Professional cleaner reveals the shower cleaning hacks wasting your time and what to use instead

There are so many shower cleaning hacks out there it can be hard to know what actually works and which ones to skip.

Cherie Polwarth, a professional cleaner from Maid2Match, isn’t a huge fan of shower cleaning hacks because they can be time-consuming and often not as effective as products designed to clean the shower. 

She shared her verdict on several popular cleaning hacks with nine.com.au to help you save time, money and get better results.

Vinegar

Whether it’s vinegar diluted with water or vinegar mixed with dishwashing liquid, it’s one you hear of often when people talk about getting their shower glass sparkling clean. Polwarth said that while it can “work wonders” on some things, it’s not the best option for the shower.

“When I tend to use the vinegar in a shower, yes it cleans, but it’s not as clean to my eye as other products that are ready to use that I’ve used before,” she said.

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Dishwashing liquid

It’s such a popular hack people keep some of it in their shower with a cleaning sponge to clean while they’re using it. For Polwarth, it’s not worth using it for anything more than that quick maintenance clean.

“To me dishwashing liquid is for dishes; I want something deeper and more thorough in the shower. If you’re cleaning it a couple of times a week, maybe that might work well, it might keep some residue and soap scum away. But it’s not, to me, going to stop the build-up of the gunk and the grout and the mould and all the other messes that come in our showers,” she said.

Magic Erasers

Known by the names Magic Erasers and Magic Sponges, these melamine blocks have been praised for all sorts of cleaning tasks, including the shower. 

“I love them! Absolutely love them. They are magic, exactly what their name is. Many in our team will swear by Magic Erasers on the shower screen,” Polwarth said. 

“You can get shower screens with a very big build-up of soap scum that you can barely see through, and it is a little time-consuming, but when you use it the first few cleans, it really comes up a treat.”

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Citric acid

A lesser-known pantry staple with cleaning properties, citric acid is becoming more and more popular for use throughout the home. When used in the shower, citric acid is dissolved in water to make a solution that can be sprayed on the glass.

“I have used that in the past; we get many customers who want natural products only. It smells great and it cleans OK but again, my eye will not see it clean as well as it will with a ready-to-use cleaner so I don’t think it’s that great,” Polwarth said.

Baking soda (bicarb soda)

It has a good reputation for cleaning everything from the oven to clothing stains and polishing a stainless-steel sink, but for Polwarth, baking soda is “too time-consuming” to use on professional cleaning jobs.

“I think baking soda is amazing; that’s one hack I love on many things in a home, but at home in my world where I love to tinker and clean, because cleaning can be therapeutic for many of us, that is a great thing to go to,” she said.

What to clean the shower with instead of hacks

The best thing to clean a shower with, according to the professional cleaner, is a product specifically designed for that room and a microfibre cloth. 

“A shower cleaned regularly is going to generally need a bathroom cleaner. Periodically, when that mould or grime builds up, you get that nice chlorinated cleaner out, and it just resets it, which for many showers, it’ll reset it for six to eight weeks,” Polwarth said, adding that grout brushes and toothbrushes are best for cleaning grout.