Streaks on Glass Shower Door

A client has clear glass shower walls and door. No matter how careful I am to clean them up and down in a very straight line when my client takes a shower the streaks are there when it fogs up. How can I make the streaks go away when it's steamy from the shower. This shower gets thoroughly cleaned 3 times a week.

Kim from Delaware

Answers:

Streaks on Glass Shower Door

Try using vinegar (02/04/2008)
RE: Streaks on Glass Shower Door
Wipe them down with lemon oil and buff them. They turn out great and no streaks. (02/04/2008)

By denise w

Streaks on Glass Shower Door

Kim-- I had a similar problem with a bathroom mirror. This ain't no chintzy little medicine cabinet mirror either - it's over 8 feet wide and 4 feet tall. One day I was cleaning it, using the age-old standard, Windex. It did its usual good job, but I noticed some kind of film left on the surface. So I grabbed a new bunch of paper towels and cleaned it again. Same result. Thinking I must have something in the house to cut that stuff, I started using everything I could think of.

First, ammonia. Nope-- same thing. Only this time everything smelled like ammonia with a dash of lemon. That lemon-scented stuff will do that. Second, isopropyl alcohol. No luck. Then, hydrogen peroxide. I figured what-the-heck, it's right there in the cabinet. It probably won't work but what-the-heck. Same story. Heck. wha-the-heck-is-on-this-mirror?)

So then I tried the white vinegar. That should work, right? Vinegar should at least make a difference. But no-- whatever what was on the mirror was not affected by vinegar. Now the room smelled like lemon-ammonia with a dash of tossed salad. And that took care of what was available in the house. Time to see what's in the garage.

When I came across a quart can of mineral spirits, I remembered something a co-worker told me a long time ago-- that liquids will have a base. Some are alcohol-based, or they could be water-based, or ammonia-based, and yes, some are petroleum-based. Well, the mineral spirits are petroleum-based, while my previous attempts were not. Eureka? Maybe the mineral spirits will do the trick?

What-the-heck? Let's try it. (For anyone out there who may be from Vernalis, mineral spirits is also known as paint thinner.) :-)
I took an old terry cloth towel, put it over the top of the can, then turned the can upside-down; just to get a small amount on the towel. Then wiped in a circular motion until the spirits evaporated-- about ten seconds. It worked! Not only was the mirror absolutely spotless, I haven't had to do it again in years.

Wait a sec-- you were talking about streaks. Were these up and down streaks? Were these up and down streaks caused by a squeegee? If these were streaks caused by wiping, see above. If these were streaks caused by a squeegee-- never mind. Have you considered trying a defogger? (02/08/2008)

By Otis P Driftwood

Streaks on Glass Shower Door

Clean your squeegee. Go up and down one time, then across the next. Or don't use the squeegee, and wipe in circles. Feel the cleaned glass. Can you feel scratches? That's a whole other matter, and could require replacing the door entirely to get 'rid' of the problem.

Or: Apply shaving cream to the glass (or mirror). Rub it all around, then wipe and buff dry with newspaper. It should prevent fogging. No fogs, no streaks, I would hope! (03/05/2008)