Friday, October 18, 2013

Making The Shower Door Like New Again and A Few Other Tips

Our shower door had gotten really bad with all the hard water we have here. I've tried every tip on the internet to clean it, and it still looked all streaky. It's almost as if the hard water kind of etched the glass. I thought I'd try a really inexpensive way to cover it up. 

Here's a "before" pic. You can see how streaky the glass was. 


I simply used $1 a roll clear contact paper from Dollar Tree. It says "clear" but thankfully it's a little hazy which is exactly the look I was going for.

Below is a pic of exactly what we used. We used four rolls to cover the door, side light, and the glass between the shower and the tub. First we wet the glass with a spray bottle filled with plain water, then cut the contact paper to size, removed the backing, and slapped it up there. You can move it around a little bit after you put it on the glass. Then we just smoothed out the bubbles with a credit card.


contact paper from dollar tree

Here's the "after" pic. I'm very happy with how it turned out and its held up great! A pretty good solution for only $4. :)



I bought some new cleaning rags the other day. I know this is going to sound weird, but I love to get new cleaning supplies! I really needed new cleaning rags and was so happy to see Target still carries these in the pic below. Always use white rags to clean with, otherwise, the color of the rag might transfer to the item you're trying to clean. I found this out the hard way when I used a pink washcloth to scrub a spot on my carpet years ago. It left a pink spot on the carpet. It was actually a very old pink washcloth and had been washed a zillion times, but it still left a pink hue on the carpet.


Here's another tip for you. We've never paid to have our house exterminated. We just always use this stuff from Walmart. It's about $6. I just squirt a little every couple of feet or so along the baseboards and also behind the stove, fridge, etc. I only use it about 3 times a year, so this jug lasts a long time. It's non-staining and doesn't have an odor either. Love that! It's for indoor and outdoor use, so I also use it around the doors and windows outside. 


Below is a close up of the label.


I almost forgot...this is a towel rack my hubby made for our bathroom. 



Here's a close up. He just routered a piece of wood and I primed and painted it oil rubbed bronze. Then he attached the hooks and we covered the screw holes up with these cute wooden fleur de lis. (they're just hot glued on) I painted the fleur de lis with watered down brown acrylic paint. 



fleur de lis towel rack

Here's one more tip for you. I was watching The Food Network the other day and they were talking about a way to "quick soak" your beans. Instead of letting beans soak overnight, you can just put them in a pot and pour boiling water over them and let them sit for one hour. This is supposed to be equal to letting them soak overnight. Have any of you ever tried this? Am I the last one to hear about this? Sounds like it would work. 

~Lisa




13 comments:

  1. Your shower looks great....what a clever solution to a pesky problem! We aren't able to use a pesticide right now because our puppy eats everything including bugs. I'm hoping this phase passes quickly!!! LOL
    Have a great weekend!
    ~Des

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  2. What a great idea on your shower door! I have the same shower/tub set-up in my bathroom too, btw. My glass does come clean though when I clean it. It must be your hard water causing the problem. We just hired an exterminating company this past Spring after having a HUGE problem with ants and other critters that we just couldn't get rid of ourselves. So far, so good. They have helped, but I don't think we'll ever get rid of them all! We live in the south (like you) and bugs are just part of our climate! Glad that the solution is helping y'all though.

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  3. Very clever fix for your shower, Lisa. We have a whole-house water softener system, thank goodness -- the water around here is so hard and full of minerals. We have one of those RO systems for our drinking water and a line runs to the refrigerator & ice-maker. I'm sure you already do this, but your kitty should get filtered water. Where we lived before, there was so much calcium in the water & could cause kidney problems in pets. Of course it wasn't good for human consumption either!

    I feel the same way about cleaning supplies -- that is not strange at all....lol! I always buy the bundles of white washcloths for my kitchen dishcloths and for cleaning. Of course they get laundered separately, but I really like being able to bleach them.

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  4. Wow, so many cool and helpful tips! That ant spray sounds amazing! Love them all.
    Hugs,
    Patti

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  5. You shower looks great! I love to get new cleaning supplies too. :)

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  6. Lisa, I hate cleaning that shower door, too! I love your quick trick! What a great idea. We just put in a brand new clear glass door and for some reason this one comes clean...at least cleaner than the old one. I think that they used Rain X windshield spray in it at the factory! We'll see how long that lasts!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kim! I bet the Rain X will work like a charm! Cleaning the shower door every week is my most dreaded chore. :)

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  7. The contact paper is such a great idea, it looks amazing. I love this idea and your cleaning cloths are fabulous too. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty

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  8. So clever, looks great! Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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  9. Great idea with the contact paper. It looks really good and I hope it really holds up nicely. I love those cleaning cloths, too! And I LOVE getting new cleaning supplies....it's sad lives we lead....lol

    My mom always did the boiling water thing and I don't think she ever soaked hers overnight. Have a great day- xo Diana

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  10. Great tips! May I ask, did you put the contact paper on the putside of the doors??? I am guessing you would have to, right???

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