A leaky or clogged shower door that does not open and close is one of those tiny and highly annoying bathroom issues, which only gets bigger and more irritating the more one neglects it. An insignificant drip on the floor of the bathroom may develop into the damage of water, moulding, and expensive repairs when not addressed.
The good news is that a majority of the pitfalls that occur on most shower doors have simple solutions and in most instances, you can remedy them with the right knowledge and the appropriate replacement hardware. In this manual, we discuss the most common problems that homeowners have with framed or frameless shower door as well as sliding showers, and provide common solutions on how to resolve them.
What Is the Life Span of a Shower Door ?
Perhaps, however, it is prudent to get an idea of the duration of a shower door which should be realistic before plunging into certain issues since at other times a problem must be nothing more than a door outlived its purpose.
A good shower door that is well installed must take a period of between 1 and 2 years. The hardware, however, hinges, seals, handles and tracks, generally require attention or replacement earlier than that. Seals and gaskets tend to wear out in a span of 5-10 years depending on the hardness of water and water washing habits and frequency of usage.
At Quality Glass Fittings, we offer replacement shower hinges, handles, seals, U-channels and bracing hardware on a broad variety of shower door types so that one can easily refurbish a worn door without having to replace the actual glass.
Common Shower Door Issues
The issues of shower doors are usually subject to several repeated categories. The initial step to successful fixing of your problem is to understand what category it falls under.
The most frequent complaints are: leaking of water at the bottom or corners of the door, the failure of the door to close or latch, loosened, stiff, or corroded hinges, sticking or jumping rails, and fogging or permanently etched limescale glass. Both of them have their cause and remedy, which we will go through below.
What Are Some Common Sliding Door Problems?
Sliding shower door is trendy owing to the fact it does not need the space occupied by a swinging one, yet it has its share of maintenance problems.
The door is difficult to open or it is sticky. This is nearly an issue of track. The bottom track gets covered with soap scum, limescale and hair which build up with time and become frictional. The solution is simple, take off the door in the track (just the easiest thing to do, just lift it up, and tilt it out), wash the track using a limescale remover or Vinegar solution and dry it before putting it back into the track. After cleaning, put a little silicone-based lubricant on the track- do not use WD-40 or lubricants that are oil-based as they attract dirt.
When closing or opening the door, it either jumps out of the track or rattles. This normally implies that the rollers (wheels) on the top or bottom of the door have either deteriorated or are damaged. New rollers are cheap and quite simple to install. In case the track is bent or warped, the track will require replacement.
The sliding door does not close completely. The location of the door can change within a few days or the bottom guide might have moved. To make sure that the door fits in place when the door is closed, adjust the bottom guide. In case the clearance between the sliding panels has been diminished, the door might require refitting to the track.
A sliding door has a seal on the bottom that is leaking. Sliding doors normally have a sliding door handles and a flexible wiper seal at the bottom of the edge that pushes the water back into the shower tray. Such seals wear out and degrade under the sun. Most common shower door widths have replacement wiper seals which are one of the fastest repairs on this list.
Framed shower door leakages at the bottom.
One of the most commonly reported problems is leaking at the bottom of a framed shower door and nearly always is associated with one of three factors; a worn or missing bottom seal, a failed silicone bead, or a cracked shower tray.
Worn or missing bottom seal. The rubber or PVC strip along the bottom of the door is made to lie against the shower tray or the threshold and ensure that no water runs out. As time goes by, this seal presses down, solidifies or divides. The seals can be replaced in 6mm, 8mm, 10mm and 12mm glass - Quality Glass Fittings can carry the PVC shower seals in various sizes to fit the varying glass thicknesses. All you need to do is to take off the old seal, wash the rim of the glass, and then attach the new one.
Silicone failure at frame to wall or frame to tray. The silicone bead used to hold the frame to either the wall or tray decays with time, particularly in hard water regions or where cleaning solutions with bleach have been used on a regular basis. When you notice cracking, shrinkage and dark discolouration in the silicone, then the silicone should be changed. Clean the area with silicone remover and plastic scraper, clean the surface, and add new silicone that is applied in a streamy, continuous line of bathroom grade silicone. Before taking the shower, it should be allowed to dry (usually 24 hours).
Fractured or faulty shower tray. In the case that the above fixes fail to fix the leak, then the issue might be the tray and not the door. Search any cracks in the tray of the hairline or any cracks at the point where the tray attaches to the wall. These would need various refurbishment - typically a professional repair package or tray swap.
No Frameless Glass Shower Door Closing Right.
Frameless shower doors are the high end design in the modern bathrooms, however, when it fails to close correctly, it is almost always related to either the misalignment of the hinges or a damaged magnetic or mechanical catch.
Hinge misalignment:
Glass is dense, a typical frameless panel with 10mm glass weighs 25kg or more and with time, the weight can cause the hinges to move about. What comes out is a door that is not at a right angle, does not close or rubs against the floor or frame.
Most good shower hinges have adjustment screws that can be used to adjust the position of the door without the need to remove it. Test your hinges to this feature and modify them. In case the hinges themselves are now loose at the wall or glass fixing point, re-tighten the fixings. Provided the hinge body has been bent or that the clamp that holds the glass has been broken, the hinge would have to be replaced.
