soap scum, cleaning a dirty shower can be a lot of hard work! Without an effective cleaner, it may be impossible to get your shower as clean as you’d like it to be, no matter how much scrubbing you do!
Luckily, this two-ingredient DIY shower cleaner is inexpensive to make and erases tough stains, soap scum, and hard water deposits with ease. All you need is white vinegar and Dawn dish soap to make it, and the resulting cleaner can help with other cleaning tasks too — another reason why it’s one of my favorite homemade cleaners!
Table of Contents
Why Are Hard Water and Soap Scum so Hard to Clean?
All water contains trace minerals, but the higher concentration of minerals in hard water makes it more prone to leaving behind water spots and crusty mineral deposits. An estimated 85% of our water in the U.S. qualifies as hard water, meaning most of us are familiar with the stubborn mineral buildup and stains that come with it.
In addition to combating the effects of hard water, you might also be dealing with slimy, pink soap scum in your tub or shower. Effectively tackling both grimy substances requires a powerful cleaning solution (or a great deal of vigorous scrubbing, but I prefer to let my cleaners do the hard work for me!)
Note: If there’s mold or mildew in your shower, focus on getting rid of mold before worrying about hard water or soap scum.
What Makes This the Best Homemade Shower Cleaner?
The first time I tried this amazing DIY shower cleaner, I was honestly shocked at how well it worked! It had done what so many other tub and shower cleaners had failed to do: dissolve the stubborn, grimy layer of soap scum and reveal the clean, shiny surface underneath.
This truly is the best shower cleaner spray I’ve ever used. It works wonderfully on glass shower doors and enclosures, acrylic and fiberglass shower surrounds, and even tile and laminate surrounds. (I don’t recommend using it on natural stone showers or tubs, as vinegar can damage porous stone surfaces.)
Jillee’s Take:
Before I learned about this DIY shower cleaner, I had tried so many underwhelming store-bought cleaners that I was convinced my shower was doomed to griminess forevermore. Luckily, I eventually came across this recipe, which works so effectively that I’ve been using it to clean our tubs and showers for over 10 years now!
How to Make the Best Homemade Shower Cleaner & Soap Scum Remover
This shower cleaner DIY couldn’t be simpler: combine equal amounts of Dawn dish soap and white vinegar in a spray bottle and shake gently to mix. Spray your shower with it, wait half an hour, then rinse clean!
For more detailed instructions, read on!
Start by heating a cup of white vinegar in your microwave until hot. (Heated vinegar combines more readily with dish soap than vinegar at room temperature.)
Carefully pour the heated vinegar into a spray bottle, then add the dish soap and replace the spray top. Gently shake the bottle to mix.
How to Use This Homemade Shower Cleaner
Spray the cleaner liberally around your tub or shower, then let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour. After waiting, use a scrub brush (if necessary) on spots of stubborn grime, or try my painless sponge mop hack for shower walls. Rinse thoroughly, and you’re done!
This shower cleaner recipe is perfect for tackling stubborn grime at the bottom of your bathtub. If you need a bit of extra scrubbing power, use a broom, and you’ll be done in a jiffy!
Before using this cleaner, ensure your bathroom is well-ventilated — turn on the fan and open any windows because the vinegar smell can be quite potent! The smell will dissipate as soon as you’re done, and the results will be more than worthwhile.
How This DIY Shower Spray Works
This homemade shower cleaner is effective because it combines two powerful cleaning agents uniquely suited to tackling grimy tubs and showers. White vinegar helps eliminate odors, dissolve tough messes, remove stains, and break down stubborn mineral deposits.
Dawn dish soap, on the other hand, not only cuts through grease and grime but thickens this homemade shower cleaner so that it can cling to your tub and shower. Combined, these two ingredients make the best shower cleaner ever, and once you try it, I’m sure you’ll agree!
Keep This Recipe Handy
Making more shower cleaner has never been easier with my Spray Bottle Recipe Labels. These durable, waterproof labels stick securely to your bottles, keeping them organized while displaying the full recipe right on the label. Say goodbye to rummaging for instructions—everything you need is right there, ready to go!
This shower cleaner is just one of 11 recipe labels you can mix and match to create your own custom bundle. Each set arrives neatly packaged in a clear plastic bag, making it a thoughtful gift for the DIY enthusiast in your life.
I’m not the only one who loves these labels! Take it from these OGT readers:
The bottles with the labels are perfect! Even my husband has been impressed with the shower cleaner. Now our shower doors are sparkling!
BRH
I didn’t know I needed these until they arrived! I love that I have the recipe on the label and don’t have to hunt for it online. SO glad I got these… you should, too!
