One thing I can claim to be awesome at is thinking up Super (Duper) Logical Excuses.
Seriously, I’m good.
But today, I’m obliterating one with an earth-shattering discovery I made.
Question:
How do you clean a shower without getting your clothes dirty, wet, or the least bit sweaty?
Answer:
You don’t wear any.
I’ll go ahead and apologize for that mental image, and then I’ll explain.
I love a clean shower, but I don’t love cleaning the shower.
Today was Bathroom Cleaning Day. After last week, it was comparatively easy. But my shower still needs some major scrubbing. I scrubbed parts of it last week, but y’all . . . it was bad.
Thanks to Penelop, who asked in the comments last week if I put dish soap on my shopping list, I had a brand-spankin’ new, labeled-BATHROOM-ONLY bottle of my heavy-duty, non-toxic bathroom cleaner ready to go.
But I still didn’t want to. It’s such a hassle cleaning the shower because you basically have to get in it to clean it. And it’s hard not to get your clothes dirty or soapy.
Or wet.
But . . . I remembered my mother saying “I just clean the shower while I’m already in it.”
Which never made much sense to me.
Maybe because I don’t want to think too long about my mother in the shower. (Don’t take it personally, Mom, it’s just a typical mother-child issue.)
But also because once I was old enough to care how my mother kept her shower clean, I had my own shower, and it was already dirty.
Really dirty.
Like, so dirty that I (thought I) had to use scary chemicals to clean it.
But now, as I’m finding that using a non-scratch scrubby sponge and dish soap will clean my very-dirty shower really well, it’s making sense.
I already shower immediately after cleaning the bathrooms. Today, I just showered at the end of bathroom cleaning.
I scrubbed the shower while I was showering.
Again, I do apologize for the mental picture. But seriously, my mom is brilliant.
I’m pretty confident that this discovery/realization/understanding is going to rock my bathroom cleaning routine.
--Nony
Have you ever heard of waxing the shower? I haven’t ever tried, but my aunt swears by turtle wax to keep it clean longer. Seems like a lot of work, but just wondering if you had an opinion.
WOw, that’s fascinating to think about! I’ve never heard of it, but I may look into that!
ONLY THE WALLS or you will slip and break your neck!
I saw you say about the way you clean your shower a couple of weeks ago. I did clean the shower while I was in it but never found quick easy products until I heard your way. I am in love my shower has not been this clean in forever. 😀😀😀
Hi…..very funny about the mental images……but…you did remind me of something i read on a professional cleaning website. they said that if you use bar-soap, it makes soap-scum. so what they were recommending is using some sort of bath gel.
also, a while ago i got to go to a B&B in Scotland, and sitting on the bathtub was good ol’ Avon SkinSoSoft.. the (immaculate) lady innkeeper told me that it doesn’t leave a bathtub ring, and it was her secret way of keeping the (porcelain) bathtub almost totally clean. so you can imagine how delighted i was a few weeks ago to see a table full of Avon SSS at a yard sale 🙂 guess what i bought? lol
Great find at the right time!! Does it make the tub slippery?
My OCD clean aunt ALWAYS wiped down her shower while it was still wet on a daily basis. I do the same, but recently I purchased a vapor steam cleaner (Vapamore Primo 100) ……while they retail for $299 I lucked out and found one on EBAY for $159 (don’t know ow they are doing THAT, brand new in box, with warranty). Anyway, it’s true that if you uses bar soap, it makes a harder scum and is much harder to remove. BUT darn, STEAM??? It cleaned my gas oven, that had not been cleaned in a year, in about a half hour!!!
Awesome!
It’s nice when things come together, isn’t it? How logical. I, too, hate to clean the shower. I’ve started to keep a Magic Eraser in there, doing a little scrub here and there every few days. I’m not a germaphobe, though, so I think the dish soap is better for those that are concerned.
Been cleaning my shower this way for years! LOL! It makes total sense to me! I also read in a cleaning book that bar soap causes soap scum and liquid bath soap does not! I now use Dial body wash and it leaves no soap scum!! I’ll never go back to bar soap.
A friend of mine (who cleans houses) taught me the trick about using car wax after cleaning sinks and bathrubs. She advised doing only the sides of the bathtub and shower and NOT the bottom (for safety reasons). It does help to shine it up and keeps it clean longer. Wish I had known all these tips years ago!
That’s a great idea. I’m going to have to consider giving it a try because…I HATE cleaning the bathtub and surrounding walls. One thing I think I’ll invest in though is a squeegee, just because it has a handle, and if it doesn’t look too horrible, I can just hang it in there somewhere.