We have fitted shower hinges at Quality Glass Fittings, which are heavy duty both in a standard and adjustable version, specifically designed to suit smaller glass panels that are much thicker and therefore require extra load-bearing capacity.
Damaged Door Catch or Magnetic Strip:
Frameless doors have several types of doors that are held together with magnetic strip or a simple mechanical catch. When the magnet is weakened or when the mechanism used to attach the door has been worn out the door will swing open or not be able to latch on. There are replacement magnetic seals and catches which are easy to install.
Leakage of Shower Door in the corner
Corner leaks occur especially often in walk-in enclosures and in L-shaped constructions in which two glass panels are connected at 90 degrees, or in which a glass panel is connected to a wall.
The commonest reason is that of a failed silicone joint. Glass-to-glass and glass-to-wall joints should be capped using flexible silicone, hard sealants will be cracked when the enclosure vibrates into action. In case the silicone in the corner has stretched away, broken or moulded, it should be replaced completely instead of being patched over.
To repair a corner leak effectively: any residual silicone should be removed (never simply put another sheet of silicone on top of the old stuff this does not adhere well and will soon fail again), then the joint has to be thoroughly cleaned with acetone or a special silicone remover, dry thoroughly then a layer of fresh sanitary grade silicone must then be applied in one continuous stroke. Wipe a wetted finger lengthwise on the bead to form it, and mask off the surfaces joining it first to have a clean, straight finish.
Inside a corner where a glass panel is applied to a wall, a glass-to-wall seal strip may be used (with silicone) to offer additional protection. All these are transparent PVC stripes that are pressed into place and form a flexible barrier that has just a slight movement that takes place naturally.
Frameless Shower Door Hinges Problems
Hinges are the most complicated mechanical parts of a frameless shower door and they bear the entire weight and movement load of the glass each time the door is opened and closed. Hinge problems are likely to occur in a number of ways.
The hinge is hard or stiff to open. This is usually brought about by corrosion especially in the hard water places or by shortening of the hinge body owing to a constant stress. First, clean the hinge pivot area with a limescale remover. In case the movement remains rigid, use a bit of silicone spray lubricant on the pivot. Hinge can require replacement should stiffness persist.
The door sags on one side. Sagging frameless door normally indicates that one of the fixings on the wall has been loosened, or the hinge has moved on the glass. Ensure that all the wall fixings are checked initially and re-fixed those which have become loose in the wall. In case the hinge body has moved on the glass, the glass clamp will either require tightening or the hinge replacement.
The hinge is pitting or corroded. Chrome and polished finishes may appear wonderful over the years, however, in the damp bathrooms (where rough cleaning reagents are involved) corrosion may take root on the surface, and few small imperfections can be removed, but an excessive amount of corrosion inflicts the surface to need replacement. Having a replacement of hinges, you can upgrade to a more sturdy marine of stainless steel or matt black finish which will also be more resistant to the effects of long term corrosion in bathroom conditions.
The glass is fracturing close to the hinge. This is more of a problem and normally implies that hinge is imposing an uneven force on the glass - often due to the fact that it is not exactly in place, or because it was attached without cushions of rubber between the metal and glass. Always pay attention to stress cracks around fixings the panel would require professional examination and probably replacement.
Ordinary Repairs and Service
A regular maintenance schedule helps to avoid or postpone most of the shower door issues. Here's what we recommend:
Ø Squeegee after every use. Water that is kept on glass and seals speeds up the limescale formation and the deterioration of the seals. Wipe-downs can be made in 30 seconds and are very difference in the long run.
Ø Wipe down tracks and seals once a month. Apply a non-abrasive cleaning solution to the surface or a dilute solution of white vinegar. Enter the grooves of the track and seal edges where dirt is built up.
Ø Inspect silicone annually. Note any cracking, drying up or mould. Sealing a failing seal early means it may only require re-sealing, rather than a leak investigation after water has been leaking onto tiles weeks.
Ø Check hinge tightness every six months. It would only require a minute to check using the relevant screwdriver. Free fixings that are detected in time will not make any misalignment issues.
Ø Apply appropriate cleaning objects used in the bathroom. Do not use abrasive cleaners or anything acidic containing seals or gaskets. These decrease the life of all mentioned parts.
Ø Replace worn seals promptly. An alternative PVC shower seal will cost few pounds and can be fitted within few minutes. When a leak is not taken care of before it gets out of control, it can cost hundreds to repair the floor.
And in sourcing the quality replacement parts, be it a new hinge, a complete set of PVC shower seals, bracing hardware, or U-channels; Quality glass fittings has more than 20 years of experience in supplying both homeowners and professionals throughout the UK. You should have a good shower door that is well maintained and with good hardware that will last you many years trouble free. And when it does go wrong you know just where to begin.
Finally, leaks, misalignment, deteriorating seals, or sticking tracks are problems of shower doors that are prevalent but not very difficult to contain. The majority of the problems appear over time as a result of frequent use, exposure to moisture, and natural wear of such parts as seals, hinges, rollers, and silicone joints. Fortunately, most of these issues can be addressed quite fast and cheaply with appropriate care and maintenance, early detection and replacing damaged hardware in time before these issues rise to the level that will necessitate replacing the entire door.