Nancy
FINALLY!! Yep, you heard it right! I finally purchased the brown spray bottles + the stick-on recipes + the directions, and I’m a whole new kid!! I have “my act” together, and I’m ready to roll! I feel like half the cleaning projects are already complete! Don’t be jealous; just get yours in order, too!!
Helen
Daily Maintenance to Keep It Sparkling
Once your tub and shower are sparkling clean, use a simple daily shower spray to keep them clean and shiny for weeks! My favorite waffle weave microfiber towels are an ideal partner for a daily shower spray, forming a powerful pair that keeps shower doors and walls spotlessly clean!
I used to rely on a squeegee to keep our glass shower enclosure clean, but it was never quite enough to prevent soap scum buildup. Luckily, I eventually discovered that microfiber cloths outshine any squeegee by effortlessly absorbing moisture and soap residue.
What makes microfiber so effective? It’s all about its incredible absorbency, holding up to six times its weight in water. You can tackle your entire shower enclosure with one cloth!
We have been using a squeegee in the shower for years. Your use of the waffle weave microfiber towels to wipe down shower walls was an ah-ha moment for me. Even my husband was impressed with how much faster the towels made that chore.
Judith
To tailor this solution to your needs, I recommend my Microfiber Cleaning Cloths for smaller showers and my larger Microfiber Kitchen Towels for more spacious areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Use This Shower Cleaner on Unglazed Tile?
Because unglazed tiles stain easily and are rather delicate, I wouldn’t recommend using this cleaner on them (or any other vinegar-based cleaner, for that matter!)
How Long Can I Store This Cleaner?
Vinegar doesn’t expire, so you can keep this cleaner for up to a year if you store it in a cool, dark place.
Can I Use This Cleaner on Sealed Grout?
According to Grout Magnificent, vinegar is safe to use on sealed grout. It should not be used on unsealed grout or grout that needs to be resealed.
Can I Use This to Clean My Fiberglass Shower?
Absolutely! This cleaner works great on fiberglass tubs and showers.
Do I Need to Reheat It?
The purpose of heating the vinegar is that it helps it combine with the soap more easily. Once the two ingredients are mixed, you shouldn’t need to reheat it (though there’s no harm in doing so).
This Shower Cleaner Is Clogging Up the Spray Bottle — What Do I Do?
This cleaner is thick by design because thicker cleaners cling more effectively to shower walls. But if it’s too thick and clogs up your spray bottle, you can easily fix it by adding more vinegar.
Can I Use This Cleaner In a Plastic Spray Bottle?
You can certainly store and use this cleaner in a plastic spray bottle, though I recommend using a sturdy one.
Is This Cleaner Hard to Rinse Off?
This cleaner requires more rinsing than others due to the amount of soap in it, but it’s nothing a handheld sprayer attachment can’t handle! (No sprayer attachment in your tub or shower? Increasing the amount of vinegar in the cleaner will make it easier to rinse off.)
Conclusion
This effective shower cleaner DIY is simple, inexpensive, and uses simple household ingredients you probably already have at home. Dawn dish soap and white vinegar are powerhouse cleaners in their own right, and, when combined, help eliminate stubborn tub and shower grime with minimal scrubbing.
This easy shower cleaner contains no bleach or harsh chemicals — just two pantry ingredients that work like magic! Give it a try, and I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do.
More Dawn & Vinegar Cleaning Tips
- These 28 uses for Dawn dish soap range from fun to functional (and some are both!)
- Learn about the best ways to use vinegar around the house.
- Use these 8 vinegar cleaning tips to make your bathrooms sparkling
Do you have any favorite shower and tub cleaning tips?
Homemade Shower Cleaner (Recipe)
Video
Equipment
- 16 oz spray bottle
- Microwave safe measuring cup
Ingredients
- 1 cup Dawn dish soap
- 1 cup white vinegar
Instructions
- Heat the white vinegar in your microwave until hot, then pour it into your spray bottle.
- Pour the dish soap into the bottle, then replace the lid and shake gently to mix.
