Taking a bath or a shower is a common thing everyone does each day. But just because it’s common it doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to make it more enjoyable and relaxing.
With the wonderful world wide web, though, people all across the globe have been sharing their best shower and bath hacks, and their most hated bath time dilemmas, with each other so much so that there’s now an endless amount of information out there on how you can maximize your showering experience. Whether it’s with products that make life easier, cleaning tips, or helpful hygiene advice, there’s something for everyone to learn!
Ever considered making your own bath oils, creams, and lotions? Maybe medicated bath bombs to wake you up or put you to sleep? Or perhaps you can benefit from a DIY bath mat or a cost-effective bathtub makeover? Kick up your shower routine and restore the art of rejuvenation to your bath time with these 50 best shower and bath tips!
DIY Moss Shower Mat
Kill two birds with one stone with this innovative-but-easy DIY moss shower mat. Not only does this shower mat have the basic functionality of providing your fresh feet with enough grip to keep you from slipping, but it’s also soft and cozy, warming to your body temperature almost immediately.Since it’s a living plant, it will absorb the excess water from your feet and feed the moss, nearly eliminating cleaning and bringing nature right into your bathroom.
DIY Bathtub Tray
Generally speaking, when people take a bath they aren’t just doing it to get clean. After all, why not just shower? No, when people take the time to clean out their tub and climb in, they’re looking for the best relaxation they can get out of their bathroom.For the ultimate in-home spa-like experience, try your hand at this DIY bathtub tray to have your book, wine, candles, and whatever else you need for some nice R&R.
Disposable Hair Traps
Everyone knows what a pain in the you-know-what it is to unclog a shower drain. Usually, it’s full of goopy soap-scum filled stray hairs that make you want to gag at thought of pulling it away in nasty clumps from your drain. Do away with all that mess with these disposable adhesive shower drain covers that you simply peel up and throw away!
Clear Your Shower Drain
If you’ve already got a clogged drain don’t worry, there’s a hack for that. Simply pour a full cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by ½ cup of household vinegar (white is all you need), and plug up the opening and weigh down with a plate.Let it work for 30 minutes before flushing thoroughly with hot water, then watch your water blissfully drain away!
Cut Through Soap Scum
Don’t waste your precious time and energy trying to scrub away soap scum with a detergent. Instead, you can cut right through it with a splash or two of your nail polish remover.The acetone quite literally eats away at the soap scum, dissolving it almost immediately so that all you need to do is simply wipe it up with a damp sponge.
Infused Bath Water
While having a clean bathroom is certainly necessary for a relaxing shower, it’s important to remember to pamper yourself as well as your tub. Just like a cup of tea can take the edge off a rough day, infusing your bathwater with some green tea bags can do wonders for you, too.For a rejuvenating bath, add 6+ green tea bags to the water for healthy skin, relaxed muscles, and dandruff-free hair.
DIY Vaporizing Shower Steamers
One of the many wonderful things a shower is great for is helping us decongest with all that HOT steam! If you’re feeling particularly congested, like during cold and flu season, take that unclogging action a step further with these DIY vaporizing shower melts.They only take a couple of ingredients and are unbelievably easy to make. Just toss on the floor of your shower and let the steam help clear you out!
Revamp Your Tub Appeal
Although functionality in any given room in a home is a make or break deal, the looks of a room can be just as important when you are trying to relax. After all, what mom do you know that can relax in a messy house?!Take your bath time experience to the next level with this simple tub facade makeover. It only takes a few easy steps and you’ve got a high-end bathroom on a low-end budget!
Eucalyptus Garlands
If you really want to keep things feeling fresh in your bathroom, hang a few garlands of eucalyptus around your shower head. The hot steam rolling off the shower will diffuse the essential oils from the leaves directly into the air.Eucalyptus is known for its therapeutic aromatic effects, and tying it into your shower will allow you to get all the wonderful benefits and keep your bathroom smelling fantastic at the same time!
Caulk Like A Pro
If you really want to give your old bathtub or shower a pick-me-up, consider recaulking it to seal it off nice and tight and cut your mold and mildew scrubbing to a minimum.No need to grab a caulking gun and all the towels in your house, either. Just grab a roll of caulking tape and let the product do the work for you!
Jam It Out In The Shower
One of the best ways to start your day is with your favorite music. This is even truer when you can belt out your favorite tunes along with the radio in the shower.Get complete control over your shower time serenades with this waterproof shower speaker that sticks right to your bathroom wall!
