7 Ways to Clean Your Shower on the Cheap
1. Pledge or Furniture Polish.
Using a dry cloth on a completely dry shower, you can buff the tiled portions of your shower. This, in effect, pre-treats your shower walls to repel dirt and water.
Pros: The use of this waxy polish on the tiled portion of your shower will keep the tiles clean and shiny, as if you just scrubbed them this morning.
Cons: You can only do this on a shower that’s completely clean, and it will not protect your glass. Moreover, if you get this on the shower floor, you might cause someone to slip and fall.
2. A Squeegee.
If the last person to use the shower is willing to use a squeegee on the walls, excess moisture should vanish down the drain.
Pros: A squeegee is a one-time investment and a dry environment will allow for less mildew to build up in your shower. If you have allergies and object to using harsh chemicals, the squeegee might be the right choice for you.
Cons: It’s more work than the spray solutions.
3. Tea-Tree Oil & Water.
You can mix this essential oil with water in a spray bottle, shake and use as a daily shower spray.
Pros: The same anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties that make tea-tree oil useful for medicinal purposes will also allow it to help keep your shower clean. Plus, you’ll avoid using harsh chemicals in your daily shower spray and keep it natural.
Cons: Unfortunately, using tea-tree oil and water as a daily shower spray can lead to an oily build up that you’ll need to remove with another cleaner.
4. Vinegar & Water.
Mix 1 cup plain white vinegar with 3 cups water in a spray bottle, shake and use as a daily shower spray after each shower.
Pros: Vinegar is an excellent and inexpensive household cleaner you can find anywhere. It helps kill mildew on the spot. If you can’t stand the scent of vinegar, consider adding a little lavender oil to the mix.
Cons: This combination spray seems to do an adequate job keeping an already clean shower clean, but a less effective job in cleaning a shower that has any trace of dirt already. And it doesn’t seem to keep the glass shower door clear and sparkly.
5. Bleach & Water.
Fill your spray bottle ¼ of the way with bleach and the rest with water to make a daily shower spray mix.
Pros: A bleach and water mix is probably the most effective cleaner you’ll find. It instantly kills mildew and bacteria, as well as keeping your grout and caulk clean and white.
Cons: Some of the downsides are obvious. You’ll have to close the bathroom door to escape the fumes, and you’ll have to be careful not to get it on your skin, clothes, or towels. What’s less obvious is that bleach is not very good at preventing the build up of soap scum on glass walls, and you may need to use Windex from time to time.
6. Vinegar & Dawn.
Fill a Spray Bottle ¼ of the way full with vinegar, add two really good squirts of Dawn Original Dish Soap, and fill the rest with water. Shake, and you’re ready to go. Spray after each shower.
Pros: Dawn’s grease cutting agents, and the way it makes water bead up and run off of dishes is put to good use as a daily shower spray.
Cons: Sometimes it seems as if a little rinsing is called for, and that you can’t simply spray and forget it.
7. Jet-Dry & Water.
Mix 3tbsp of Jet-Dry with water in a spray bottle to make a daily shower spray.
Pros: This method takes advantage of the sheeting action that we use in our dish-washer and puts it to use on the shower walls. It’s like a chemical squeegee without the elbow-grease.
Cons: It doesn’t seem as if much actual cleaning gets done with this method. It’s more of a way of keeping your shower dry.
