Our tile guy said that travertine, while a popular choice for baths, is a porous stone and needs regularly sealed to stay stain free. Even with sealing, the minerals in water will leave black streaks on the stone.

As far as glass for the shower, I researched the types of protectant that helps make it easier to clean the glass. Some wear off, some require the homeowner use special cleaning products, some are "after market" and have to be re-applied every 6 months or so. The best (in my opinion) is Showerguard by Cardinal. It's baked into the glass during manufacturing and lasts the lifetime of the glass. The homeowner can use any standard cleaner on it (magic eraser, scrubbing bubbles, etc.). If you choose frameless, there isn't that much metal (and no tracks) to clean.

Granite and quartz are pretty have no grout lines and are pretty much non-porous. You'll need to re-seal the granite every 6 months or so.

White grout, unless you are diligent about cleaning and keeping up on sealer.

I would avoid travertine, it does look nice but in a damp bathroom area no thanks. I want a glazed tile, with a smooth finish for easier cleaning. I have no glass shower doors so I can't comment on the shower guard, a lot of people seem to like it on GW though. I totally agree about the white grout - never ever again! We are in the process of remodeling our bath which had white grout, impossible to keep white. This time I'm using grey. I am at the point in life where I want to make my cleaning chores as easy as possible, pretty as white grout is when new, over time it requires a lot of work to keep it that way.

[This houzz story talks about how to design an easy to clean bathroom. [(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/design-an-easy-clean-bathroom-stsetivw-vs~2001491)

It seems everything I chose for my bathroom is difficult to keep clean, and I clean often.

I'd avoid white grout, white/black floor tile, and toilets that have lots of nooks & crannies in the base. If I could do it again, I'd get simpler faucets, an undermount sink, and slab front cabinets. The bottom edges of the inset panels on my white Shaker vanity get so dirty.

I had lunch in a great local restaurant several days ago. The food was excellent, but the travertine bathroom floor and walls in the men's room smelled like urine. Disgusting.

I have a beautiful modern vanity from porcelanosa - (gama décor) it comes with a built in krion top with integrated sink in white. It has subtle scratches and has gotten slightly stained. if I were to do it again, I would get porcelain.

drains with raised grates are a concern

I had a Showerguard-like product in my previous home's master shower (it may have been Showerguard, I don't recall, but it was some kind of protection that was "baked on" at the factory) and it was terrific. We are not the type who are going to squeegee after every shower (we have good intentions, but don't do it) and it was pretty-much streak-free between bi-weekly cleanings.

The things I would not repeat -- a vanity that has "nooks and crannies" - the sides of out vanities and the space in between the drawers collect dust, or a vanity that has an open bottom shelf (not only is it a dust collector, it's a pain to dust because I have to remove the baskets that make it look nicer, and then have to get down on hands and knees to reach. Lastly, be sure there's space between the sink faucets and the wall/backsplash to be able to get a cleaning cloth in between.

Sorry, I just saw that you were asking about materials, not design, but hope that helps anyway.

Thanks John W - I assume you are talking about the ACO drain that is easier to clean than others, but those drains I imagine are all harder to clean than the old fashioned drains in a tub that I'm used to.

SJHFan - I'll check out the Showerguard doors. Thanks. No way is anyone in our house going to squeegee the shower after each shower either. Sounds like a situation where 'nagging' is invited in. [g]

How long did you use the Showerguard door? Just wondering about it's longevity?

Our house is dustier than most, so anything that collects dust is off the list. Open shelves, definitely.

Good tip about the distance between the faucet and the backsplash!

Definitely DESIGN ideas too! Thank you!

Showerguard has lifetime warranty. Just don't get one of the aftermarket knockoff's.

Better yet, do a shower curtain instead of glass. It's not fashionable. But it's much easier to live with and just wash.

I have glass doors, white grout and marble....and I am not an obsessive cleaner.

The glass doors with some kind of protection coating on them and they are easy to clean. Much easier actually than my shower curtain which was a pain in the neck (literally) to take off the hooks (shower curtain and liner - separate hooks!).

I have white grout and so far so good. I squeegee the walls and the glass after showering but that's about it.

I also have a marble countertop. I just use the product they gave me when it was installed.

I don't go out of my way but it all stays clean. I think sjhockeyfan has a good point. It's the really ornate items that are harder to clean. Everything in my bathroom is minimalist - even the toilet bowl is skirted. So all the surfaces are basically flat and smooth and that makes them much easier to clean, imo.

Thanks Millwork, I wasn’t aware there were knockoffs. Good to know.