Beer Conditioning
Your family mat look at you with a fine mix of amusement and concern when you step into the shower with a beer in your hand, and that’s ok. Let them be amazed when you come out with lush, fully conditioned hair.Simply shampoo your hair as normal, then soak thoroughly with FLAT beer and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then rinse as normal for smooth, flowing locks!
Shower Gel
Stop wasting $8-$10 on expensive shower cleaners that rarely do the trick. The answer to your tub grime is probably already sitting right there in the tub.The shower gel is already full of emulsifiers and detergents that will cut through most of the grime in your bathtub with next to no effort on your part, and saves you serious pennies over the course of the year!
Be A Smart Shaver
Although most women shave their legs during their shower routine, most of them are doing it wrong.Instead of shaving at the beginning of your shower, you should only shave towards the end and it should only be done after you have thoroughly scrubbed off any dead skin to make sure and free up ingrown hairs. Most importantly, store your razor properly by cleaning and drying it off and storing it in a cupboard away from excess moisture.
Waterproof Media Player
With all of the awesome online streaming and recording options in the world of movies and TV, you never really have to miss out on a favorite show again. Now you can even enjoy them while you shower with a quick, simple hack.Simply place your phone or tablet into a double-sealed zip-locked bag and hang from your shower curtain and voila! A touch-sensitive yet waterproof screen!
Keep Your Shower Curtain Looking Fresh
Anyone who has ever had to deal with scrubbing soap scum away from a vinyl shower curtain will know the value of this little-known bath tip.To avoid dealing with nasty, smelly build-up on your shower curtain, simply wash it in salt water when you first bring it home. The salt dehydrates the mold/mildew spores, preventing it from ever growing into gross build-up in the first place!
Stop Rust
Is there anything more irritating than the feeling you get when you pick up a bottle of product in the shower only to find rust rings all over your bath and bottles? It’s hard to feel clean with a mess like that staring you right in the face.Thankfully, all you have to do is apply a little clear nail polish to the metal on each container and you can shower rust-free!
DIY Shower Cap
Let’s face it; you rarely have a shower cap when you actually need one. One of those things that often collects dust in a bathroom cupboard, these god-awful caps tend to get left behind when it really counts.If you find yourself in a pinch like this, simply wrap your hair in a clean, used plastic grocery bag to keep those locks light and dry in the shower.
Clear Your Shower Head
One of the most important things to keep in mind when aiming for a refreshing shower is to make sure ALL of your shower components are clean. Unfortunately, while the shower head should undoubtedly be the cleanest part of the shower, it’s usually the most frequently overlooked spot when it comes to buildup.To keep things flowing nice and clean, simply tie a bag full of vinegar around your showerhead for the night and rinse off in the morning.
Stop Towel Drying Your Hair
We all know how weak and brittle our hair can get, but did you realize it’s at its weakest after showering? When our hair is wet it tends to break more easily when running a brush or comb through it, and the rough texture of your towel is only making things worse.Instead, dry your hair with a cotton T-shirt because the smooth texture will be more gentle on your hair, but equally absorbent.
Daily Shower Spray
Deep cleaning the bathtub and shower can be a BIG chore. With a daily spritz down of this shower spray, though, you can keep deep-clean days short and sweet by keeping build-up to a minimum.Just mix 3 cups of water with ½ cup each of hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol, then add 2 teaspoons each of distilled vinegar and Dawn brand dish soap in a spray bottle and keep handy for a quick spray down after every shower.
Keep A Grapefruit Handy
No joke; to put an ultra-shine on your chrome shower fixtures, slice open a grapefruit and use the halves to scrub down your faucet, knobs, and shower handle.The high content of citric acid will cut right through any mildew or water spots, leaving behind nothing but your reflection. It doesn’t get any simpler than that!
Rod Organizer
Believe it or not, your shower curtain rod can be used for more than just holding up that water barrier of yours. Use it to free up tub space by letting it double as your product organizer.Simply use small hanging clips attached to the rings on your curtain rod to hang anything from loofahs and body wash to shampoos and toothpaste!
Shoe-Turned-Shower Organizer
If you find that you need more space than simply what your shower curtain rod can afford you, maximize your rod’s hanging power by adding a shoe organizer.Many shoe organizers are made of either mesh or plastic materials these days and will do perfectly fine in your shower. Simply use hanging clips to attach to your rod rings and you will have a pocket for everything you could ever need!
Harness The Power Of Steam
Life is busy enough without running around at the last minute trying to get wrinkles out of your laundry. Save time with this simple shower hack.Hang any wrinkled clothes you need to wear that day in the bathroom before getting into a hot, steamy shower. The steam will release the wrinkles while you shower, helping you get out the door even faster.