Is this ok to use on those plastic tubs? Also, does it work on shower curtains to remove the mold spots and pink residue?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes, it is safe for plastic tubs. I haven’t tried it on a shower curtain, but it’s definitely worth a try! You can also machine-wash shower curtains :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It works great on plastic shower curtains! I use it on everything including the kitchen sink! No more back-breaking or wrist-breaking scrubbing!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It WORKS !!!!!!! The best I’ve EVER used !!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What is the best homemade solution for cleaning shower glass doors and keep them from water spotting? The “spots” make me CRAZY!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This is it, Jamie! Vinegar is the very best solution for water spots :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.After I used this recipe and my shower door was super clean, I decided to try using Turtle car wax!! I made sure the door was really dry, and then used the clear coat wax. I’m happy to say that it works great, and I used it on the shower walls as well! I didn’t use it on the shower floor since it might be slippery, but I will forever use this cleaner and the wax!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have used other dish soaps in this recipe (I usually have “Palmolive” on hand) and it still works well. Try it with what you have!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do you need to use the mixture right after mixing, or can it be mixed and stored for later use?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You can mix it and save it for later :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Why Dawn? With so many different versions (17 PRODUCTS) what makes it different than say Palmolive?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have tried a lot of different soaps over the years, but I just have the best results with Dawn. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I love it!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The vinegar is what really attacks the hard water! Any dish soap will do the trick, Dawn is just my favorite :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi there, I used white vinegar and some other dish soap and got a sparkling result! I’m super grateful I found you.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Elisbeth,
Pretoria, South Africa.
Can this recipe be used for other places, like the toilet, or sink? I like having multi-purpose cleaners so that my cleaning arsenal is not overwhelming.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use this everywhere. In the kitchen and bathroom.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use 2/3 vinegar 1/3 water in a spray bottle to clean my windows, it works like a charm.
For my shower, and there are just the two of us at home, I use a product called “Clean Shower,” I spray the shower when I am done showering, and just walk away, although if you wish to dry the shower you certainly can do so.
Sure!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I think that I have tried everything possible to remove the calcified water on my tub, nothing has worked so far. Do you think this will work? If there is another idea out there, I’d be grateful to hear it. Thank you so much.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Vinegar is the solution of hard water! It’s definitely worth a try :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Zia, I read about this mix a few years ago and we gave it a try on the extremely thick deposits on our tub and it worked fantastically! We had to use it several times over a month to get the tub actually clean, but, prior to that I was literally soaking towels in vinegar and laying them over the calcified spots to dissolve them, along with spraying vinegar on the tub several times a day. This is SO much easier.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.And Jillee, I just told my husband about the broom trick tonight, and he’s excited to hear that I will be able to help out with the scrubbing part of cleaning now!!
I did this solution. Used it in my bathroom. Used broom to scrub the tub as previously suggested in your articles. And now no more torture to scrub the bath and keep it clean. Thank you for making cleaning so easy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jillee, do you think this would be safe on man-made marble showers and countertops?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You want to avoid using vinegar on marble. Try this instead: http://jillee.co/2yjeFwo
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Does it work on shower glass?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My way to make this is to run the vinegar through the coffee maker rather than heat it in the microwave. Kills 2 messes with one stone!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great idea!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Brilliant!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great idea,Anah. Thanks for sharing.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I do the same thing, Anah, once a month.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We don’t use a coffee maker but we do have an electric kettle. It can get gross if we only use tap water in it (we use it to make tea and instant coffee each day) Same idea…fill with vinegar and let the magic begin.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It works better than anything else I’ve used! Others soaps will do the trick, though :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This IS truly an awesome shower cleaner! I’ve been using it since you first posted it a couple years ago. But where did you find that cool sprayer for a mason jar?! I need about 10 of those!! I can never find the right size spray bottle to mix things up in and a mason jar would be perfect. Is it something you made? Do you have a tutorial?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love this recipe! I’ve used it three times now and am so impressed with how clean it gets my tub. Thank you so much, Jillie! You are full of such great ideas that help me so much. I love your blog. Thank you for sharing.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks Nancy!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve been using this miracle cleaner on our tile shower for a while now. I usually spray it down before bed time about once a week. The next morning I use a kitchen scrubber where necessary and rinse while I rinse myself. After a few weeks using this you wont even need to scrub and you shower will look brand new.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can you leave this on overnight, or will it damage the tub?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You can leave it overnight!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use this as laundry spot spray
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do you have to heat it up every time you use this? Or just once? Or do you have to use up all the solution and make it new every time?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have been using this recipe as a daily shower cleaner, without heating the vinegar. Do you know if leaving the mixture on the tub would cause any damage to the porcelain enamel?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It is safe on porcelain :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We dont have Dawn in Australia either….I tried this using a good quality dishwashing soap and foud the results to be fab….I hate clear glass shower screens!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Either is fine! I use regular white vinegar, just because it’s cheaper. It works okay on shower doors, but the soap can leave it too sudsy. Instead, just spray plain vinegar on the shower doors!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Dawn is best, but any dish soap works!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do you need to keep this in a glass spray bottle or will a plastic spray bottle work as well.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Plastic is fine!
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