This Common Ingredient Will Leave Your Grimy Shower Door Tracks Shining

While you might religiously clean your glass shower doors weekly to maintain their look, there's a good chance you keep forgetting about the tracks in the doors. Situated at the top and bottom of your shower door, these aluminum or chrome tracks are responsible for the smooth movement of the doors, so it's necessary to keep them clean to prevent debris from obstructing them. Worse, if left uncleaned, mold, mildew, soap scum, and hard water stains will set up shop, dulling their natural shine and leading to health hazards. Thankfully, you can use distilled white vinegar to remove the accumulated grime from your shower door tracks.

Distilled white vinegar is ideal for cleaning since it kills germs and bacteria and dissolves the mold, mildew, and soap scum. Plus, it is cheap, readily available, and biodegradable. So, arm yourself with a cup of white vinegar, a spray bottle, distilled water, some cotton balls, an old toothbrush (a thin grout brush or plastic knife covered with a cloth works, too), dry microfiber cloth, and some paper towels.

Once you've gathered the supplies, grab the old toothbrush and use it to remove the accumulated grime before rinsing your shower doors as usual. This is important for two reasons. One, you'll be able to get rid of the surface-level yuck. Second, the dirt, soap scum, and debris from the door won't get a chance to settle on the metallic track surface. Now, seal the drain hole (or slits) in the door track with a paper towel to keep the vinegar from draining as soon as it's applied. Soak cotton balls in the cup of undiluted vinegar to wet the track.

Alternatively, you can use vinegar in a spray bottle and spritz it on. But this method is recommended only if your bathroom flooring isn't stone, or it could get damaged. Combine vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio and spritz this solution onto the dirty track. After you're done, let the vinegar work its magic overnight. However, the time will depend on how dirty the track is. For light stains, five to 30 minutes should suffice. But if it desperately needs scrubbing, vinegar will need at least four hours. Next, scrub the area with the brush, and rinse the residual solution with distilled water before drying the track with the microfiber cloth.