Cleaning a shower

[Fishing]

I have been using Chemicals and a car wash mop on a stick. Works well and doesn`t scratch and saves my back. The car wash mop is dedicated for shower duty only.

[Southernman]

I have cleaned fiberglass showers in 2 of my last homes I rented. i googled the subject and found solutions.
The first was Arm & Hammer no fume oven cleaner. Sprayed it on and let it set for 2 hours and it was removed easily with wet rags.
Second method was from a cleaning site. Half and half white vinegar and blue Dawn detergent(Dawn is always mentioned for dish soap anymore). Be sure to pour the vinegar into the soap. i sprayed it on the dry scum and wiped it off with a wet rags an hour later and it removed everything easily.
Both methods left a clean shower but I preferred the Dawn.
Wipe it down like the others say and you wont need the treatments.

[ZeroDfx]

I would absolutely love to know how much of a top coat you have to work with on a fiberglass shower, or even cultured marble (or whatever you call the manufactured ceramic looking stuff a lot of bathroom vanities are made out of).

Our fiberglass shower upstairs is clean, but is just kinda lifeless from all the scuffs from years of cleaning. It`s also got a fair amount of water spotting etched into it.

Similar for the vanities - they`re clean and don`t have any staining, but you can tell there could be a whole lot more shine if you took a machine and some compound to them. I did a little experiment on our ugly vanity in the basement with a quick hit of One Step Sealant on an orange polishing pad - it looked a lot better but there were deeper scratches that could use some more cycles. I just don`t know much about the material (or where exactly to learn more about it) - is there a coating on it, or is it just that the top surface gets polished?

I`ve threatened that at some point I`m going to bring my polishers upstairs, but I`m reluctant to go too crazy not knowing exactly what I`m working with.

This is precisely my concern: will I do more good or more harm by trying the techniques and materials we know work well on paint? May have to do a test spot like always and take it from there.

[Stokdgs]

This is precisely my concern: will I do more good or more harm by trying the techniques and materials we know work well on paint? May have to do a test spot like always and take it from there.

That is exactly what I am going to do to mine... Put some Meguiars 105 on a foam pad, wet it so it thins the little amount out, and bring the Rotary up slow, and watch what it does..
I have these solid white bathroom countertops that came with this house, and they were all scratched up and dull, but I could tell they had a little shine.
Did the same thing, but used a small Lake Country Purple Foam Wool Pad and M105, and I actually got these big ugly white countertops to really shine!!!
Guess they are some kind of stone or something..
Took a lot of time and wore out a few of those pads, but it was so worth it...
Good luck with your project !
Dan F

[Dan]

So laziness got the better of my shower and I had some real nasty stuff get into the grout. My usual zep grout cleaner had minimal effects even with lots of scrubbing.

YouTube to the rescue with a recommendation to use gel toilet bowl cleaner. No effort, just squeezing it onto the grout and letting it sit brought it back to brand new. Even did a nice job reviving my caulking.

[ZeroDfx]

I finally attacked the shower stall today with my ROB to remove the hard water spotting and soap scum. I had an old yellow pad that was ready for retirement so decided to sacrifice it here before throwing it out.
First I attacked the glass enclosure panels with baking powder which made a strong dent in the spotting, but still left visible traces. I escalated at that point to using Bartenders Friend and that made another significant improvement; it`s not perfect but I can live with the faint hazing I see when looking at it in the right light.
Next I attacked the fiberglass shower enclosure walls themselves with the same Bartenders friend, but limited myself to one horizontal pass and one vertical pass so as not to overdo it and risk burning through the surface gel coat. That seemed to work well after I gave it a good rinse.
Once the shower walls dried, I applied a light coat of FK1000 by hand and buffed it off. Don`t know how long it will last, but for now it seems to be repelling water and beading. If it lasts 6 months to a year I`ll be happy.
Thanks, Nick

[Accumulator]

I finally attacked the shower stall today ..[and]..Once the shower walls dried, I applied a light coat of FK1000 by hand and buffed it off. Don`t know how long it will last, but for now it seems to be repelling water and beading. If it lasts 6 months to a year I`ll be happy.

