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Learning How to Remove Hard Water Stains from Glass Shower Doors is possible! A few simple steps, tools and a whole lot of elbow grease is all it takes to get your glass shower doors looking like new in no time!
It’s no secret that I live in an area flowing with hard water. A couple years ago I shared How to Remove Hard Water Stains from Toilets, but I was still stuck with hard water stains on my glass shower doors.
Table of Contents
- What is the difference between hard and soft water?
- Pros and Cons of hard versus soft water
- What is causing those ugly spots on my glass shower doors?
- Methods that did not clean the hard water from my glass showers
- What you need to remove hard water from glass
- How to Clean Glass Shower Doors
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Clean Glass Shower Doors Recipe
What is the difference between hard and soft water?
- Hard Water is water which contains an appreciable amount of dissolved minerals such as calcium and magnesium.
- Soft Water, on the other hand, contains less dissolved minerals. Or, when treated, the only ion it may contain is sodium (causing this treated water to taste badly due to the leftover sodium ions). Naturally falling rainwater is soft water, for example.
How then does water become “hard water”?
Great question! I’m so glad you asked.
Water becomes hard as it makes its way through the ground and into our waterways. Along the way, this water picks up minerals like chalk, lime, calcium, and magnesium.
Pros and Cons of hard versus soft water
Wait. There’s a pro to hard water?
Oh yes! read on…
Given that hard water contains all these essential (and super important) minerals (remember the calcium and magnesium?) and tastes significantly better, one may wonder why we even think of softening our water. I mean, if hard water is better for you and it tastes better, why mess it up?
Well, aside from these obvious benefits, hard water is hard on appliances (dishwashers and washing machines) and is hard to clean. Clothing feels unclean even after washing and since soap reacts negatively with magnesium and calcium, even your hair may feel dirty and sticky after washing.
In short, hard water is less effective and uses more energy due to the mineral buildup that is left behind.
Ok, wonderful….so what about soft water?
Hard water, when treated, removes the magnesium and calcium that was picked up to, once again, create soft water. Unfortunately, while most of the ions are removed from soft water, the negatively charged sodium ion remains. And, well, we all know what sodium is, right? As a result, treated soft water not just tastes salty, but actually increases your sodium intake each day.
And this, my friends, brings me to my next point…
What is causing those ugly spots on my glass shower doors?
Hard Water. Period. The end.
Yes, each time you take a shower and allow the water to dry on the glass, those spots and stains are the minerals left behind.
Depending on how bad your hard water is, or how long your buildup has been building up, will likely determine how bad your shower doors look and how difficult they will be to clean.
Now, let’s fix this problem. Kay?
Methods that did not clean the hard water from my glass showers
- Lemon
- Vinegar
- Baking soda
- Lemon, vinegar, baking soda in combination
- Razor blade
- Tilex, Scrubbing Bubbles, etc.
None of these things worked.
So, for a long time I gave up and, as a result, the stains continued to get worse and worse until one day I just COULD NOT ANYMORE.
So, I started thinking along the same lines as my toilet solution which uses fine-grit drywall screens to clean the hard water buildup. Maybe, just maybe, there was something out there that I could use on glass?
Lucky for us, there is!
What you need to remove hard water from glass
- 0000 Super Fine Steel Wool
- White vinegar
- Spray bottle or bed sheet
- Gloves
- Medium-sized mixing bowl or measuring cup (I used a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup)
- Barkeepers Friend (not the spray. I used the stuff for pots and pans, but any of the powdered kind will work)
- Face-mask
How to Clean Glass Shower Doors
Guys, there is no way around it. In order to remove those ingrained mineral deposits stuck to your shower doors, you will have to use some serious elbow grease. This is not a gentle once over and done type fix. My advice is to work in sections and ask your husband or stronger significant other to help if you get tired. Please, do not be discouraged if you still have some hard water spots after the first round of scrubbing. For those really tough spots, you may need to go over it a couple times.
- Gather supplies.
- The vinegar soak. Depending on how bad your buildup is, you may or may not need to do this step. Mine was looking pretty miserable, so I decided to soak a sheet in white vinegar and drape it over my shower door. I then pressed as much of the sheet against the glass as possible so that the glass could “soak” in vinegar. If the sheet started to dry out, I would spray with additional vinegar. Please note- this step alone will do nothing to remove or eliminate the hard water stains on your glass shower doors.
- Rinse. After approximately 30 minutes (just enough time to clean the rest of the bathroom!), remove the sheet (or relocate to a different part of the shower), and rinse with water.
- Prepare the Barkeepers Friend paste. Put on the mask (if you have one) and gloves (if you don’t have some, buy some). To a bowl or cup add approximately 1/4 cup of powdered Barkeepers Friend. There is no need to measure an exact amount, this is just to give you an idea of where to start. Slowly add water until a paste forms, mixing well.
- Scrub. Use your hand to rub the paste over a section of the glass shower door, and, using a 0000 Super Fine Steel Wool pad, start scrubbing. Small circular motion, large circular motion, up and down, just scrub. Once you feel you’ve been scrubbing for far too long and surely you must have shiny clean spotless doors, rinse. For some, this may be the case after one application. For others, you may need to scrub one more time.
