Shower screens can be notoriously difficult to keep spick-and-span, but one savvy homeowner says she has accidentally cracked the code to an effortlessly clean screen.
Taking to the popular Facebook group Mums Who Clean, the woman revealed she had transformed her shower glass using a somewhat unlikely product: Long Life Grout Cleaner.
Sharing before-and-after snaps to illustrate, she explained she made the discovery after accidentally spraying the glass with the product while scrubbing the shower floor - and the results were almost "instant".
"I'm sure like me you get so frustrated with the glass in the shower," she wrote to the private group, which has amassed over 374,000 members.
"We have such hard water and I have spent a fortune on all manner of cleaners and spent way too much of my life scrubbing the bloody thing. WELL NO MORE! I was spraying my grout and some of this sprayed onto the glass and I noticed almost instantly a difference," she continued.
"So I spray a little more on the glass, [leave it] for a few minutes, [then] a quick scrub with a brush and voila, clean glass. Honestly, they look like new. I'm going to contact the company to let them know. Just hoping that there's no reason not to use it."
In the 'before' image, the screen is noticeably clouded with soap scum and water marks, but in the 'after' shot, the glass is clear, clean and appears almost like new.
Long Life Grout Cleaner has gained something of a cult following among cleaning enthusiasts; the Australian product currently has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 based on 120 reviews on the Bunnings New Zealand website.
The grout cleaner, which is available for around $10 at both Bunnings and Mitre 10 in Aotearoa, is said to "restore and revitalise grout" between ceramic tiles, slate, terracotta, brick and masonry surfaces, with a non-scratch formula and easy application.
The product has been hailed as a household staple by many, with one review on Bunnings declaring: "I've never been so enthusiastic to scrub my floors… until now."
The secret to the formula's success could be sulfamic acid, an ingredient that is said to be an efficient agent for descaling and household cleaning and safe to use on glass.
The homeowner's hack quickly attracted praise from fellow houseproud Facebook users, with one declaring: "OMG wow, I need to do this on my glass as we have hard water build-up too."
"Wow, that's amazing," said another, with a third adding: "I use this brand for everything! Their cloudy ammonia is great for getting scum off tiles."
It's not the first time someone has sung the product's praises on social media. In 2020, an Australian motel owner claimed she had shifted 50 years' worth of built-up grime using Long Life Grout Cleaner, sharing the results of her cleaning spree on Facebook.
"Discovered this product from Bunnings through a friend and I'm amazed," she said in the group Bunnings Mums, Inspiration, Hacks, Tips and Tricks. "Yes, it's potent so wear a mask but it eats through the 50-year-old grime in our motel rooms."
Also in 2020, another Mums Who Clean member said she swore by the product for spotless grout, claiming it made cleaning her floors child's play while pregnant.
Alternatively, Bunnings also stocks Cemix Grout Haze Remover, which is said to remove hard water deposits and efflorescence, and Selleys White for Life Tile and Grout Cleaner, a product that claims to remove soap scum and leave a protective, water-repellent barrier to help prevent future build-up. However, whether they are as effective on glass can't be said.
