How To Clean Shower Doors With WD-40 (Step-by-Step Guide)

Over time, showers can become a haven for hard water spots and soap scum. If you have a glass shower, the shower door in particular can become a tough spot that seemingly collects with nasty, gross scum.

When it comes time to clean the shower door, use some WD-40. In this step-by-step guide, you will learn how to clean your shower door using this handy spray. Best of all, it should only take about 20 minutes or so to properly clean the shower door.

To clean shower doors with WD-40, begin by putting a mask or handkerchief over your mouth. Next, spray down your shower with WD-40. Wipe off the product thoroughly with a clean cloth. Repeat, as necessary. If inhaled in large quantities, WD-40 can be toxic, so make sure to remove all excess before reusing the shower.

When dealing with any kind of chemicals, take necessary precautions. In the case of WD-40, you definitely don’t want to inhale it as it can cause respiratory problems. Having a face mask is a good idea, but you can also get away with tying a handkerchief around your nose and mouth.

If at all possible, open up all the nearby windows and doors. Proper ventilation will help prevent any respiratory issues that the WD-40 may cause. And if you have gloves to wear, put those on as well. Make sure to check out the packaging for any other precautions, too.

When you’ve taken the necessary safety precautions, it is time to spray down the shower door with a liberal coating of WD-40. Make sure that you cover all of the areas in question; it can only clean what it covers, and any indirect contact won’t be particularly effective.

After you’ve sprayed the impacted areas, give it a little bit of time to soak so that the WD-40 can work to break down the soap scum and stains. Letting it soak for 15 minutes or so is generally enough, but you can leave it on for longer if you so desire.

In most cases, the WD-40 should do all the work. Its chemical makeup will work to break down all of the tough scum and hard water stains, leaving you with the easy task of simply wiping down the door with a microfiber cloth when it’s all said and done.

If this doesn’t do the trick, you’ll need to scrub gently to loosen any of the stuck hard water spots. It may take a time or two if the stains have been allowed to persist for some time, but the WD-40 should do the trick eventually. When the stains finally do come off, use a microfiber cloth to wipe away the moisture and debris for a clean surface.

Tougher stains may not come up right away. Depending on how long they have been allowed to persist, this can be completely normal. All that needs to be done is to reapply WD-40 to the area and wipe once again.

Repeat this step as many times as you need to completely remove the stains and soap scum from the area. When you’re done, use a dry piece of cloth to completely dry the area. There is no need to rinse the door off with plain water. Make sure to clean up the area so as to avoid any potential slips and falls.

Perhaps you don’t have any WD-40 lying around, but you do have some white vinegar. Vinegar is a great natural cleaning agent that can get particularly difficult stains out of just about anything. So, if you have a build-up of tough stains but don’t want to run to the hardware store to get some WD-40, use white vinegar instead.

All you have to do is mix one-part white vinegar with one-part water and mix it together in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture thoroughly and evenly over both the front and the back of the door. Like the WD-40, the white vinegar mixture will need some time to sit and do its thing; give it about a half-hour or so. This should be more than enough time for the white vinegar to strip away the soap scum and the tougher stains.

For the runners (the thin strips) of the door, use some white toothpaste and a toothbrush to scrub away the tough to reach spots. When you’re done, add your vinegar solution and wipe it away after it has had a chance to sit for a half-hour or so.

In areas with hard water, mineral buildup is a particularly common problem. It isn’t that the surfaces are dirty, it is just coated with minerals that permeate the “hard” water. This is a common problem not only for showers, but toilets as well.

WD-40 can be used in toilets as well, breaking down tough mineral deposits and limescale stains. As is the case with the shower, spray the WD-40 and give it a little bit of time to break down those stains. When the time is up, use a pumice stone or toilet brush to scrub away the stains. Unless they have been sitting there for a long time, the stains should come up relatively easily.

The taps in your sink can be a problem spot for hard water buildup. Make sure that you descale the tap first and then spray some WD-40 on it. Make sure that the hot and cold taps underneath the sink have been closed and then turn on the tap to release any water buildup.

Between the WD-40 and the descaling, you should be able to remove any hard water buildup that had taken place in the tap. The tap should run more smoothly, and you may even notice a difference in the taste of your water depending on just how thorough the water buildup was. You may want to do this a couple of times if you haven’t done this in a while.