I’ve heard about the wax thing, but I thought that was just to prevent icky buildup on the shower doors. Not sure I’d want my kids taking a bath in a tub that’s coated with car wax. And I would be nervous about hot water making dissolving the wax on the sides of the tub, which would then wind up on the bottom where you’d stand. Yes, I’m pretty careful about slip and slide possibilities because once you’re past ten years old, falls hurt a whole lot more. 🙂
You can still use a bathmat in the bottom for the kids or even yourself. I’m hoping the water isn’t hot enough to melt the wax! Yikes! so bad for your skin!!
I have been doing that for years. I started with a magic eraser and now I keep one of those sponges with the handle that you fill with dish soap and I just keep it in the shower.
Oooh, good idea!
I clean my shower when I’m in it too. I just keep an extra mesh scubby in there and use my moisturizing body wash on it. The moisturizers in the body wash kind of do what the wax would do in keeping the soap scum from clinging to the walls, and it doesn’t make things too slick like wax could.
I’m unfamiliar with the waxing thing, but have heard of the squeegee method. I have an old-fashioned clawfoot tub and am really afraid of using anything too strong on it because a lot of the porcelain is worn away, and it gets these weird yellow stains after a bath. Maybe I’ll try some Dawn and a sponge.
But! I do have an additional question on bathroom cleaning. It’s icky.
How do you clean in those spots behind the toilet? Do you get on your hands and knees with a sponge and crawl in as far as you can go? Or, use a mop of some sort?
My pet rabbit has decided he likes to run in the bathroom. He has long fur…and guess where he likes to play? Behind the toilet and under that charming clawfoot tub.
I do get on my hands and knees most of the time. I hate it. That’s one reason Bathroom Cleaning Day always ends with a shower! But I do sometimes use my steam mop.
I usually clean the shower while I am in it. I was cleaning it with a scrub glove I got in a gift basket. It was awesome. I just put a little body wash on it and scrubbed down the walls and tub. It really helped for getting in corners and around the rod that is in the tub. I need to get another one of those. (Mine wore out!)
I just cleaned my tub and shower surround yesterday! I can’t do this. I have heard about it for years–but I wear glasses (contacts don’t agree with me) and I would not be able to see what I was doing. (Sad face).
I also wear glasses and now have to wear them while I shower. To prevent fog-up, wipe a semi soapy finger across them insid and out. It keps them clear of fog for the whole shower. As for the watery drops and such, I’ve gotten used to seeing around them.
I don’t like cleaning the shower with out clothes on… not sure why. But on that note…my ds will take my shampoo and clean the walls… I’ve always have not been happy about that. From this day forward I will thank him for cleaning it so nicely!! Thanks for helping me change the way I think.
I use a magic eraser, best invention ever, once a month on the screen, that is all it needs, and after every shower I wipe the shower with a chamois. No water spots or scummy build up.
Lol! I also clean the shower naked. Then I wrap up in a towel and head to the other bathroom and do the same in the other shower.
Dish soap? I have to try that! Going to get one of those brushes you can keep dish soap inside and use it whenever. I have one in the kitchen and I clean my dishes that cannot go in the dishwasher as I’ve used them… As for washing the shower naked, I never thought of that either. Usually it’s the first thing I try to wash when I do get to cleaning the bathroom. Usually it’s the worst!
Thanks for the tips! Should be really helpful!!
I’ve been doing the shower naked too. But my slob tip for the floor is only a recent discovery.
Use a mop.
That’s right, while I’m mopping the floor tiles of my bathroom, I open the shower and do that too. No getting on hands and knees, nor getting wet, 30 seconds and its done. And believe me, it was dirty.
I actually got the idea to clean the tub while I was in it from my daughter when she was 8 or 9 years old. She would just scrub away while she was bathing, then the would wind up getting another bath. She loved baths then..that was 20 years ago. Not sure if she does that now… An old bathing puff is great for cleaning the tub… And cars :-).
Great idea if you’re at home! Not sure how other people would feel about me cleaning their showers like this.. 🤔
I’ve been using one of those dishwashing things that you fill up the handle, but I was filling it with the mix of Dawn and vinegar. While it cleans well, it is thin and drips while hung up. I’m going to try with straight Dawn and see if that helps.
i also clean tub while taking a shower. However I need something that takes the “blue” color out. I think our water is hard water and we always have blue in there. Its really hard to get rid of. I have to scrub too much! PS in hot weather when the well gets low, I’m guessing, we start to get a pink color slime in there. My tub is my bain. Yuck.
I call it “naked shower cleaning” I clean the shower just before showering myself. Been doing it for years. I don’t like getting my clothes wet!
I have an extendable R….made shower wand that stays in shower. A GIANT designed my shower with dual heads at seven feet and 18 inches of tile and ceiling tiled too. There is no way to clean ceiling and rinsing with clothes on. So for a wonderful visual middle aged naked women on step stool cleaning shower. You are welcome. hehe