- Rinse well. And remember to use a glass cleaner to clean the other side of the glass.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Barkeepers Friend Septic-safe? Yes. Oxalic acid cleansers are acidic instead of alkaline, which makes them more effective against rust, tarnish, oxidation, mineral scale, hard water, and lime deposits than most other cleaning products. Unlike other acidic cleaners, Bar Keepers Friend doesn’t use fillers or bleaches, making them biodegradable and safe for septic systems.
- Can I use any steel wool? Does it have to be 0000 Super Fine Steel Wool? No, I would not recommend using any other steel wool except super fine 0000. Of course, feel free to use any brand you prefer, but less fine steel wool may scratch the glass.
Yay! Sparkling Glass Shower Doors!
How to Clean Glass Shower Doors
Equipment
- Medium-sized mixing bowl or measuring cup (I used a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup)
Instructions
- Gather supplies.
- The vinegar soak. Depending on how bad your buildup is, you may or may not need to do this step. Mine was looking pretty miserable, so I decided to soak a sheet in white vinegar and drape it over my shower door. I then pressed as much of the sheet against the glass as possible so that the glass could “soak” in vinegar. If the sheet started to dry out, I would spray with additional vinegar.
- Rinse. After approximately 30 minutes (just enough time to clean the rest of the bathroom!), remove the sheet (or relocate to a different part of the shower), and rinse with water.
- Prepare the Bar Keepers Friend paste. Put on the mask (if you have one) and gloves (if you don’t have some, buy some). To a bowl or cup add approximately 1/4 cup of powdered Bar Keepers Friend. There is no need to measure an exact amount, this is just to give you an idea of where to start. Slowly add water until a paste forms, mixing well.
- Scrub. Use your hand to rub the paste over a section of the glass shower door, and, using a 0000 Super Fine Steel Wool pad, start scrubbing. Small circular motion, large circular motion, up and down, just scrub. Once you feel you’ve been scrubbing for far too long and surely you must have shiny clean spotless doors, rinse. For some, this may be the case after one application. For others, you may need to scrub one more time.
- Rinse well. And remember to use a glass cleaner to clean the other side of the glass shower door.
Hi Jessica
Since limescale is alkaline, enough acid should be able to dissolve it without too much elbow grease. We have found that ‘limelite’ gel available in the UK works just as well with much less hassle. Just apply, leave to soak and give it a quick wipe with a scouring sponge. If it’s not all gone, a second application should do it. Then you can maintain by regularly using a limescale cleaning spray. Wanted to share as it may be less hassle.
Ben
Where can I find Barkeepers Friend?
Hi Patti,
You can find it here: https://amzn.to/2JPdbCW
Thank you for this awesome tutorial on removing hard water stains from shower doors. We’ve had ours for so long that we just have to replace them, but I’ll have to try this first. If not, I’ll have to look into finding frameless glass shower doors to update my bathroom.
Hi Jocelyn, I have one more step that will make all that scrubbing and polishing worth it. After your shower doors are sparkling to your satisfaction, make sure they’re thoroughly dry and then apply paste wax (or glass wax). I prefer the old standard Turtle Wax we used to use on cars. Apply as instructed, creating a thin film in small sections. Let dry to a haze then polish like crazy! After this treatment, water will bead up and run right off the class without spots or buildup. A quick wipe with a cotton towel and the glass will stay buildup-free for a long time. I used to do this when I professionally cleaned houses, and my clients LOVED the result.
There’s one word that can replace “less fine” and it’s “coarse”. In the FAQ section.
Bar Keepers Friend is the only thing I’ve found that works. BUT… if you want to make it easier on yourself, you can skip all the vinegar and just make a thick paste with water and Bar Keepers. Put this on the glass door (thick) and actually let it sit for a while. The longer it sits, the less you have to scrub. I usually leave for an hour or so. I’ve rarely needed to use the steel wool when I let it sit. Just use a wash rag and wipe it down, but the steel wool works great on really bad spots.
Hard water is a beast!!
Thank you so much for posting this! This did the trick to get some stubborn hard water stains off my glass shower door.
OMG! Amazing – I’ve tried every product that you outlined – for what doesn’t work! I ran across this “how to”, and approached this beast as a last resort. I followed the directions exactly as you outlined, and I’m sooooo happy to say it worked beyond my expectations. The last time our glass shower doors looked this clear (and spotless) was when we moved in – I honestly thought we were actually going to have to buy new glass for a custom shower, which would have cost us close to $800. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Hi JC,
Thanks for the feedback! I am so happy that this simple “how to” saved you from spending $800 on new custom glass!
I’m sure going to try this! Our shower doors/walls look horrible despite my best efforts with all kinds of “solutions.” This makes total sense. Now I’m going right to the store for supplies so I can be finished ASAP! Thanks for the great tutorial.
I would think the 0000 steel wool would scratch the glass but I’m going to try it in a small and inconspicuous area. My glass originally had a finish on it that prevented me from using anything acidic on the glass so my concern is that the coating might scratch using steel wool. I’ve been able to remove the hard water stains in the areas where less water hits the glass, but it’s been a very difficult process. I gave up using more than a squeegee after each shower a couple of years ago because the scrubbing made my elbow tendinitis flare up. I always use a squeegee but unfortunately, my husband doesn’t. We just installed a new water softener and hope that if I ever get the mineral spots off the glass, I can keep the glass clear.
Wouldn’t the AMAZ product do the same thing as the Bar Keepers Friend? That’s what I have used so far using a scrubbing pad on a drill brush.