This Rinse Aid Hack Is Supposed To Clean Glass Shower Doors. We Put It To The Test

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

It's become common in recent years with the rise of social media platforms to find ways to repurpose or multitask with your cleaning products. Rather than buying a spray or detergent that can only accomplish one cleaning task, people like to test if say, a dishwashing liquid could also work to clean your shower. If you have a cupboard or cabinet full of various cleaning products that are just taking up space because each one is specific to a certain item or area of your home, then it may be time to test out all the other ways they can help around the house. 

One popular hack suggests that a rinse aid is great for removing limescale and hard water stains on shower glass, and I was curious. People have asked the question if dishwasher rinse aid is the answer to streak-free windows, but shower doors get a lot more moisture contact than windows. Our glass has a buildup of soap scum and has been tricky to clean, so I was willing to try any hack to revive the glass. Because of the location, it's very noticeable in the bathroom and we prefer a clear surface to show off the rest of the renovated shower. Anything that helps keep the glass clear and fresh is a perk for me, so with a bottle of rinse aid in hand, I decided to test the theory. 

I'm actually rather new to using any kind of rinse aid. Turns out, these products contain surfactants, which are meant to help create a surface on dishes that allows water to roll off rather than collecting and leaving spots. This agent is more targeted toward the drying phase of the dishwasher cycle as opposed to the cleaning, as it helps protect surfaces from hard water high in minerals. Perhaps, on top of clearing stains from the glass, it would add a protective layer to keep water stains from coming back. With my newfound knowledge, and the potential to keep my shower glass cleaner for longer, I bought a bottle of Finish Jet-Dry Rinse Aid for $10, invested in a fresh microfiber cloth, and got to work.

Our soap scum was really stuck on, due in large part to a lack of cleaning it more regularly. We hadn't really noticed the level of scum that had accumulated until I saw this hack, but once we noted it, it was hard to ignore. I tried cleaning it with a little water first to see just how much hard water had layered on, but this did not help at all. I made sure to dry the glass before testing with the rinse aid.

I started with my shower door, hoping it would beat out the easiest hack for cleaning water stains off glass shower doors. I added a few squeezes of rinse aid to the cloth (which I dampened slightly) and then scrubbed the inside of the glass. You could add just rinse aid to a spray bottle for easier application, but I went the route of applying it directly to a microfiber cloth. This seemed simpler, since I didn't really want to put in a lot of effort transferring the cleaners to different bottles, etc.

Initially the interior of the shower door, which had a lot of hard water staining, cleared up as I wiped it with the rinse aid. But after several swipes, I noticed that there was still a film of hard water that wasn't coming off. I used the cloth on the other side, too, but after about a minute of cleaning the shower glass, I was left with a much clearer but still filmy finish. I added more rinse aid as I went just to ensure I was getting the most out of the product. A little disappointed, I let the glass dry, then decided to check on it after another shower to see if it at least helped protect the surface from more hard water stains. It did not.

Unfortunately, the glass was just as stained as before I used the rinse aid. This could be due to leaving the hard water stains too long before cleaning, but I think that for our glass to be completely clear of limescale and mineral build up, we will need a much stronger product specifically targeted to shower glass. While I don't know if that will work, either, I wouldn't try this hack again and only plan to use rinse aid in the dishwasher. While it would have been great to find another use for it, the cleaner just didn't cut it.

I did a little more research and found that someone tried a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, rinse aid, dish soap, and isopropyl alcohol shaken together with warm water in a spray bottle. As tempting as it was to try this recipe, I wanted to see how just the rinse aid did on the glass before adding in other products. It's possible that the additional ingredients would have made the rinse aid more effective. 

Some products are meant to multitask, but I can't help but wonder if rinse aid works so well in the dishwasher because of the hot water and the intensity of the cycle. Effective on dishes, yes, but leave this one behind if you don't need to purchase the product for that specific purpose. There are plenty of other ways to easily clean hard water stains off glass, like using vinegar or baking soda, so give these a try instead.