LWOak - I really dislike a shower curtain, it’s one of the things that bug me, but I do see it as the easiest to maintain in the end. If I end up with a tub/shower, I may have to go that route. I won’t do a shower door on a tub enclosure. Would like a walk in shower, but time will tell if we can afford it.

Jerzeegirl, we throw our shower curtains in the wash every week or two. I’d forgotten about the hassle of getting them on and off the hooks. I have seen some hooks that look easier to use though. If I have to, I will have to.

Using a squeegee on the walls, is not something we see ourselves getting in the habit of doing either.

I imagine clean design elements are easier to clean, but they are also very Contemporary looking and you have to enjoy that style I guess, unless you can find a compromise.

I have a faucet that is flat on top of the spout, very contemporary looking. The problem is that water sits on the spout, having fallen from drippy hands while turning off the water. Then the drops evaporate leaving a slight mineral residue behind that is hard to remove. So I keep a microfiber rag draped on the faucet to wipe it down after I use it. Drag. Lesson - get a faucet with a rounded spout so it sheds water better. At least that is my experience.

Thanks Enduring - who knew a faucet design would cause that issue. I have a stainless steel faucet in the kitchen that is constantly looking spotted from water droplets and it is annoying. I end up having to wipe it down a lot more than I did the previous faucet. But it functions much better than the old one, so, i guess I'm still ahead of the game.

I have had a shower door and curtains, I will never have another shower door. It's just more cleaning. I bought a dollar vinyl shower curtain and if it gets stained I toss it. I have had tile shower and an insert, I love the insert, so easy to rinse off the soap, then wipe it down while I am still in the shower, no grout to worry about. I don't care about trends and I am glad because in 2 years my modern bathrooms would l be out of style.

prairiemoon: The thing is even with a shower curtain you should be wiping down your shower walls if you want your grout to stay nice. I have the same problem as enduring with the flat tub spout so I keep my wipe down towel on my robe hook behind the door. To me the worst thing about shower curtain is when it sticks to your wet body. Ugh. I really hated that feeling - it made me very claustrophobic.

Haha, I am going with travertine. Guess I'm rolling the dice! I like natural stone. I have had crema marfil marble in a previous home, and slate and pebble. They held up well, I'm assuming they had a great sealer. Any recommendations while I'm here?

I had a bath once with the very small floor hex tile and it was harder to clean with all the grout lines and it 'caught' more stuff (harder to sweep). IMO. I did have trouble with my last glass shower door so I'll have to look into these products mentioned, thanks.

Emma - what is an ‘insert’ in the shower?

Jerzeegirl - Good point about shower curtains making you feel claustrophobic. I am not optimistic about getting everyone to wipe down the tiles every time they shower. Were you doing that before you had your bathroom renovated?

Allison - I like natural stone too. Maybe they can give you some tips on how to keep it nice? I am also thinking that the smaller tile represents more grout to clean.

prairie: I didn't wipe down before because I knew I was going to remodel at some point and didn't care what the old tile or grout looked like. But what I did was take the end of my shower curtain and clip it to the hanging shower basket so it wouldn't touch the bathtub. It help to slow down the moldiness on the edge of the shower curtain but it did not prevent it. Wiping down the tiles is so easy so I really don't mind. Or they can be squeegeed along with the doors. I can't believe how easy it is to do. However, if you aren't sure then go with the shower curtain. If you decide you don't like it, you can always change to a shower door. Whereas, if you go with a shower door and you don' t like it, you are kind of stuck.

I agree with enduring. We got a nice Hansgrohe faucet set for our boys' bath, and water from wet hands always sits on the flat top of the sink faucet handle and spout, and on the flat top of the tub spout. When it dries, it leaves rings and discolors the brushed nickle finish. Almost all of the Hansgrohe fixtures seem to have flat spouts and handles. We are doing another bath, and this time, even though we are using a Hansgrohe shower set again (both controllers are round), we went with a Grohe faucet that has a round handle and spout and is a close-enough match.

Jerzeegirl - I understand, not caring when the old tile and grout look awful. Do you wipe down with a towel or a squeegee?

btnik - That’s too bad, because it is an attractive faucet. I'll have to keep that in mind.

I squeegee the shower doors, the wall, the top of the tub spout (which is flat) and the bottom of the tub. (I discovered that I kind of like squeegeeing for some strange reason). Then after I get dressed, I just poke my head into the shower and lightly towel off the walls a little bit and polish up the tub spout. It can't take more than two minutes to do everything. To be perfectly honest, using this routine I have not had to clean the walls with any shower cleaners at all and they are still pristine (white tile, white grout). I did clean the bottom of the bathtub with barkeepers friend though just because it's a bathtub.

