The best shower cleaners for 2022, according to a cleaning expert

BLITZING your bathroom? We've 'scoured' the shops and spoken to the experts to find the best shower cleaners money can buy.

Tough-to-shift mould and limescale can make it easy to put off your cleaning day, but thankfully the right product will have your shower sparkling clean in no time.

It's easy to think that our shower is one of the cleanest spaces in our home, but if you're not armed with one of the best shower cleaners on the market, it can be a haven for germs.

It’s one of the most bacteria-ridden spaces in the home: , which can cause lung infections. Yuck.

To counteract, you'll need a shower cleaner that can remove mould and limescale, as well as something that will help descale those tiles from grout and clean stainless steel fixtures like the shower head. Meanwhile, a squeegee is the most effective tool for keeping shower glass clean, without needing to use super-potent chemicals like bleach.

Ready to channel your inner Mrs Hinch? We've rounded up some of the best shower cleaners on the market below.

Best shower cleaners at a glance:

• Best shower cleaner for tiles:
• Best paste shower cleaner:
• Best shower cleaning tool:
• Best shower cleaner for plughole blockages:
• Best eco shower cleaner:
• Best mould spray shower cleaner:
• Best limescale remover shower cleaner:
• Best smelling shower cleaner:
• Best shower glass cleaning tool:
• Best squeegee:
• Best for shower heads:
• Best bathroom cleaner:

How to clean your shower, according to an expert

According to Nicola Rodriguez AKA Essex House Dolly, a cleaning expert with decades of experience making homes spic-and-span, the first step in cleaning your shower might sound obvious, but it often isn't followed.

1. Empty the shower

When you first tackle cleaning your shower, always totally empty it," she tells Sun Selects. "This may seem common sense, but many people often clean around things in their shower. Your showering and hair products can often accumulate mould around the bottoms and a lot of gunk around the top, so these need a thorough clean."

She also recommends throwing away products such as razors and sponges regularly (every two weeks, in the case of sponges), as they can be breeding grounds for bacteria.

2. Clean the plughole

After the shower has been emptied, she recommends tackling the plughole.

It is amazing how so many people do not clean their plug", she says. "They think pouring an unblocker product just magics the horrors away — it doesn't".

"I have and when you pull them up, they gip all the nasty hairs, grime and other unwanted disgusting things out. It is astonishing what comes up!"

She then uses , pouring boiling water first to loosen any gunk — beware of fumes, though!

3. Get rid of black mould

Once the plughole is clean, turn your attention to the rest of the shower.

"Using , spray any areas of the shower where you can black mould spots appearing", says Nicola. "This can then soak in while you continue cleaning the rest of the shower".

4. Clean the glass

While the Cillit Bang is working its magic, Nicola says to get to work on your shower's glass.

"Use over the shower glass walls and also around the tap section. Once applied, using a sponge with an abrasive side, in circle motions, go over the areas. Once completed, shower off the Dettol, as well as the Cillit Bang Black mould remover."

5. Get rid of any stubborn marks

Once the majority of the shower is clean, it's time to get rid of any stubborn stains. To do this, Nicola uses The which can also be used in many other areas of your house, including cooker tops, sinks and barbecues.

"Vikal is also handy if you have a build-up of limescale," she says. "At home, I tend to use this product overnight on taps and wrap kitchen roll around it."

6. Clean the shower head

"You should also make sure that you clean your shower heads regularly," says Nicola. "I fill a carrier bag with and then tie the bag around the shower head or leave it in the sink. Leave it for around an hour and then let the water flush it through."

7. Get rid of water marks

"One of my bugbears, being someone who has OCD, is water marks — I absolutely loathe them," says Nicola. "I combat this by using and a spray of white vinegar."

First, lightly spray the vinegar over wet glass, before using one microfibre cloth to dry the surfaces. Then use a second cloth to go over the dry glass, as well as the tap and shower tray.

If you find the smell of white vinegar offputting, she recommends using a scented disinfectant to clean the floor of the shower — her favourite is

1. Best shower cleaner for tiles: Kilrock Black Shower Spray

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• Kilrock Black Shower Spray 500ml, £5.68 from Amazon -

This spray gel is ideal for getting grease, soap scum and surface limescale off of tiles — and these are the before and after shots to prove it.

It's also fantastic on shower glass, as well as on cookers and toilet seats.

The citrus-scented shower cleaner is a spray gel-like product that clings to vertical surfaces, deep-cleaning them with a professional, effective cleaning agent-laden formula.

