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Triple master contractor Ed Del Grande
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By Ed Del Grande
The most fun for me when I work on this column is reading the mail that our readers send me. Some are funny, some are heart breaking and some are homegrown tips that the person or persons want to share with everyone.
Not long ago I did an article in response to a lady who could not get her glass shower door clean. She asked, "What will clean old glass shower doors?" Being a contractor and a no-nonsense guy, I told her that "I would replace the door with a new one and then after every use, wipe down the door with a squeegee so it will stay new-looking."
Well, you should have seen the response I received for suggesting a new door! Many people disagreed with me and wrote to tell me about their secret shower glass-cleaning tricks. I included three of these letters for you to read, and you can make up your own mind as to the best solution when dealing with crusty looking shower doors. You can change it out as I recommend, or maybe you'll be interested in trying what our readers had to say.
Remember, I am not endorsing any of these products and/or solutions, and I caution you to always follow only the manufactures instructions for product use. With all that said, here they are:
- I use Easy-Off oven cleaner in the blue can. I spray it on the old shower door and leave it for an hour. Then I scrub and rinse it off and it looks like new! I have also used it on all metal surfaces and to remove tomato stains from my wallpaper. Frank F.
- In response to "Shower door needs a good bath," I had also tried everything until I found excellent results using ... WD-40! Yes, I have found that the same stuff used to loosen bolts works great on glass shower doors as a cleaner. Just use it once to clean the door and then like you said, wipe the door clean after every shower. Laura Z.
- I read your article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about trying to get glass shower doors clean. I searched for and tried a lot of products before I found one that worked. Not only does it work, but there is no elbow grease involved! The product is The Fuller Brush Company's "Bath Clean Basin, Tub & Tile Cleaner." Simply spray it on, wait a few minutes and wipe. It may take more than one application if the door is extremely coated with soap scum and mineral deposits, but this product worked for me when nothing else did. Cindy (Ohio)
There you have it: three letters from three different readers with three different solutions that they claimed worked for their old shower doors. (By the way, who's throwing tomatoes at Frank's walls?) After all that, I realize that just like an old foggy shower door, there are so many products and tricks out there that the best way to clean and restore a glass door can be unclear.
So I'm still sticking to my solution: Get a new shower door!
Ed Del Grande was born and raised in a family-owned plumbing business. With more than 25 years of experience in every aspect of construction, he holds current Master licenses in pipefitting, fire protection and plumbing. If you have a question for Ed, send him an e-mail at eddelgrande@hgtvpro.com.
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