How to Remove Sliding Glass Shower Doors

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posted on 18 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Whether you want to deep clean your sliding glass doors or you want to replace them entirely, removing them is surprisingly easy. With just a few simple tools you probably already have at home, you can pop your shower doors off in no time. In this article, we’ll walk you through removing your shower doors, as well as removing the frame to replace them and doing a deep clean of your glass shower doors.

Things You Should Know

Remove the doors by unscrewing the roller guidelines, then popping the clips out of the tracks.
Remove the sliding glass door frame by cutting the caulk with a utility knife, then unscrewing the 6 screws on either side.
Clean your shower doors with natural ingredients, like vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice.

Removing the Doors

Unscrew the bottom roller guidelines with a screwdriver. Step inside your shower and take a look at the bottom of the doors. Most glass shower doors have roller guidelines, which look like small black clips on the sliding door tracks. Use a Phillips head screwdriver to unscrew the roller guidelines and set them aside. If you’re not going to be replacing your shower doors or you’re getting new shower doors, you can throw these roller guidelines away. Some shower doors don’t have guidelines at all. If you look at yours and you don’t see any, you can skip this step.

Pop the bottom clips out of the aluminum track with a flat head screwdriver. Still inside of your shower, look for 2 small metal clips that sit inside of the roller track on the bottom of your doors. Use a flat head screwdriver to pop these out of the track toward the inside of the shower. If you’re having trouble with this, have a friend hold the shower door steady as you pop the clips outward.

Pull the shower door inward to remove it from the tracks. Inside the shower, grab the door with both hands and gently pull it down and inward. The shower door will pop right out of the top tracks and you can safely remove it from the frame. If you’re having trouble getting a good grip on the door, put on gloves so your hands don’t slip. Once you have one shower door out, you can do the same thing to the second shower door. Shower doors are made of tempered glass, so they won’t break easily. However, try not to hit the corner of the shower door, since that’s where tempered glass is the weakest.

Removing the Frame

Cut the caulk around the top bar with a utility knife. The metal frame of your shower doors is usually water-proofed with caulk or silicone. Use a utility knife to gently cut around the top bar of the frame where it touches your shower walls. Cut around both the left and right side of the top bar so it’s easy to take out. You’ll only want to remove the frame of your shower if you’re planning to take out the doors completely or replace them. If you’re just removing your shower doors to clean them, you can leave the frame alone.

Pop the top bar out of place. Stand inside of your shower and put both hands on the top bar, then gently push up. It won’t take much force to remove that top bar! You can set it aside as you work on the rest of the frame.

Unscrew the 3 screws on the right and left side of the frame. Grab a drill and insert a drill bit that matches the screws in your shower frame. Unscrew the 3 screws on either side of the frame that are attached to your shower wall (6 screws total). The screws are usually at the bottom, middle, and top of the frame.

Cut the caulk around the sides and bottom of the frame. Use your utility knife one more time to cut along the edge of the entire frame, including the part that touches the top of your tub. You may notice that your frame starts to come off the shower at this point, so be prepared to catch it if it falls.

Pull the frame out of the shower. Grab one side of the shower frame and gently pull it toward yourself. The sides of the frame are connected to the bottom, so the entire frame will come off at once. If you notice any old caulk on your tub or shower walls, you can remove it with a commercial caulk remover. Use white vinegar and water to tackle any soap scum or mold left underneath the frame.

Cleaning Glass Shower Doors

Soak the doors with vinegar to tackle hard water stains. If you notice white streaks or buildup on your shower doors, it’s most likely a hard water stain. Set your doors outside and warm up some distilled white vinegar in the microwave for 30 seconds. Pour the vinegar into a spray bottle and then spray your shower doors, then let them sit for 30 minutes before rinsing with water. For super tough hard water stains, mix white vinegar with equal parts dish soap, then let that sit on the doors for 30 minutes.

Remove soap scum with a baking soda paste. Fill a bowl with 3 to 4 tbsp (45 to 56 g) of baking soda, then add in about 3 US tbsp (44 mL) of white vinegar. Mix the two together to create a paste, then spread the paste onto your shower doors. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then scrub your doors with a sponge before rinsing. Soap scum typically congregates around the bottom and sides of your shower doors.

Rinse with lemon juice to avoid streaks. Wet shower doors can sometimes dry with annoying streaks on them. To avoid this, mix equal parts lemon juice and water in a spray bottle, then spray down your shower doors. Wipe away the mixture with a squeegee or a microfiber cloth right away. Try to avoid using paper towels, as their pulpy, rough texture tends to leave streaks and marks.