Dear FlyLady,

I just purchased a house and my dh and I are having a terrible time getting soap film off of the walls in the shower.  I have tried all the cleaners and none have worked.  It is so terrible that you have to use your fingernail or something sharp to scrap it off.

Any suggestions are wonderful.

Thanks,

Tabitha

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Dear Tabitha,

Is cleaning your shower one of those things you have been putting off. Today is Anti-Procrastination. Let’s get some things done!

We are all looking for that magic potion or the magic wand that is going to get your home clean. The secret to getting your home in order is moving your arms and legs.

So another way to look at this is your arm is the magic wand! When you wave it things get done.

How do you clean a shower door? With your hand! I know this may seem too simple to you, but those babysteps work. We have been looking for that chemical solution that is miraculously remove that soap film.  Nothing works better than the up and down motion of elbow grease. We don’t give you cleaning tips; we motivate you to get up and do something.

Think about this! In our perfectionism we want to see everything clean at once. What is so hard in today’s society is to have the time to get it done to please the perfectionist inside of us. So what do we do, we do nothing. Why should we waste a whole Saturday having fun with our families in order to clean? Babysteps will work if you will do them.

So think about how the soap film got there; every day when you are in the shower you leave just a little on the door. Why can’t you just turn that around and every day when you are in the shower, take a little of that soap film with you! Get a purple rag or one of those none scratch scrubbers: even the ones you use in the shower to make those wonderful bubbles will work too. Keep it in the shower and then use the same soap you used on your body, on the shower doors. Yes it is just that simple. The power comes from your arm not the chemical. Soap is soap! You don’t have to use harsh chemicals to clean the door. Do one little section at a time. Try for the size of a dinner plate. Spend just a minute or two. Do not obsess about this. A little scrubbing every day will make the soap film go away. Guess what you won’t get chemical pneumonia either from breathing those strong chemicals. Beside a couple more minutes in the shower is not going to hurt you!

Then after a few weeks you will have the worst part of it done. Then you can wax the doors with glass wax or liquid car wax. This will keep the soap film from being so hard to get off the next time. Now don’t complain about hard water: the scrubbing works for that too. Hard water stains are just calcium deposits that have been left after the water evaporates. I once had to use a wood chisel to get those out of a toilet bowl. There was no chemical that would magically eat them away, but the chisel just popped them off. A sharp knife works too. Just be gentle and careful.

I just want you to quit looking for that magic fix and do a babystep!

Are your ready to FLY by taking those simple babysteps?

FlyLady