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A clean shower not only keeps your bathroom looking and smelling lovely, but it also helps you and other members of your household stay healthy. Mold, mildew, and bacteria can grow in your shower and irritate asthma and allergies and lead to other illnesses. Cleaning your shower once a week can remove these harmful substances, along with dirt and soap scum.
Fortunately, lots of shower cleaning products can keep away the ick. Shower cleaners come in a variety of formulas designed for particular surfaces (such as glass or ceramic), certain water types (hard or soft), and specific problems (grimy grout, streaky doors, or mildew stains). The best shower cleaner helps keep your space clean and sanitized with a minimal amount of scrubbing. Read on for reviews of some of the top options on the market.
Our Top Picks
This list rounds up some of the best shower cleaners for solving common bathroom cleanup challenges. Get to know some of your most reliable options for shower cleaners and what makes each so effective.
Best Overall
Better Life Natural Tub and Tile Cleaner
Better Life’s Natural Tub and Tile Cleaner blasts away hard water stains, mineral deposits, mold, rust, and other grimy messes. No chemicals are involved; instead, it gets rid of the gross with natural ingredients derived from eucalyptus and tea trees. That means not only does it work well, but it’s also eco-friendly. It contains no toxic chemicals that can be harmful to your family or pets—and it smells nice, too!
Best Natural
Better Life Natural All-Purpose Cleaner
The ingredients in Better Life’s Natural All-Purpose Cleaner come from coconut, corn, and soap bark. Its manufacturers use no dyes, perfumes, sulfates, bleach, or alcohol in the product to clean the shower without exposing anyone—or the planet—to harsh chemicals. Use it to clean the shower and other surfaces in the bathroom, including toilets, countertops, or even the walls and baseboards. Around the house, it can clean appliances, tables, toys, upholstery, and most other water-safe surfaces.
Best For Hard Water
Bio Clean: Eco Friendly Hard Water Stain Remover
Bio Clean’s Eco Friendly Hard Water Stain Remover’s special formula cuts through the eyesores that hard water can leave in a shower. This shower cleaner eliminates nasty mineral buildup and leaves a shower or tub clean and fresh.
Safe to use on nearly any surface in a shower, Bio Clean stain remover cleans tile, porcelain, grout, fiberglass, stone, and glass. Use it to clean hard water stains outside the bathroom on aquariums, septic tanks, or aluminum pots and pans, too. Since this cleaner contains no harsh chemicals, it’s safe to use around pets and children.
Best For Soft Water
Wet & Forget Shower Cleaner
Wet & Forget Shower Cleaner makes cleaning a shower quick and easy because its active ingredients remove mildew stains, soap scum, oil, and other dirt with no scouring. That’s right—no scrubbing or even wiping.
To use this product, spray down the shower once a week. Let the spray sit on the shower surfaces for 24 hours; then rinse it off. The stains rinse off with the cleaner. This spray has a fresh, subtle vanilla scent, and the 64-ounce bottle provides enough solution to keep the shower clean for 12 weeks.
Best For Mold
Kaboom Mold & Mildew Stain Remover with Bleach
Kaboom’s Mold & Mildew Stain Remover with Bleach penetrates and removes the mold and mildew in the shower. Not only is mold unsightly, but it also can pose a serious health concern, irritating eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs. It’s essential to safely and effectively remove it, and Kaboom’s foaming spray helps with just that: It clings to mold, mildew, and other stains in the shower. Spray the moldy places and wait a few minutes; then, wipe the surface with a sponge. Rinse, and it’s finished.
Larger or more concentrated stains may need a second application of Kaboom to get completely clean. Since this product contains bleach, work in a ventilated area away from children or pets.
Best For Glass
Magic Shower Glass & Mirror Cleaner
While some shower cleaners can leave the glass door looking dull and stained, Magic Shower Glass & Mirror Cleaner helps provide a streak-free shower door and mirror. It’s formulated to remove hard water stains, rust stains, soap scum, mold, and mildew. Magic Shower Glass & Mirror Cleaner also can repel future buildup of soap scum and other stains, keeping glass doors clean and sparkling for up to a week. Moreover, this cleaner can help prevent mirrors and shower doors from fogging up during a hot shower.
Best For Tough Stains
Bring It On Cleaner
Bring It On Cleaner tackles tough stains with oxygen bleach, a non-toxic substance that’s just as powerful as chlorine bleach but can be used safely around children and pets. Bring It On removes rust stains, calcium, mineral deposits, and hard water spots. This cleaner also can help eliminate stains on tile floors or grout. No chlorine bleach means no noxious odors. Instead, Bring It On’s minty scent leaves bathrooms smelling fresh.
Best For Tile And Grout
Goo Gone Grout & Tile Cleaner
Gunk like mold and mildew settles into the spaces between tile and can be tough to clean. But Goo Gone’s Grout & Tile Cleaner tackles tough stains on grout and tile. Its grout cleaner breaks down hard water stains, soap scum, mold, and mildew, while the tile cleaner removes stains and dirt from the tiles. Just spray, let it sit for 2 minutes, and wipe. For more stubborn stains, treat it again or scrub the stubborn areas with a bristle brush.
Use Goo Gone Grout & Tile Cleaner on ceramic, porcelain, natural stone, and fiberglass, but not on marble or limestone. Since it contains no bleach, it’s fume-free and non-corrosive.
FAQ About Shower Cleaners
Still not sure how to choose the best shower cleaner for you? Read on for tips to help you make a decision.
Q. How can I deep-clean my shower?
When deep-cleaning your shower, focus on the areas that may get overlooked during a weekly cleaning. Remove hair or other clogs from the drain, remove hard water buildup from the showerhead, scrub the shower caddy, and wipe down the shower curtain or door. If it’s washable, consider taking it down and running it through the washing machine.
Q. How do I clean my shower without chemicals?
Many chemical-free shower cleaners serve as alternatives to those made with bleach or other harsh chemicals. Often made with plant-based agents or other natural substances, when properly used, these types of disinfectants typically are effective as chemical cleaners. Natural disinfectants can kill bacteria and viruses, but they work more slowly than chemical disinfectants.
Q. How often should I clean my shower?
You should clean your shower once a week. If your shower has a glass door, using a squeegee after each shower can help keep it streak free.
Q. How can I keep my shower clean without scrubbing?
Many shower cleaners are designed to help clean the shower without scrubbing. The ingredients in them do the work for you using chemicals or natural materials to clean the stain. Usually formulated in a gel or foam, you typically spray them on, leave on the surface for a short period of time, and then wipe or wash away.