It also boasts the ability to leave surfaces sparkling, and free from stubborn streaks.

Though it's thick and powerful, it's non-toxic and will biodegrade once cleaned off.

For under £3, it's a seriously good bargain that will transform your shower.

READ MORE:

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2. Best paste shower cleaner: The Pink Stuff Miracle Cleaning Paste

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• The Pink Stuff Miracle Cleaning Paste, £2.49 from Amazon -

This jumbo tub from The Pink Stuff is a paste instead of a spray, so makes for an easier application, with less waste and toxins dispersing into the air.

With 99% natural ingredients, it's environmentally non-toxic and non-hazardous, as well as cruelty-free.

It's a miracle worker for stubborn shower mould, limescale, grout and even rust. Cleaning expert Nicola Rodriguez swears by it as a method of getting rid of hard-to-shift shower stains.

It also helps to banish stubborn stains from saucepans, cookers, barbecues, tiles, glass, furniture, paintwork, brass and much more — so it's extremely versatile and fantastic value for money at under a fiver.

3. Best shower cleaning tool: OXO Good Grips Deep Clean Brush Set

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• OXO Good Grips Deep Clean Brush Set, £7.19 from Amazon -

Nobody thinks too much about grout - until you look at the shower tiles and you're shocked to see that your white sealing grout has gone grey or black. Fear not though, as this brush set can help.

This stainless steel two-piece brush set will offer a seriously deep clean inside and out of your shower.

The brushes are heavy-duty and durable with thick bristles, but feel soft and comfortable to hold with a non-slip grip.

The larger of the two is ideal for grout, shower door tracks, and your stovetop, whereas the smaller brush is perfect for those tricky-to-reach places, like for fixtures and tight places your cloth can't reach.

There's also a wiper blade on the base of the smaller brush which will clear any build-up of dirt or hair from drains and plugs.

4. Best shower cleaner for plughole blockages: Mr Muscle Drain Unblocker

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•  Mr Muscle Drain Unblocker, £0.60 from Amazon -

Staring into the abyss of hair and sludge down your shower plughole?

Yes, it's gross, but it's a problem that plights the best of us, and which you inevitably put off addressing until the water drains away so slowly that your showers are ankle-deep.

Luckily, Mr Muscle's Drain Unblocker is a winner because it effectively dissolves hair and soap scum down bathroom drains in just one shot fast.

You'll need to use the whole bottle and ideally leave it overnight to work its magic, but for the price, it's a super-easy way to get to the root of the blockage without having to call in the plumber.

Nicola recommends pouring boiling water down your drain before the Drain Unblocker, to loosen up any gunk. Be careful of any fumes that might result from this, though.

5. Best eco shower cleaner: Method Shower Cleaner Spray

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• Method Shower Cleaner Spray, Ylang Ylang, from £3.25 from Amazon -

Method's shower spray is made from all-natural, plant-based ingredients that don't cause any impact on you or the environment.

It keeps showers free from streaks and soap scum, and you don't even need to scrub it or put in any elbow grease.

Fans love that it cuts down on cleaning time; you simply spray it on after a shower and let it work its magic.

There's a pleasant fragrance from the first spray, which makes a change from the nose-wrinkling bleach smell you tend to get with other chemical-laden products.

Method prides itself on being eco-conscious, too, so be sure to recycle your bottle after use.

6. Best mould spray shower cleaner: Cillit Bang Black mould remover

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• Cillit Bang Black mould remover, £6.29 from Amazon -

For anyone who needs to give their shower a deep clean – like, a really deep clean – this mould spray from Cillit Bang is a firm favourite.

Not only does it promise 100% black mould removal, including stubborn mould stains on grout, but it kills 99.9% of bacteria.

The spray has a bleaching effect and works if you spray it and leave it for 20 to 15 minutes before wiping and rinsing with water.

Fans say it's effective on showers and ceilings, too, and Nicola even uses it to get bird poo off of garden furniture.

7. Best limescale remover shower cleaner: Viakal Spray

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• Viakal Spray 500Ml, £2 from Tesco -

Viakal is powerful stuff, and generally agreed to be the one of most effective limescale removers, claiming to remove 100% of limescale.

Ever since fans saw Insta-famous Mrs. Hinch using it on everything shiny in her shower, people are loving the effect it has on shower heads, knobs and taps.

It works everywhere else too, including in the kitchen on those stubborn, difficult-to-budge crusts and stains on the stovetops.

