Removing water spots from glass?

[Southerrrngirrl]

This isn't about my tank, but my glass shower doors. They appear to have lots of water staining/spots on them. Googled for some answers, but so many things recommended are american/overseas products that aren't available here.. and there is just too many other recommendations such as vinegar, WD-40, CLR, meths that I'm not sure about.

I also searched the forums as I do recall a discussion on this some time ago, but couldn't find anything because apparently the word "water" gets ignored. So effectively I was searching for "removing spots" :roll:

Any ideas?

[spoon]

i use jif but rinse it off well

[MarkLB]

recommendations such as vinegar

I'm pretty sure I've read this works.

[phoenix44]

Jif.

That and one of those flat blades if the stains are really thick.

[Southerrrngirrl]

I'm sure I've tried Jif. I use that on the rest of the shower.. maybe I'll give that another go

[Zev]

We have friends who squeegee their glass shower doors and wall after they use the shower.

I read somewhere that if you use vinegar to put a sheet of plastic on the door after you have sprayed it on to keep it damp, then after half an hour of so it should scrub off.

Search 'lime scale'

[Barrie]

Zevs first comment is the answer

Glass is an almost perfect surface and will resist most things. The main thing that will distroy glass is lime/calcium deposits.

Water here in NZ holds quite large amounts of calcium and as the droplets on your glass evaporate, they leave these deposits on the surface of the glass. These will adhere to and will be impossible to remove totally as the surface of the glass is now damaged. Soap and body fats that stick to the glass after a shower allow larger droplets to form which in turn leaves more calcium so your problem will now get worst at a quicker rate.

The way to avoid this from happening (go to the head of the class Zev) is to use a squeege EVERY time you have a shower. Another way is to apply a polymer to the glass surface. A polymer is NOT a cleaner, its a glass treatment!

Possibly the best is a product called Diamond Fusion however this is expensive (about $250 for the inside of a shower) Another product is Clear Shield. It should cost you no more than about $25 and needs applying to your shower every 3 to 6 months depending on use. If only applied to your shower, it could well last your 10 years plus but most people use it on the outside windows where they are harder to get to or where you have a view as it help keep the glass clean.

How these polymers work is that they fill up the minute holes in the glass surface making it harder for things to stick to the glass. I use it on my windscreens and dont need to turn the wipers on once I reach 60kms per hour as the water droplets simply blow off leaving a clearer screen than wipers will. When you apply this to the INSIDE of your shower the same happens and the water that is left on the surface is in very small mist/droplets so a lot less calcium is deposited.

You should be able to get Clear Shield (or similar products) from your local Glass Merchant.

Again, this will only help and you need to use a squeegy EVERY time

No what can you do?

There are a few acid based produced that will help remove the calcium but the surface is already damaged so the "staining" will return. There is a Christchurch based company the says they can remove and restore your glass. I asked them a few questions that only those who knew what they were doing would be able to answer and they had the answers but Im sorry, I cant remember their name. It was a franchised based bussiness and Im not a fan of those types of companies so didnt want to take it any further. After all, who wants to spend their days cleaning other peoples showers.

[Ira]

I'd suggest your best treatment option to be a good scrub and then a liberal coating of apathy.

[Caryl]

I like Ira's answer but not sure I would bother with the good scrub part :lol:

Barrie if we use the expensive fusion stuff do we still have to squeegie after every shower?

Perhaps the answer is to pimp my shower so it can travel over 60kph then when I wash the water just blows away :bounce:

[Barrie]

I like Ira's answer but not sure I would bother with the good scrub part :lol:

Barrie if we use the expensive fusion stuff do we still have to squeegie after every shower?

Perhaps the answer is to pimp my shower so it can travel over 60kph then when I wash the water just blows away :bounce:

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All of these product will allow a bit of water to remain so those deposits will be left every time you shower

If you want to have your shower maintence free, I can tell you the secret but only if you really want want to know?

[Zev]

Ummm, would that be somewhere along the lines of don't use glass?

Or don't have walls and doors and have it outside and scare the neighbors?

[Barrie]

or dont shower

[supasi]

Will applying Rainex ( the stuff for car windscreens do the same thing Barrie)

Obviously it will not remove staining but will it make it harder for it stick?

[Barrie]

Will applying Rainex ( the stuff for car windscreens do the same thing Barrie)

Obviously it will not remove staining but will it make it harder for it stick?

Yes

Rainx is the poor relative of the rest but works as well

Rainex is a watered down version but still a great product

[Caryl]

I have a new, all glass, shower. I suspect it is soon going to covered in water marks then as I can't be bothered cleaning it every time it is used.

