| Shower Enclosure Care and Maintenance
When properly maintained, your glass enclosure will
provide you many years of trouble free service. Below are a few
helpful tips to properly care for your enclosure.
Never lift the glass by any towel
bar or pulls especially when mounted through the glass. This may
weaken the glass and cause it to break immediately or in the future
Always lift the glass by holding
the glass itself
Never let the edge or corner of the
glass touch a hard surface such as tile or concrete
Always place a cushion such as a
towel between the glass and any hard surface whether underneath
or against a wall
- Squeegee the glass after every shower. This will minimize water
spotting and make cleaning the glass easier.
- With a clean, soft damp cloth or sponge and a mild detergent,
clean the glass and aluminum on a weekly basis. Make sure to rinse
it off completely.
Never use the following to clean your shower
frame enclosure:
- Vinegar or Vinegar-based cleaners
- Abrasive Powders
- Steel or Teflon Pads
- Dirty or gritty rags
- Mist-type cleaners that are non-rinseable, such as Clean Shower
& Tilex Fresh Shower, they will damage plastic & acrylic
components of your shower door & void your shower door warranty.
DO use a soft, clean rag or sponge.
The Bath Enclosure Manufactures Association recommends
Comet Non Abrasive Bathroom Cleaner, by Procter & Gamble. It
was tested to be the most effective cleaner, while still being gentle
on the glass & metal surfaces of an enclosure.
The simplest and preferred method of cleaning your
unit is by washing it with clean water and drying with a soft cloth.
If soil is still present after drying a non-abrasive cleaner with
a pH of seven to eight may be used. Do not use scouring pads, sharp
instruments, or acid-based cleansers to clean the unit. Always follow
the manufacturer's instructions on the labels of household cleaning
products. To protect the finish of your bath enclosure you should
only use products recommended for glass and anodized aluminum surfaces
by the manufacturer of the cleaning product. If in doubt contact
the manufacturer of the cleaning product. Use of harsh cleansers
or detergents not specifically recommended for use on anodized metal
or glass surfaces may damage your unit.
In some geographic locations, extremely high mineral
content or other foreign compounds in regular tap water causing
excessive acidity or alkalinity can damage or discolor glass and
anodized aluminum surfaces with repeated exposure. Etching of glass
surfaces by chemical agents is irreversible and appears as a light
gray or whitish stain on the glass that is rough to the touch and
can not be removed. This is the same effect seen on a glass tumbler
washed repeatedly in a dishwasher using strong dishwashing detergent.
Spotting is normally the result of mineral buildup on the glass
or metal. The anodic coating of aluminum is one of the hardest substances
known and is chemically inert to most compounds, however it will
be damaged by strong acidic or alkaline solutions. Any chemical
that can remove mineral buildup on the surface of aluminum can damage
the anodic coating. This will dull or discolor the finish and, on
gold units, ultimately cause the color to fade. The most reliable
preventative measure to preserve the quality of your bath enclosure
unit is to wipe the surfaces dry with a soft cloth after each use.
The following chart lists the results of testing various
bathroom cleaners on the anodic coating of the bath enclosure aluminum
parts. Parts were placed in a solution of each cleaning product
& the results were recorded.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
Lime-Away |
1 |
 |
Destroyed |
| |
SOS Vinegar Glassworks |
4 |
 |
Unaffected |
| |
Klean & Shine |
7 |
 |
Unaffected |
| |
Glass Plus |
9 |
 |
Unaffected |
| |
Scratch Guard |
9.5 |
 |
Destroyed |
| |
Mr. Clean |
11 |
 |
Destroyed |
| |
Windex |
11 |
 |
Severe Damage |
| |
Fantastik |
12 |
 |
Diminished |
| |
Formula 409 |
12 |
 |
Severe Damage |
| |
Dow Bathroom Cleaner |
13 |
 |
Destroyed |
| |
|
|
 |
|
With Proper Care, Your Coastal Enclosure Will Last
a Lifetime.
To receive years of beautiful service from your enclosure
requires only a minimum of care and maintenance.
You should not use cleaners that might scratch your
glass or do damage to the metal finish of your enclosure.
You can download these tips and warranty information
as a pdf. Click here.
Click here to download the free pdf viewer
from Adobe. |