When we installed shower glass, we chose "raindrop" glass.

This is not exactly clear, not frosted. It doesn't need to be squeegeed.

It's a good compromise.

You can also just use a shower curtain, rather than a door.

Certainly the crystal clear doors are the worst at showing spots and splashes, and buildup between cleanings.

Raindrop glass - don't know what that is but I'll check it out. And yes, a shower curtain could be used - hate cleaning those tracks.

We have the rain glass, too. It really does help hide water spots, etc.

I had those yucky glass shower doors too. I ripped them out and put up a shower curtain. The lip at the bottom of my shower isn't very deep. I was concerned I may not be able to use a shower curtain, but the liner and the shower curtain work just fine. DH balked at the idea until he saw how nice it looked. That was a year ago. I'll never have another shower door.

Decor64, I hope you don't mind if I step in on your thread. I was just about to head out to the store to look at shower door options, but now I wonder if a curtain will work for us instead.

What if the shower opening is only about 26"? Would a shower curtain work then? What would I use as a pole? Anyone with experience?

We got the frameless doors which are nice because they come clean with the hand-held and just wiping them down when dry with a microfiber rag, BUT and this is the big opposition to them, they have had to be adjusted a number of times and it seems they work well for a few days but soon thereafter, they don't. Mine is not built in such a way that I can use a shower curtain so I might end up going back to the yukky frosted glass, a reminder of my past.

I've been listening to the talk about the dreaded shower door in various threads and I have to say that I love our new glass doors. We replaced the other ones because we changed out all the brass stuff. We spent extra for a coating that's applied at the factory. You can't see it and it's only applied to the inside. The door is beautiful and it absolutely does not water spot. You cannot use any solvents or typical household cleaners on the inside glass, however; and we do squeegie because -- we just do (it really helps keep the tile looking better). I've learned that it's the cleaning products that eventually etch the glass (not so you can see it) but just enough to break the glass surface down so that the water staining becomes permanent.
I don't use glass cleaner on anything anymore. Just water and my Supercloth. The coating can be applied to the inside of frosted glass too.

I'm a shower curtain gal too - just pop it into the washer when it needs it. Also adds color/pattern to the room and fabric mutes some of the "echo effect". I prefer fabric liners to vinyl.

ladynimue, for narrow openings use a fixed shower curtain rod instead of a tension type and cut the rod itself so it's the right size for the opening. Many dealers will cut the rod for you (Signature Hardware is one I remember off the top of my head) but you can use a hacksaw or an inexpensive gadget called a pipe cutter to cut the pipe yourself.

Has anyone ever tried putting the plastic liners in the wash? It says you can but I just get the cheap clear ones and throw them out when they get dirty, lol.

A couple years ago I was considering the frameless doors, with a specialty rain glass. I remember those glass options as being quite a bit more expensive.

I wouldn't worry about a 26" opening for a shower curtain. I'd think you could also do a liner on the inside and a wider decorative curtain & rod on the outside.

I have a small shower in a bathroom. They sell tension shower "stall" rods. Thats what I use.

Linens n' Things carries the tension rods in 24" - 40"

Squirrelheaven,
I've washed the plastic liners. You can put some old towels in with it to help clean it. Don't use a cold rinse though, they wrinkle and come out stiff. They wrinkle some even in warm water. I don't think your supposed to, but I put it into the dryer for just a few minutes and it softens up and smoothes out.

Why do you think yours becomes 'unadjusted' Patricia? Just the opening and closing of it, I guess, but what slips? Warranty over or not, if the darn thing doesn't work then they should still be standing behind their product. ??? Usually they think it's your fault in some way.

Aside from the expense of glass and the drilling into my new tile or whatever, I'm also not convinced I would keep up with the doors as well as I'd like. Or, even if I did, that the 'used' version during the week wouldn't just get to me in my beautiful new bathroom -- as pretty and spacious as it would feel with glass.

So, my choice was to go with a beautiful shower curtain first and see how I like it overall in there. (My new tub comes out a bit more than the last one, not much, but it was too darn expensive to move the toilet over and just not worth it).

So, my advice would be to do a mock up a curtain and see if you like the looks. If so, give it an inexpensive go! before plunging into a new door. If you don't like having or maintaining the one you have now, you'll likely feel the same with a new one, too.

We just remodeled our basement bathroom, with frameless shower doors. They were a **tch to install! We ended up using wax on the lower inside track, the kind you get at a car parts store. Now they still stick a little, but they slide much easier than they used to. We picked up a spray for them, so far so good.

Here is a photo of rain glass -- very low maintenance!

I have to agree; as much as I love our seamless doors and so far we haven't had any problems, they've only been up a few months -- if you aren't happy with your glass doors now because they're glass, then try out the shower curtain. If you love it, great. If you don't like it, well it's a shower curtain. Not a lifetime commitment. If you go with glass, I would definitely checkout the ClearShield coating.

One of the happiest days of the last few years was when we decided to go for our bathroom remodel and I tossed our our squeegie and stopped dealing with our awful glass shower doors. Of course that was so long ago I'd kill for even my navy blue toilet back right now - but I digress.

We are putting in a big shower (big for me - 3' x 5'5") with a bench and it's just going to have a small door in it - 30" wide, with a shower curtain. I am so looking forward to not worrying about glass anymore. We have hard water and even with a water softener it's a losing battle. We put a light in the shower so it won't be too dark being so closed off.

I've had walk-in showers with glass walls and doors since 1990. Always loved them and had no problem keeping them clear and clean.

However, in THIS house the water is hard, even with softeners and treatment. It's a losing battle. We have a 7 foot wide shower. I'm so ready to take out that glass wall and get two shower curtains to cover the wide span. We have a 4" high "curb" at the bottom, but I think it's high enough to hold the splash? We'll have to figure out a wide rod and get it cut to fit. We're not planning to sell, so I don't worry about removing the glass for resale purposes.

Thanks johnmari and everyone else for the information about hanging shower curtains in a small opening. Big savings for me - both in money and cleaning effort :)

For me, keeping the doors clean is not the problem, it is cleaning the track along the bottom as well as keeping the calking down there looking nice. Any advise? If I thought that the stall would contain the water, I'd rip the doors out in a New York minute.

For older shower doors that have a textured surface ~ here is a tip that will really improve their looks. After cleaning the door and their hardware/trim, use a rag with Old English Lemon Oil and rub all over the doors. I do this to the shower head and faucets as well. If you take the time to remove the build-up of lime and other minerals on the tracks and trim, then your doors will looks like new. NOT RECOMMENDED for kitchen faucets where food is prepared --- but your bathroom will look way better and stay looking better longer!