I was told if you don't use soap you don't have a problem. The body washes aren't soap so don't mark the same. Sounds like it is the stuff in the water though, not the soap. Or does the soap react with the calcium and make it worse?

It has taken a lot of getting used to standing in a see-through shower cubicle (old shower had frosted glass). We had to position the mirror very carefully so we can't see ourselves in it from the shower, or when we step out to dry ourselves :lol:

[Barrie]

It WILL happen Caryl

Your shower WILL become dirty looking and look really messy

Once in the habit, it takes probably take all of 20 seconds to use the squeegy plus your show will need a lot less cleaning.

I promise you that in a few years time, you WILL regret not using both polymers and a simple $2 squeegy that keeps your shower spick and span for years.

My shower at the bach is 16 years old and looks clean and shiny and the one at home is 4 years and looks the same

DO IT!!!!!! :evil:

you can thank me later :lol:

Mind you, you will probably replace the shower glass in 5 to 10 years time if you dont so maybe I shoul pass your contacts to the local glazier?

[Barrie]

Sorry

Your comments about the soap

If you think about it, all soap leaves a stick mess when it dries, its in the make up of all cleansers as almost nothing evaporates 100%. This allows larger droplets to form with all that extra calcium.

Try cleaning a window and not the one next to it, leave that as dirty as you can. Next dribble water on to them both and see which one has the most water on it.... this is where the residue comes from that creates the dirty looking showers

Look at an old tank where the dirty looking white marks are around the top where the level or the water evaporates.

Thats exactly the same

[Jennifer]

Going back to my organic chemistry days here, but the soap scum is a result of saponification (the mixing of fats with an alkali to form an anionic soap) plus hard water. The harder the water, the more insuluble salts will be left over and appear as soap scum. Non ionic soaps or soapless body washes will result in less soap scum because there are fewer insoluble fatty acid salts to react with the calcium in hard water.

The softer the water, the less soap scum you will have but if you are using saponified soap (generally these are bars of soap) then you will always have a certain amount of soap scum. Similarly, if your water is very hard, you will have calcium deposits but whether or not you also have sticky insoluble salts depends on what type of soap you use.

The soap scum will appear as a foggy film whereas plain calcium deposits will appear as spots.

Btw, Barry, I need to get some of that glass treatment, it sounds great!

[Barrie]

"The soap scum will appear as a foggy film whereas plain calcium deposits will appear as spots."

They end up being the same as the water sticks to the film and seems to go right through it

Try your local glass company and mention that they can get it from Glass Corp

Let me know if you cant get it

[Jennifer]

Try your local glass company and mention that they can get it from Glass Corp

Let me know if you cant get it

Can I put it on spotty glass, or will that be a waste of time?

[Barrie]

It will help the good glass but the damaged parts are far too late. They will grow as time goes on

Squeegy

squeegy

Squeegy

squeegy

Squeegy

squeegy

Squeegy

squeegy

Cant remember how to spell the water scraping thingy :oops:

[Caryl]

Perhaps I will get a squeegy or squeegie or something. Since Grant usually gets out of the shower last, it will be his job to wipe it down. I have managed to train him to pick up the bath mat and hang it on the rail so I might be able to extend that training a little further.

[Barrie]

Perhaps I will get a squeegy or squeegie or something. Since Grant usually gets out of the shower last, it will be his job to wipe it down. I have managed to train him to pick up the bath mat and hang it on the rail so I might be able to extend that training a little further.

now your talking

You wont regret it

Sorry to hijack your thread Southerngurrl

Just hope that I have saved a few shower systems now and in the future

[jim r]

Now I know why my wife beat me with the squeegee for a month after we moved in. I must be getting better with age it used to take a longer than a month to get through my thick skull. :roll:

[Southerrrngirrl]

now your talking

You wont regret it

Sorry to hijack your thread Southerngurrl

Just hope that I have saved a few shower systems now and in the future

No worries Barrie. All very interesting.

So the damage is done. The shower was practically brand new 3 years ago when we moved in. For a time I did dry it off with a towel after showering but somewhere along the way it apparently got forgotten. Forget training my husband to do it, he hasn't even mastered picking the mat up off the floor. :roll:

I used that Easy off BAM! stuff on it this morning, it seemed to take away the cloudyness, but i was still left with the white water spot bits.

Think I'll take Ira's advice Sounds like it would be expensive to remove and it doesn't bother me THAT much. Will do the squeegy thing to stop it from getting worse though.