SPOT CHECK
Remove hard water stains from glass shower doors
Q Is there any way to remove hard water spots from a glass shower door?
A When glass doors are left to dry on their own after showers, the water evaporates but minerals stay behind. Gradually, those build up and become limescale — deposits that don't dissolve in water and are difficult or even impossible to remove. The multitude of products that claim to clean these deposits from glass hints at how widespread the problem is.
If you read reviews for these products, you will find numerous positive posts and, inevitably, some that say the cleaners didn't work or worked only marginally. You'll find similar mixed feedback from people who tried household products such as vinegar or lemon juice, sometimes mixed with baking soda or salt. All of these cleaners involve an acid, which reacts with the deposits to form soluble salts that can be washed away. Baking soda and salt are alkaline but are sometimes recommended in combination with vinegar or lemon juice as a way to include a mild abrasive.
The differences in how well the treatments work could result from the minerals found in your household's water. Calcium and magnesium are most common, but the variety and their concentrations vary depending on the soil and rocks that the water flowed through before reaching you.
An even bigger issue in determining whether the cleaners work is how long the deposits were left on the glass, said a customer service representative for Jelmar, maker of one of the most well-known mineral-deposit removers: CLR calcium, lime and rust remover. Mineral deposits gradually become embedded in the top layer of the glass, she said. “Our product, or any other acid, won't get rid of that.”
To test whether the deposits can be removed, she suggested scraping the glass with a fingernail or single-edge razor at a low angle. If nothing comes off, the deposits are embedded in the glass and no amount of cleaning, short of resurfacing the glass with diamond abrasives, will make it clear again, she said.
If some of the deposits do lift, using a product such as CLR or vinegar should remove some or all of the crud. But be cautious. All cleaners that dissolve mineral deposits, even vinegar and lemon juice, also react with aluminum — which is an issue because most shower doors have aluminum frames. The CLR representative suggested taping off the framing before you begin. Coating the metal with paste wax might also help.
Besides protecting the framing, also take care not to damage faucets and other metal fixtures in the room. The CLR label says it can be used safely on chrome, but if the plating has any nicks or scratches, acids could eat into the metal underneath, which is why the CLR label advises against using it on any damaged or cracked surfaces.
One big challenge in cleaning a shower door is keeping a liquid cleaner in contact with the glass. Commercial cleaners may foam or have a thick consistency, which helps. To avoid dripping cleaner onto the framing, the CLR representative suggested applying it with a sponge, rather than spraying it on. Just make sure the sponge isn't so saturated that it drips. (Also wear gloves and protect your eyes.) Starting at the bottom and working up makes it easier to see and remove drips as you go. Follow instructions on commercial cleaners about how long to wait before you wipe off the residue and rinse. For CLR, it's just two minutes.
If you're using vinegar, there's less worry about leaving it on so long that it might etch the glass, although you do still need to protect metal. To give the vinegar a longer working time, saturate paper towels and press them against the glass like wallpaper. After 30 minutes or so, wad up the towels and use them to scrub and wipe off the glass. Remove any tape over the framing and rinse everything well with clear water. Use a squeegee and clean cloths to dry the surfaces. If the glass looks clearer but deposits remain, repeat the process until it isn't making a difference. Some people recommend using cleaning vinegar, which is sold in jugs at some grocery stores and hardware stores. It has six per cent vinegar in water, compared with the five per cent solution in regular vinegar sold to consumers. That one per cent might not sound like much of a difference, but it results in 20 per cent more vinegar if you use it undiluted.
Adding an abrasive can also help, but be careful not to scratch the glass. You might try using superfine steel wool or brass wool, which many professional window-cleaners use. Or scrape with a single-edge razor blade held at a 45-degree angle or less. Use a fresh blade that doesn't have any nicks, avoid tipping the blade to keep the corners from digging in, and spritz the glass to add some lubrication. Or you might use a drill outfitted with a nylon-bristle brush in combination with a cleaner. One Youtube video shows amazing results using Bio-clean hard water stain remover in combination with a drill-mounted brush. I used the Bio-clean product, which combines an acid with finely ground silica abrasive, with muscle power alone to clean sunroom windows with heavy mineral deposits, and it worked better than anything else I tried. But although there are videos online stating that it's so safe that you don't need to wear gloves, it does contain acid and you should wear gloves and eye protection.
If whatever you try removes crud, keep going. When nothing more comes loose, give up. At that point, your best alternative, short of living with a shower door that doesn't look clear, is to replace the glass.
Whether you get the glass clean or install new glass, take steps to ensure that new deposits don't form. It takes just a couple of minutes to dry off the glass, but you and others in your household need to do it after each shower. Use a squeegee, followed by wipes with a microfibre cloth to remove any streaks. Installing a water softener can also help.