How to Deep Clean a Shower the Right Way (for Tile, Fiberglass, Acrylic and Stone)

Step by step

1. 1

   Take everything out

   Move the bottles, razors, sponges and caddy out of the shower. Clorox says to remove everything from the shower and tub first.

2. 2

   Get air moving and put on gloves

   Turn on the bathroom fan or open a window, and leave it on the whole time. Put on rubber gloves. Clorox says to wear gloves and keep good air flowing when you clean with bleach.

3. 3

   Wash the shower curtain liner

   Take down the liner. If it is machine washable, Clorox says to wash it in warm water with a mild detergent. It can run in the washer while you clean the shower.

4. 4

   Put on the cleaner, then wait

   Spray your surface-safe cleaner over the walls, the tub or shower floor, and the shelves. For Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Grime Fighter, the label says to spray from 6 to 8 inches away and let the foam soak in. On heavy grime, the American Cleaning Institute says to let a cleaner sit at least 30 seconds to loosen the dirt.

   On natural stone, wash with warm water and a mild dish soap instead, or a cleaner made for stone.

5. 5

   Scrub the walls, tub and grout

   Scrub the walls and tub with a non-scratch brush or sponge, using small circles. Then use a soft-bristle brush on the grout lines, which the American Cleaning Institute recommends.

1. 6

   Rinse everything well

   Rinse every surface with plenty of clean water, using the hand shower or a cup, until no foam is left. The Scrubbing Bubbles label says to rinse chrome with water, and the American Cleaning Institute says to rinse tile thoroughly.

2. 7

   Treat any mildew spots on tile grout, separately

   If dark spots stay on glazed tile grout, the American Cleaning Institute says a bleach solution or a mildew stain remover can be brushed on and then rinsed. Clorox says to mix 1/3 cup of its bleach into 1 gallon of water and keep the spot wet for 10 minutes. Then rinse well.

   Do this only after the first cleaner is rinsed away, and never on marble. Dark spots in the caulk need How to get mold stains off shower caulk.

3. 8

   Buff it dry

   Dry the walls, tub and fixtures with a clean, dry towel. The American Cleaning Institute says buffing with a dry cloth keeps water spots from forming.

4. 9

   Put it back and leave it open to dry

   Hang the clean liner back up, put back only the bottles you use, and leave the shower door or curtain open. The American Cleaning Institute says to keep shower doors ajar so air can move and mildew has a harder time growing.

   Keep it clean between deep cleans: dry the walls after every shower. The American Cleaning Institute says a towel after each use keeps soap scum and hard water from building up on tile. For stone, the Natural Stone Institute names a squeegee.

When it will not work, and what to do instead

A deep clean fixes most showers, but not every problem. Here is what to do when it falls short.

• There are spots that will not scrub off. On fiberglass, the American Cleaning Institute says an acid-based bathroom cleaner may help with hard water deposits. Keep acids off marble, travertine and limestone. See How to remove hard water stains and limescale.
• Your stone looks dull or etched. Cleaning will not undo that. The Natural Stone Institute says to call a professional stone restorer for etched areas.
• The glass doors stay cloudy. Glass needs its own method. See How to clean glass shower doors.

Why it works

The U.S. Geological Survey explains that the minerals in hard water react with soap and make a scum that clings to shower walls. A cleaner that sits for a bit gives that film time to loosen, so you can wipe it off instead of grinding at it.

The waiting is the part people skip. It is a lot like soaking a dirty casserole dish before you wash it: the soak does the hard part, and the brush only finishes the job.

Maybe you scrubbed for an hour and still saw a cloudy film when the light hit the wall. Most likely the cleaner was not given time to work, or it was the wrong one for that surface.