My neighbor, a retired housekeeper, watched me scrub a shower door with half a bottle of spray for twenty minutes and finally said the thing that changed my bathroom routine: just use a dryer sheet.

I thought she was joking. She was not.

Why dryer sheets work

Dryer sheets are coated with a fabric softener that loosens soap scum the same way it softens laundry. Wet one under the faucet, then scrub the glass in circles. The white film wipes away with almost no effort.

Rinse with warm water and buff the door dry with a clean cloth. The sheet leaves behind a light coating that repels scum, so the door stays cleaner longer.

A few rules I picked up

• Use a used dryer sheet if you have one. The coating is still there and you get a second life out of it.
• For thick buildup, let a wet sheet sit on the spot for a minute before scrubbing.
• Do this weekly and the door never reaches the nightmare stage again.

One warning: skip this on tinted or coated glass and on stone surfaces. The softener can leave a haze on special finishes. Plain glass shower doors are the sweet spot.

The first time I tried it, the door went from foggy to see-through in maybe three minutes. I have not bought a dedicated shower spray since.