Why You May Want To Think Twice Before Choosing Glass Shower Doors

Bathrooms can be one of the most demanding rooms in your home when it comes to cleaning. Between the constant moisture and dealing with soap scum, mildew, and hard water stains, it's no wonder bathrooms need so much attention. It can be really easy to find yourself cleaning something in the bathroom every day. One common feature you might regard as an upgrade for your bathroom can give you even more cleaning tasks: Glass shower doors. Just trying to keep glass doors clean and streak-free can sometimes feel like a full-time job. Apart from that, glass shower doors offer absolutely no privacy, which can be a problem with a busy household and only one bathroom. All of these cons may have you thinking twice before choosing glass shower doors for your bathroom.

Glass doors show everything: Shampoo and conditioner splashes, soap residue, fingerprints from the kids, and the ever-present water spots that show up even when you think you've gotten them all. Even if you clean your glass shower doors with Pine-Sol, they can look cloudy and spotty by the next day. The combination of moisture from several showers each day and all your shower products can build up on the glass doors much faster than you might expect. Over time, buildup like soap scum or hard water stains can actually cause cloudy etching that won't wipe off at all. While lovely, crystal clear glass doors look great, many homeowners find themselves cleaning their shower doors after every shower, so the bathroom doesn't look unclean. That's not the kind of daily routine they want to add to their already busy schedules.

One very important issue with glass shower doors is one that many homeowners may not even think about. The area around the metal frame, especially the tracks, stays wet long after the shower is over. It is very common for mold and mildew to build up in those tracks, and it's not an easy place to clean. Some homeowners have used old toothbrushes to scrub inside the tracks, which adds more time to the cleaning routine. Even if you follow the easiest way to prevent shower mold and grime without harsh chemicals by drying everything after every shower, as soon as someone else takes a shower, the area is wet again. Frameless glass doors reduce this problem since there are no tracks, but mildew and mold can still settle in the hinge areas. For anyone with allergies or sensitivity to mold or mildew, these areas of buildup become more than just extra cleaning tasks; they become health concerns.

On the other hand, if you're a very private person, glass doors are not going to give you any coverage if your partner or one of the kids needs to use the bathroom while you're showering. Unlike most shower curtains, glass shower doors don't provide a way to give you some quick shielding if needed. While frosted or textured glass is better, it doesn't provide the same level of privacy that curtains will and can leave you feeling pretty exposed. Glass doors work well for some homes, but many homeowners may find that the cleaning challenges, upkeep, and lack of privacy worries are just not worth it.