Ah, if you get a chance to post back after a while, I`d sure like to know how the FK holds up under those conditions. I gather you have fairly hard water...

[michaelyoni64]

We used nanocoat first up on the glass screens. Yes still get water marks but easy.to wash off. We also squigee off excess now.

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[Accumulator]

..We also squigee off excess now.

IME, just doing that every time can make a big diff, I hardly ever have to do a proper cleanup (I suspect the soft water really factors in there too).

[Don]

My basement shower was bad, I mean really bad. I went the chemical + agitation + scraping route - at first, but it was very labor-intensive. I was using a home-brew of 3 ounces of TIDE Laundry Detergent + 3 ounces of Purple Power APC in a 32 ounce spray bottle. It did an awesome job of softening all the soap scum build up (after soaking for a while), but the agitation/scraping was still a bear in that confined space.

That`s when I remembered the laundry room sink has a faucet with GARDEN HOSE threads on the end. So, out to the garage I went and returned with my "spare" hose. Hooked it up in the laundry room, drug it into the bathroom and attached a good spray nozzle to the end. Turned on the hot water spigot and blasted the softened mess with a stream from the hose.

It was SO STUPID how well that worked. 95% of it was gone in seconds (it had taken me 1/2 day the day before to get less than 50% of the shower clean) - if I had only remembered the laundry room faucet the day before. BTW ... I DID get some water on the (concrete) floor, but a bath towel put down before hand took care of it.

Once all the `heavy` cleaning was done, I liberally sprayed TILEX over every surface and let it dwell, then took a wet, demoted microfiber towel and wiped it all down. Then after letting the TILEX soak for about 20 minutes, I rinsed it again with a spray from the hose - this time with the shower door closed - I just reached over top of the wall and sprayed it down from above, and all the water stayed IN the shower stall. The whole shower was now perfectly white and glistening - even the glass door was crystal clear.

Now, so that I never have to experience THAT again, once a month, I hose it down with TILEX and wipe it down with another demoted microfiber, give it a few minutes, then rinse with the hose (which is STILL hooked up to the laundry room sink).

[Fishing]

TILEX sound worth looking into, ill have to give it a try, I have been using chemicals and this type of car wash mop,, the mop is easy on the back and easy on the shower surface.Screenshot 2023-02-24 at 5.30.48 AM.png

[Don]

TILEX sound worth looking into, ill have to give it a try, I have been using chemicals and this type of car wash mop,, the mop is easy on the back and easy on the shower surface.Screenshot 2023-02-24 at 5.30.48 AM.png

Mine was so bad, a soft mop like that wouldn`t have touched it. I had to use a Scotch-Brite (coarse) pad and a plastic putty knife - until I remembered the garden hose attachment in the laundry room. You`re right about hand-scrubbing being hard on the back though, especially when you have as much hardened crud as I did.

Now that it`s been completely cleaned though, maintenance is EASY! Spray down with TILEX, allow to soak, WIPE DOWN the shower with a damp cloth (NO heavy scrubbing), just a light go-over with the cloth (MUCH easier on the back) and blast it with the garden hose and hot water - DONE.

[michaelyoni64]

IME, just doing that every time can make a big diff, I hardly ever have to do a proper cleanup (I suspect the soft water really factors in there too).

Yes, agree. The softness makes a huge difference.

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[Accumulator]

Don- Glad you found a good solution! Just thinking...considering all the [stuff] you`ve flushed down that shower`s drain, I think I`d treat it with one of those "fix the slow draining" products. IME the generic ones work fine, my current jug is Target`s Up and Up brand "Clog Clearing Gel".

[Don]

Don- Glad you found a good solution! Just thinking...considering all the [stuff] you`ve flushed down that shower`s drain, I think I`d treat it with one of those "fix the slow draining" products. IME the generic ones work fine, my current jug is Target`s Up and Up brand "Clog Clearing Gel".

Way ahead of you. I used 1/2 bottle of a VERY thick drain cleaner - don`t remember which one - let it set for an hour, instead of the recommended time, then BLASTED THE SNOT out of it with the garden hose at full blast.