How to clean the shower frame and sliding door tracks

Step by step: how to clean the shower frame and sliding door tracks

1. 1

   Vacuum the loose debris

   Slide the doors to one side and run a crevice tool along the bottom track to pull out hair, grit and dried soap flakes. Repeat with the doors pushed the other way. Removing the dry debris first keeps you from turning it into sludge.

2. 2

   Plug the weep holes

   Look for small drain slots (weep holes) on the inside edge of the bottom track. Cover them with a strip of painter’s tape or a bit of paper towel so the cleaning mix stays in the track while it works. Remember to remove it later.

3. 3

   Add baking soda and vinegar

   Sprinkle a thin layer of baking soda along the whole bottom track, then spray or pour white vinegar over it until it fizzes. Leave it for 10 to 15 minutes. The fizz loosens soap scum and the vinegar starts dissolving mineral crust.

4. 4

   Scrub the corners and edges

   Work an old toothbrush along the track, pushing hard into the corners where black gunk collects. Use cotton swabs or a rag wrapped around a butter knife for the narrow channels. You should see gray or black paste lifting out.

5. 5

   Wipe the frame and top track

   Wash the vertical frame, handles, top track and rollers with a cloth dipped in warm water and a few drops of dish soap. For white water spots on the metal, mist with vinegar, wait 5 minutes and wipe. Rinse vinegar off the frame within a few minutes rather than letting it sit.

6. 6

   Flush and open the weep holes

   Peel off the tape, then rinse the track with a cup of warm water or the hand shower and watch that it drains out through the weep holes. If water pools, push a pipe cleaner or thin brush through each hole to clear it.

7. 7

   Dry everything

   Wipe the track, frame and rubber seals dry with a microfiber cloth and leave the doors slightly open. Moisture left sitting in the track is what feeds the black mildew, so drying is the step that keeps it clean longest.

What cleaners are safe on a shower frame?

Dish soap and water are safe on every frame; vinegar is fine for short contact; bleach and strong descalers should stay off the metal. Most shower door frames and tracks are aluminum, often with an anodized, painted or plated finish.

Clorox’s shower door directions say not to use bleach on aluminum, non-stainless steel, marble or chipped enamel. CLR likewise warns against using its descaler on aluminum and on painted, coated or sealed surfaces, and says not to leave it on any surface more than 2 minutes.

How to get black mold out of shower door tracks and seals

Scrub it out of the metal with soap and baking soda, and treat the rubber seals and caulk, where mold roots in, with a diluted bleach solution. The black specks in a track are usually mildew growing in a mix of soap scum and standing water.

Clorox lists silicone and vinyl among the surfaces that tolerate a bleach solution of 1/3 cup per gallon of water, kept wet for 10 minutes. Apply it with a cotton swab so it stays on the seal and off the aluminum, rinse well, and never use it in the same session as vinegar. If the black stays inside the caulk after treatment, the mold is under it; see how to remove caulk from a shower.

How to keep the tracks from getting gross again

Keep the track dry and the bathroom ventilated. Mold and soap scum both need water that sits.

• Squeegee the glass after each shower and give the bottom track a quick wipe with the same towel.
• Leave the doors open a few inches so air reaches the track.
• Run the exhaust fan during and after showers. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60 percent, ideally 30 to 50 percent.
• Clean the glass on the same day; our shower glass guide covers soap scum and hard water spots.

Mistakes to avoid

• Pouring bleach into an aluminum track, which can pit and discolor the metal.
• Leaving vinegar or a descaler sitting on the frame for hours.
• Scrubbing a coated or anodized frame with steel wool or a green scouring pad.
• Forgetting to unblock the weep holes, so water pools in the track again.
• Mixing bleach and vinegar in the same track, which releases chlorine gas.
• Skipping the final dry, which leaves the damp grime mildew grows on.