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The great news about Vidalus’s modern self-contained shower-cabins and whirlpool baths is that they are really easy to maintain.
Say goodbye to scrubbing mould off tiles and fixing up grout and hello to some light, regular, cleaning instead.
The key to looking after your shower cabins and whirlpool baths is to use the right cleaning product and apply it in the right way.
How to destroy your shower cabin or whirlpool bath
Before we get onto explaining what you need to do to keep your shower cabin and/or whirlpool bath looking and performing its best, let’s explain what you don’t do, ever, if you want to keep your shower and/or whirlpool bath in good condition. You do not use anything which is strongly acidic, alkaline and/or abrasive. Basically you do not use strong cleaners at all, not only do they not do any good, they can actually damage your shower cabin or whirlpool bath.
Just because a cleaner states “suitable for Showers” in fact does not mean it is. Remember that you do not just have a tiles surface and a piece of glass, you have a shower cabin, with aluminium, painted surfaces and brass! It’s important to read the disclaimers on the back
Above is the warnings on 2 of the market-leading cleaners!! Did you imagine the 2 best selling bathroom cleaner would not be suitable for brass, plated metals and copper?? So basically not suitable for taps or 90% of bathroom fixings
The problem with strong cleaners
In simple terms, really strong cleaners generally work by attacking the surface on which they are used. This can be absolutely great if you’re trying to get off layers of grime, but it is, to put it mildly, rather overdoing things if you’re just giving your shower cabin or whirlpool bath a general clean. The best you can hope for is that the extra wear on your shower cabin or whirlpool bath is going to take time to become apparent. Really harsh cleaners, however, can do a whole lot of very visible damage very quickly.
The key point to understand here is that strong cleaners are powerful, but this is different from visible, which means that often people just don’t see where they need to rinse them off. As a result, the cleaners stay in the shower cabin or whirlpool bath and basically eat into its surface. This is usually most visible on the paintwork, which tends to flake and bubble very quickly especially in areas where residue cleaner is left and can gather. Glasswork, metal and acrylic surfaces will often last out a bit longer, but even they will become dull and rough over time. REMEMBER: You can never damage a shower with water alone and gentle cleaners are more than sufficient to make them shine and kill germs
The result of using these strong cleaners will cause bubbling as seen with paint strippers. There is not another cause of this result and therefore not covered under warranty as it is not a manufacturer’s defect
The right way to clean a shower cabin
First of all, make sure you put your shower together in accordance to the instructions. Use proper sanitary grade silicone and ideally treat it with ShowerGuard, which is the best friend of anyone who wants an easy way to protect shiny surfaces such as glass and mirror tile, it also works on the painted surfaces in a shower. ShowerGuard is widely available, very easy to apply and offers long-term protection.
After that your only real maintenance job will be to keep an eye on the joints in your shower. As the sanitary silicone wears down, dirt and mould can start to gather in the cracks between the panels. The solution is to give these gaps a good clean (soapy water and elbow grease should be fine) and then touch up the sanitary silicone to rebond the joints and make them properly watertight again. This is a whole lot easier than cleaning and replacing grout!
Other than that, you mostly just need to make sure that you rinse out your shower after every use to get rid of soapy suds and if your shower has an ozone function, give that a run too. This is a zero-effort way to give your shower cabin a decent clean, just remember to run the fan and/or leave the cabin doors open afterwards to allow the cabin to dry, otherwise, you can encourage the growth of mould.
If you find your cabin still needs a bit of a clean then you’ll probably find soapy water does the trick, especially if you’ve used ShowerGuard, but if not, make sure that you use a cleaner which is intended for use on that surface, e.g. a glass cleaner or an acrylic cleaner.
For the sake of completeness, in addition to cleaning your shower cabin, you’ll also need to clean your showerhead from time to time. Again, use a product intended for this purpose.
The right way to clean a whirlpool bath
If your whirlpool bath has a glass enclosure then treat it according to the instructions given above for shower cabins. With regards to the actual bath, the key point is to rinse it out after each use and allow it to dry properly. If this is done regularly, you may well find that plain or soapy water is enough to wipe off any surface dirt, but if not, use a cleaner specifically intended for the appropriate surface, typically a glass cleaner or an acrylic cleaner.
Every so often, it’s advisable to clean the hoses and pipes with a solution intended for this specific purpose. It is recommended to do this even if the whirlpool bath has not been used for a while as it prevents the build-up of bacteria. It is particularly recommended to do this before using a whirlpool bath which has been out of action for some time.
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Health and spa product specialist. I’ve been involved in the design, manufacture and retail of steam showers, saunas and spa’s for over 22 years. I’ve been involved in every single process from design to installation. I’ve written many publications for many leading outlets as well as scientific papers. I’m able to say I’m one of the leading and most well respected voices in this field