How often should you clean your shower?

If you think cleaning your shower once a year is acceptable, I have bad news. By that schedule, your shower is less of a bathroom feature and more of a science experiment. Showers are supposed to keep you clean, not become their own petri dish.

How often should you clean your shower? The short answer is at least once a week. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, mold thrives anywhere moisture builds up, meaning your shower becomes a spa retreat for fungi if you skip scrubbing. To avoid health risks, they recommend drying wet surfaces quickly and cleaning mold promptly.

Regular cleaning is not just about looks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that mold exposure can irritate the lungs and trigger allergies. Add soap scum and hard water stains, and suddenly you are bathing in dirty water.

If the idea of weekly cleaning sounds daunting, consider this, a quick spray and scrub now will prevent a weekend project later.

So do yourself a favor. Put “clean the shower” on your weekly to-do list. You will be grateful in the future, and your bathroom will stop becoming a mold sanctuary.

In short, the next time you step out of the shower squeaky clean, remember your shower deserves the same treatment. Otherwise, you are just sharing space with soap scum and its cousin, mildew. Now go clean your shower and make sure it stays clean.