Cleaning a Tiled Shower

 I just love our new tiled shower (my first-ever experience with tile ownership), but I was daunted by how to clean it. I'm not sure why I was daunted, but it was something about the crystal-clear glass doors, the hard well water, and the grout.  

Ages before the shower was done, I'd already purchased a squeegee for the shower. My neighbor, who is a professional housekeeper (she cleans huge, expensive houses) said that the best way to keep the glass door free of soap scum and water spots was just to use a squeegee* on it after every shower.  So from the very beginning, we have diligently used that after every single shower, and let me tell you: it works!!!  I went for months without actually having to clean the doors because, well, they were squeegeed every day. They were crystal clear and clean, even with our hard water.

The other little practice I implemented was to protect the polished chrome.  Our sink faucet gets water spots easily, so I decided that if we didn't let water dry on the chrome, we wouldn't have to worry about water spots.  So after a shower, we also wipe down the chrome in the shower until it's perfectly dry.

This may seem like a lot of extra work, but the whole thing tacks less than two minutes onto each shower, which is well worth it to me. And it means I can go for much longer between deep-cleanings, which is a great timesaver.

The grout and porcelain tile, which intimidated me, I was able to tackle with the help of Cheryl Mendelson and this grout brush. I basically used a vinegar and water solution and scrubbed the tile and grout, and nothing horrible happened. In fact, it got clean!  Whew. Our tile man had said that I couldn't hurt it, but I was still scared.  But now I think he may be right!

When I deep-clean the shower, I use the vinegar/water solution on the tile, and the most magical shower door cleaner ever. The girls who help me with my house introduced it to me and it really is magic.  It's a combination of Dawn and vinegar. It works. They don't clean my bathroom; I do that myself.  But they use it on our basement bathroom shower doors, and it's great.

Our children's bathroom is on tap for a renovation sometime in the next year or so.  I think I will choose an aged brass (unlacquered would be ideal, but it's probably way outside our budget) and a shower curtain, because I will not expect my children to keep chrome polished and a door sparkling clean.  This is real life, after all. :) 

*As an aside, isn't this a satisfyingly funny word? I think so.  Squeegee!