For encrusted limescale, leave it on for a few minutes before wiping the surface clean.

8. Best-smelling shower cleaner: Dettol Power and Pure Bathroom Cleaner Spray

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• Dettol Power and Pure Bathroom Cleaner Spray, £1.99 on Amazon -

This fresh-smelling bathroom cleaner from Dettol is Nicki's favourite shower cleaner: "Not only does it have a lovely smell but it also kills 99.9% of nasty bacteria and doesn't leave any harmful chemical residue," she says.
It gets frequent comments for its clean but not too overbearing fragrance and is great for cleaning showers and bathtubs.

The multi-purpose cleaner can be used on everything from shower screens to sinks, taps, toilets and floors.

It's also tough on dirt, killing 99.9 per cent of bacteria including MRSA, E-coli and H1N1 virus.

At under a fiver, it's fantastic value-for-money, too.

9. Best shower glass cleaning tool: Kärcher 1.633-201.0 WV 1 Window Vac

• Kärcher 1.633-201.0 WV 1 Window Vac, £40 from Amazon -

This handheld cleaning vacuum runs on a lithium-ion battery and is ideal for cleaning windows, mirrors and shower screens, as well as tiles.

It can also clean up any worktop or floor stains and spills.

It'll last around 20 minutes with one charge (which is apparently up to 45 windows!), which should get your bathroom cleaned in no time, and is well-designed to reach difficult corners.

It collects dirty water in a separate tank which won't affect the detergent, and is easy to empty.

10. Best squeegee: John Lewis & Partners Stainless Steel Shower Squeegee

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• John Lewis & Partners Stainless Steel Shower Squeegee, £15 -

This stainless steel squeegee from John Lewis is ideal for a quick and simple everyday clean after each shower, keeping the shower free from excess water and moisture that can transform into grout, mould or streaks.

It's rust-resistant and comes with a shower hook to stick on tiles or glass for easy access, use and storage.

11. Best for shower heads: Zoflora Fig and Cedar Disinfectant

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• Zoflora Fig and Cedar Disinfectant twin pack, £11.95 from Amazon -

If your shower is a heavy-traffic area and has plenty of visitors from family (or pets!) day and night, you'll probably be on top of cleaning it – but don't forget to include the shower head itself in your routine.

According to Zoflora, shower heads can contain "300,000 times more bacteria than your front door keys", due to bacteria-loving warm, damp places. Yikes!

Germs such as Legionella and Pseudomonas can live in hard-to-reach places like your shower head, but luckily it's super easy to blitz them with Zoflora disinfectant.

Simply unscrew the showerhead, pop it in a bucket and pour in four capfuls of Zoflora and 1.6L of water.

Left to soak, it'll kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses. Plus, your bathroom will be filled with this irresistible fig and cedar scent!

12. Best bathroom cleaner: Ecover Bathroom Cleaner

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• Ecover Bathroom Cleaner, £4.99 from Amazon -

It's easy to have a build-up of lots of plastic bottles, often unrecyclable and destined for oceans or landfill. Ecover has set out to change that.

This bathroom cleaner is multi-purpose, and is completely plant-based, with non-toxic biodegradable ingredients that aren't harmful to the environment, helping your shower sparkle and shine.

The trigger spray bottle is fully recyclable, and already made from recycled plastic, so it's up to you to continue the trend.

What is the best cleaner for shower mould?

, featured on this list, is ideal for those who need to give their shower a deep clean, especially thanks to growing, stubborn mould.

It's a firm favourite and even helps to stop mould from re-growing from the very first spray.

It has a bleaching effect, too and works after leaving for 30 minutes before rinsing with water and gently scrubbing with a sponge.

Does Method shower cleaner work?

shower cleaner has scores of good reviews, especially due to its seriously impressive list of eco-credentials.

The Method shower cleaning range boasts great fragrances that are non-toxic, biodegradable and require little or next to no scrubbing, while still leaving a sparkling shine.

For a few quid, Method is a great all-rounder, as well as being eco-conscious.

Can you use drain cleaner in the shower?

Drain cleaner will work to unclog shower plugs of build-up dirt, soap and hair but it's often laden with toxic chemicals.

You're best to make your own homemade cleaner from cupboard staples - including simple baking soda and vinegar.

First, pour boiling water down your shower drain, then pour a cup (around 250ml) of baking soda, followed by a cup of vinegar down the drain.

Then, wait a couple of hours before following up with boiling water - and voila!