A pain in the glass

I just had a new shower installed. It has a glass surround.

My glass guy told me and my wife to use a squeegee to wipe down the glass every time we take a shower so that the glass doesn't go bad. He said it wouldn't matter if we had frosted or plain glass.

squeegeeing is a pain in the glass. Standing there naked and cold while I wipe water off of 100 square feet of glass is not my idea of fun. But I don't want to ruin the glass, either.

Any thoughts about how to perserve the glass without squeegeeing?

Use a bigger squeegee, it might take you 10 seconds.........how cold can you get.

RainX ?

Their is no way I would do that, lol. I would just plan on replacing the glass years from now, and call it good.

I'd try some Rain-X or maybe the new stuff from PPG (Pittsburg Plate Glass). The glass has to be clean first.

If you don't clean off the glass, depending on your water, it will etch. It will somewhat depend on how hard your water is, but they call water the universal solvent for a reason...course we don't live long enough to notice it on some things!

jadnashua said:

I'd try some Rain-X or maybe the new stuff from PPG (Pittsburg Plate Glass). The glass has to be clean first.

If you don't clean off the glass, depending on your water, it will etch. It will somewhat depend on how hard your water is, but they call water the universal solvent for a reason...course we don't live long enough to notice it on some things!

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Thanks for the suggestion. It appear that PPG makes something called Aquapel.

See http://www.jwardell.com/mini/2006/04/11/rain-x-vs-aquapel/

I think I'm going to contact PPG and see if they recommend Aquapel for showers. I'm not sure that Rain-X or Aquapel is supposed to stand up to 100 degree water.

From what I've seen, they will be fine at that temp. They do get rubbed off on a windshield from the wiper blade action, but on a side window or rear window, they stick around for a year or so.

PPG has a spray on treatment for glass. The better one, though, is the one they can put on in the factory. That one is a vapor deposited coating that actually does a surface conversion. All of these make the top surface smoother so water beads up.

You could just try some car wax, but don't do that if you are going to try one of the other treatments.

My windows have been exposed to smog and rain for more than 40 years and they haven't been "etched".

Your dishwasher puts water on glasses all the time. Any deposits can be removed with chemicals if necessary.

They put acids in glass bottles. They put bases (like lye) in glass bottles.

If you don't clean your glass, it will get soap scum and solids from the water on it, but those can be cleaned off.

What you don't want to do us use abrasives on it.

pro + con --> do it sometimes.

1.) like Bob said, you can keep glass looking good without using a squeegee.

2.) Sometimes my goal is to get the R.H. in the shower area to drop down to the same level as the rest of the house. To be sure it dries out once and for all, for the next little while, I use a squeegee and finish with a towel. This gets the program underway.
2 a.) Another big advantage to this method is that I also get rid of the little beginnings of drop marks that have started on the glass after not squeegeeing for a few days. A towel rubbed hard can also do this, but a squeegee is a better tool, covering more area faster, although not as deep and hard as a towel forced down on the glass. These drop marks get bigger and bigger, and harder and harder, when left to grow.

3.) My wife has gotten into the act too, and brought a squeegee up from the car trunk. She likes being able to switch from a big one with no handle at all, to a little one with a long handle and a big grip. This is one case where her motto is more "ToolsRMe" than ever. Variety. Choices. Mixing and matching. She never uses any "product" on the glass any more.

4.) For her or for me, it's just a little gentle exercise for the body, more like movements than exercise. Saves money too.

david

Bob NH said:

My windows have been exposed to smog and rain for more than 40 years and they haven't been "etched".

Your dishwasher puts water on glasses all the time. Any deposits can be removed with chemicals if necessary.

Click to expand...

From the people who make Jet Dry dishwasher rinse http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache...t+dry"+glass+etching&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1

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Jet Dry said:

There are two types of film that may give a whitish appearance to glassware. The first is caused by hard water or a combination of hard water and food soil. This film will coat the glasses evenly, appearing smooth and opaque. To remove this hard water film, try GLASS MAGIC® Performance Booster.

The second type of film is silica etch. When silica etch first begins, the glassware develops an amber or multi-colored hue. As it progresses, the glassware becomes cloudy or is streaked. This cloudiness is permanent and cannot be removed.

Etching is especially prevalent in naturally soft or mechanically softened water. Automatic dishwashers can accelerate the etching process more than hand washing because of higher water temperatures, longer wash cycles, stronger water agitation, and stronger detergency.

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I have contacted PPG/Aquapel by phone and they tell me that they have many shower door manufacturers who apply the product. No problem with heat. Be careful to clean the class and make absolutely certain that the glass is dry before applying it.

Try it if you like. But I'll tell you from experience that nothing works better than a squeegie and a towel in the long term.

Wife grew up in a military family, I now squeegie the walls of the shower.

Rancher