Shower Door Cleaning: Soap Scum and Hard Water Stains

Yes, if you use an all-purpose bathroom cleaner and a lot of elbow grease, you can rid your shower doors of soap scum, eventually.

Or you can use vinegar, which cuts through that film like a knife through warm talc combined with body oils in a steamy environment.

To remove the chalky streaks, dip a sponge in full-strength white vinegar. Coat the door, and keep applying as the vinegar dries. You want to keep the door covered in wet vinegar for at least 5 minutes. The film will melt away. If you have particularly stubborn soap scum, you can try applying boiling vinegar — very, very carefully.

Simply rinse off the vinegar with warm water. The vinegar smell will go away after a couple of showers.

Other options include orange-based cleaners, mineral-oil solutions and liquid-fabric-softener solutions.

Once the scum disappears, switch to liquid soap, which is lacking the talc that can lead to soap scum in the first place.