My sister had the glass doors and I hated cleaning them when we visited, so opted for a shower curtain when we gutted both bathrooms. I will not have any grout in the house - the shower walls are solid surface (Swanstone) panels - very easy to clean.

In one of my previous homes the shower curtain blew around and stuck to my body, but I haven't had that problem (at all - it doesn't move, period) in my current bathroom. As for wiping down the tile, ha ha, fat chance :-)

Once you get used to squeegeeing the space it becomes second nature. I HATE cleaning showers! But I never have to clean mine because I squeegee it every day after the shower. I have a microfiber towel with which I wipe the fixtures down and all the corners of caulking. I think I will try jerzeegirl's technique and squeegee in two steps and see how I like it.

I really appreciate my daily efforts so I don't have to clean the thing otherwise. Once a month I might use Method bathroom cleaner on the shower pan (Kohler cast iron)

I don't like my beautiful niche. If I could do it over, I would not put one in. It is always collecting water during the shower and I have to remove the items to wipe it down even though it slopes. I don't want to risk mold getting a hold in my bathroom. I would rather have just got a quality teak bench for the shower and placed my supplies there. Currently I have a small narrow drainable basket sitting on my floor for my large shampoo bottle and conditioner. My niche is a piece of expensive property that I find high maintenance.

I used fiberglass faced drywall for all my walls in my bathroom remodel. The drywaller was concerned about the expense. Well it was only a few dollars more then the standard sheet. I had heard that paper faced drywall is more at risk for mold because the paper is food for mold. Fiberglass is not.

Then I requested, instead of regular drying type joint compound, that
they use setting type joint compound. Once dry it can't be rewetted. I don't know if this is reasonable or not but I went that direction.

I have a very good fan setup and sufficient gaps under my doors for make up air to enter the room while the fans are running. I have a timer that is dedicated only to the fan and I turn it on so it will run for 30 to 60 minutes during and after my shower. My bathroom does not steam up at all. In the old bathroom I had mold growing at the drywall ceiling above the shower. No bulkhead there either. I don't think I had enough make up air while the fan ran. With my new shower I have a fan vent in the shower and another near the toilet area. They duct together in the attic where they connect to the motor and exhaust out the roof. My shower ceiling is 8' and drywalled with the wall materials mentioned above. I used BM Aura Bath and Spa paint.

Excellent tips. Low maintenance and durable are my guiding principles when it comes to this house renovation, so this info is very valuable to me. Thanks!

Picabelle now you are really making me nervous! I looked for any other stone like porcelains and only found one I loved, but it was double the price so I stuck with the real thing, which I love as well.

Any recommendations for the best sealer?

Enduriing: Can you tell me the brand and model of the remote exhaust fan you used in your shower?

Picabelle: Can you tell me the brand of your polished nickel shower fixtures? I love PN, but I'm afraid it may be too much work to maintain. I know my DH won't dry them off.

Many years ago another GW member said she used liquid body wash because it did not leave a soapy film residue like bar soap does. I switched about 3 years ago and totally agree.

A helpful tip to prevent a shower liner from "blowing in" on you is to hang a heavier canvas curtain next to it.

Ha ha, I guess those shower liners just want to cuddle up to something.

My exhaust fan isn't remote in the sense that there is a handheld on/off. It is ducted and the fan is in the attic, and I have two vents from the bathroom ducted to it. I also had the vents insulated because it attic freezes in the winter. The name is Fantech. They were very helpful in helping me size the motor when I called them. I think I bought direct from them.

I agree with the body/shower soaps. The only thing I've noticed is that any I tried always left a darkish gray stain in the middle of the washcloth that wouldn't wash out. So my solution was to buy dark gray washcloths. I like the IKEA ones that are nubby.

Ok, I've got another difficult cleaning situation that I feel I have concord. The glass shower door and the shower walls. I know everyone says "get a squeeze". I find squeezes hard to hold, angle, and stroke, to get the water off. Well its not that hard. But I was always using a microfiber towel to wipe down the niche, the corners where the caulking is and the chrome hardware. It was so much easier to use the microfiber towel to towel down the glass, walls and fixtures except I had to keep wringing it out, which I didn't like. So I found out about a large microfiber (larger than a hand towel but smaller than a bath towel) that is used for car detailing. I got a white one (2 actually) from a company called "The Rag Company". These towels are made in Korea, which are supposed to be better than the China made microfiber. It dries down my whole 5x3 foot shower space including the glass and doesn't need wringing out. I hang it over the glass door to dry. Perfect for me.