Spend Just a Few Dollars and Never Clean Your Shower Again!

Well, almost never! I have been using this trick for about a year or so and it works great!  What is it? 

A squeegee! I am serious about how little you will need to clean your shower if you use one. The process is simple, the last person to take a shower in the morning uses the squeegee. At my house, that person is usually me. On occasion, it is my husband.  I will admit, he was not a fan of the idea when I started. However, over the course of the past year, he has seen how clean the shower stays when the squeegee is used on a daily basis. So he has started to squeegee too! (You may find it a bit harder to get the kids to use it on a regular basis.)

I can hear you saying now, "I don't have time to squeegee after every shower!" I understand. If you are late for work, the last thing you want to do is spend time squeegeeing. (Is that a word?) Since I have been doing this for slightly over a year now, I have a much better handle on exactly what it takes to keep the shower clean.

Let's start with a picture of my shower. It isn't huge, but it isn't small either. It can hold two people. It is 100% white tile with white grout. It hasn't been the easiest shower to keep clean these past 13 years.

When I first started, it took an extra ten minutes to squeegee the door, walls and floor. Way too long when I was in a hurry! However, I have since learned that the idea isn't to remove every drop of water, all you need to do is remove the majority of it. I timed myself this past week and it took 3 minutes from start to finish. Really! 

Large fast strokes work well. Your goal is to remove the soap residue and any standing water that may start mold growing. (Here in the south, mold grows on everything - inside the house and out. It is critical to remove any standing water in the shower to keep the mold at bay.) There isn't any need to wipe down the squeegee between strokes. If the squeegee is wet, it is no big deal. Remember, you are not looking to get every drop of water, just the big stuff.

Now, the question is: "How often do I clean the shower if I squeegee it every day?" Well, on average, I clean the floor of the shower every 4 to 6 weeks. If for some reason we go through a period where the shower doesn't get squeegeed every day, then it is closer to every 3 weeks. No one in the house has had any athlete's foot or other fungus problems. The walls of the shower have been cleaned with soap twice this year. That's it: twice! The soap I use to clean the shower is a combination of Dawn dishwashing soap and vinegar. You can see that recipe here.

I officially declare my experiment a success! There is no way I will ever be without a squeegee again!