The Right Way to Clean Your Shower Tracks

How often does your shower track get the attention it deserves? While you might be diligent when it comes to keeping your shower screens clean and free of soap scum, it can be all too easy to forget to look down and keep those shower tracks as clean as the screens that slide through them. Over time, soap scum and other deposits can build up, so it's probably just a case of getting to work and giving the area a vigorous scouring, right? This is one way to do it, but it might not be the right way.

Beware of Scratches

You want to avoid a hard scouring simply because you can scratch the area, particularly if you use something like steel wool. Small scratches in the shower track have the potential to allow rust to form, and when cleaning in such a manner, you might also inadvertently scratch your plastic or tempered glass shower screens. This can be particularly problematic with tempered glass, as a scratch could potentially destabilise the entire sheet. With plastic screens, the problem is simply an aesthetic one. So while vigorous scrubbing would probably get the shower tracks nice and clean, you might end up doing more harm than good.

The Gentle Touch

Gentle scrubbing and an appropriate cleaning product are the best way to clean your shower tracks. Depending on whether you're using a liquid (such as distilled vinegar), or a specialist limescale remover (which is more of a paste), you can apply the cleaner either with a spray bottle or by applying it with your fingers (and rubber gloves will be helpful). If you opt to simply spray the shower tracks with distilled vinegar, you might want to put some newspapers down on the bathroom floor. The grout between your bathroom tiles can be porous, and you don't want to risk a lingering scent of vinegar.

No Scratching

After waiting a few minutes, you will need to scrub the shower tracks to remove both the soap scum and other accumulate mess, as well as whichever cleaning product you've used. Use a non-scratch scourer (the same as you would use to clean non-stick cookware) and gently rub the tracks, rinsing the scouring pad as needed. In cases of heavy soap scum, you might need to repeat the process in order to achieve the desired effect.

So when you clean your shower screens, make sure you also give those shower tracks some attention.