Have stubborn hard water stains in your shower that you cant seem to get rid of no matter how much bleach you use? These are the tested and approved essential products to remove and prevent stains.
Having hard water stains in your shower can be extremely annoying. It may seem like no matter what you do, you cannot get rid of the stains. Almost as if no cleaner on the planet will stop this. I am here to tell you, this is NOT TRUE. You absolutely can get rid of these pesky stains! As a tile installer myself I am giving you the secret to clean grout sucess.
You are going to learn about how to prevent hard water stains in your shower, the best cleaner for hard water stains, and how to remove hard water stains FOR GOOD.
After learning about these essential products, I have no doubt you can finally rid your shower of these nasty stains.
This post is all about hard water stains in the shower and how to prevent them.
DISCLAIMER: Some stains in a shower can be caused by underlying water damage. These stains can be a sign of shower failure. Be very careful of persistent black mold and loose tiles. Black mold can be hazardous to your health. Additionally, black mold present can be a sign of deeper issues such as waterproofing failure.
I do provide 1:1 consults if you are in need of advice and I can better assist you if you need to determine what is going on in your shower.
Mold Vs. Hard water stains & soap scum
Lets take a look below to properly assess if you may need to consult with a professional or if you just have some build up. Mold is very harmful to your health and should always be looked at further to assess the integrity of your shower. Below are two photos. The first is black mold and the second is in fact hard water stains. Lets take a look:
Shown above is black mold growing in the corner. Be VERY careful of persistent black mold. You may be able to clean this up with bleach but the mold is likely coming from behind the tile and not being able to kill the source, it will continue to return.
Shown above is a combination of hard water stains and built up soap scum. This is caused from a build up on TOP of the surface of the grout and tile. When you use common household cleaners, they leave a film behind catching a lot of dirt and debris.
Reminder:
The presence of black mold is a good indication for something more serious than surface dirt and build up. While there are many articles online about how to remove mold from the shower, without addressing the actual issue which is likely under the tile, you will always have mold and therefore means it is not dirt that is causing the mold
Please consult with a professional if you see the presence of black mold in or near your shower.
Daily maintenance to prevent hard water stains in shower
Use the shower squeegee daily after every shower. Be sure to squeegee any flat surface like ledges, niches, and corners. Most importantly, I will squeegee the shower pan or shower floor towards the drain to get any standing water away. The squeegee will eliminate any pools of water on the ground, walls, and soap niche. Remember, shampoos and body soaps are made with chemicals that can eat away at the materials in the shower over time. Using the squeegee will alleviate that by wiping them off the surface of the tile.
I recommended to allow adequate ventilation inside the restroom after the shower has ran. Those with shower glass should leave the door open and the vent fan on until the shower is dried out. If you do not have a vent fan, placing a small oscillating fam in the room while leaving the doors open will allow some better airflow. This will hinder the growth of mold and other nasty organic matter to grow. After working on so many showers, I have seen it all. From improperly built showers that can cause damage to your home and health to improper shower maintenance.
By just using a squeegee and allowing your room to air out until dry will help with daily maintenance.
How to identify hard water stains in shower
How that we know what is NOT hard water stains, let move on to properly identifying what hard water stains look like. Hard water stains and soap scum build up can all be caused by hard water and improper cleaning products. Hard water stains will first be seen on a shower head, they are small while particles that build up over time. In the shower, this can cause a build up on the grout joint which will attract natural bacteria and start to turn pinkish.
Well, what IS hard water?
Hard water is water that has high mineral content. Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone, chalk or gypsum, which are largely made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates, bicarbonates and sulfates.
Why shouldn’t I use bleach or vinegar to clean my shower?
Using acidic based cleaners like vinegar can cause your grout to deteriorate leading to more problems down the line. Remember, your grout is made out of chemicals and anything that can potentially eat away at those chemicals will ruin your shower over time. Using alkaline based cleaners like bleach will leave a residue on TOP of the grout joint and just like the hard water deposit will attract more dirt causing even more discoloration in the grout over time.
Example:
A few weeks ago, a client reached out to me telling me he had orange stains all over his shower grout and that his cleaning crew couldn’t get them out no matter what they tried.
The problem: Bacteria build up on the grout joint from hard water and use of bleach products
The photo above shows some gnarly orange stains on the shower floor. As mentioned earlier, cleaners like bleach will actually leave a residue on your grout attracting more dirt and buildup over time.
The solution: using a PH neutral cleaner and a soft tooth brush to clean the grout joints and remove hard water deposits and bacteria build up.
After we recommended the correct product for cleaning, the white grout joints were white again.
Benefits of using a PH neutral cleaner for shower maintenance
There are so many benefits to using a PH neutral cleaner for shower maintenance, hard water stains, and buildup.
1. Close to human PH – minimizes risk of skin irritation
2. Less likely to cause health effects while using
3. Wont harm surfaces
4. Safe for users and the environment
5. Still considered a strong cleaner
As always it is my goal to arm you with the best knowledge possible so you can keep your shower in tip top shape.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule a consult, please do so here.
Don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel for more in-depth tutorials and walk throughs. Visit my contact page to get in touch.
Conclusion: This post is all about how to identify and remove hard water stains and buildup in your shower and shower maintenance.
Looking for the items I mentioned in this blog?
Vent Fan
Oscillating fan
Daily shower cleaner
Shower Squeegee
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.