Brush Before You Wash
As we said before, wet hair is at much higher risk for breaking than it is when it’s dry. Knowing this, you should always brush your hair before you step into the shower. This will get any tangles out before it gets wet, making for much smoother sailing when styling your hair after your shower.
Rainproof Your Shower Door
You read that right. If you’ve got a glass shower door you know what a gross mess it becomes with even the slightest bit of mildewy build-up.Next time you clean your shower door, apply a nice coat of Rainex to keep it that way for much, much longer.
Embrace The Magic Of Oven Cleaner
You wouldn’t think it, but your oven isn’t the only place that can make use of oven cleaner. Sometimes our showers can get a little nastier than we’d like as we try to navigate our busy lives, and cleaning falls by the wayside.To get up particularly “stuck” messes in your shower, use the “fumeless” type of Easy-Off oven cleaner and let sit for half an hour before wiping away with a damp sponge and rinsing out. No elbow grease necessary.
Grime-less Grout
Shower tiles can be a beautiful thing in your bathroom, but what about after they’ve been there a while? The grout quickly and easily gets dirtied up with dust, grime, mold, and mildew, and it’s never a pretty sight.Fortunately, Oxi-clean does more than get your whites whiter. Just premix their Versatile Stain Remover, rub on top of any unsightly areas in your grout, and rinse away after roughly 30 minutes for nice bright white grout.
Take Your Time
It can be all too tempting to rush through our shower so we can hurry up and get on with our day, but we aren’t doing ourselves or our hair any favors by doing so.Instead, try to slow down and rinse your hair thoroughly before shampooing to open up your hair cuticles and sluff off any dead skin cells and excess oils. Then, shampoo as normal.
Dry Brush
Everyone knows it’s important to exfoliate, but not many people know it should be done before your shower.Dry brushing our skin with a natural-fibered brush (think horse hair) in upward circular motions before getting in the shower will help loosen and remove any dead skin cells before trapping them in our pores with body wash and hair product runoff. You can continue the exfoliation process in the shower also, but you should begin before you jump in.
Exfoliate, But GENTLY
After you start exfoliating with a dry brush, you can continue to exfoliate with your favorite body wash in the shower, but only very, very gently. Sadly, many people scrub away at their skin until it’s bright red and painful, but this really isn’t necessary and actually damages the skin.Instead, use incredibly gentle circular motions with a washcloth, loofah, or exfoliating brush to sluff off any leftover skin cells from the dry brush, and only do it a few times a week.
Moisturize!
One of the most important things you should do for your skin after stepping out of the shower is to moisturize. Unfortunately, many commercial moisturizers are full of harsh, toxic, and skin-irritating ingredients that actually worsen any skin conditions you might have.Make your own luxurious, healthy alternative with this DIY After Shower Body Oil.
Keep It Cool
So-hot-you-can-barely-stand-it showers are great and all, especially if you’re trying to relax your muscles after a long day, but it should never be your go-to temp on a regular basis.As wonderful as that scalding steam might feel, hot water actually dries your skin out. Considering we spend millions each year as a nation trying to control dry skin, use a little prevention and familiarize yourself with the cooler side of the shower knob.
DIY Bath Salts
To take your bathing experience to the next level, try your hand at making your own bath salts. It’s easy and inexpensive to do and gives you more control over what you’re trying to address.Clogged up? Use spearmint or eucalyptus oils. Need to get energized? Citrus. Relax? Lavender…the possibilities are endless, and all come with the combined, welcomed effect of the rejuvenating Epsom salts!
DIY Disinfectant Spray
You might not think about it very often, but the shower can harbor some pretty nasty bacteria and fungi…espescially on that normally wet shower floor.Assuming you don’t want to start showering in flip-flops at home, consider whipping up this lovely smelling Lavender + Lemon Bathroom Disinfecting Spray from Clean Mama. It’s completely non-toxic, budget-friendly, and will have your bathroom guests begging you for the recipe.
A Squeegee Keeps It Easy
A great way to hack your shower is to make sure it stays easy to keep it clean. One way to do that is by keeping a squeegee in your bathtub/shower for quick and easy clean-up after a shower. This is especially true for bathrooms with little-to-no ventilation.
Keep A Shower Caddy
We all know that organization makes everything in life easier. It’s why you’re reading this. So, it should come as no surprise that one of the best shower hacks out there is keeping a shower caddy.By keeping all of your shower cleaning products and tools in one place in the bathroom, tidying up won’t seem like such a chore and will more likely get the attention it needs more often.
Toss The Loofah
Loofah’s are a glorious thing when it comes to having a refreshing bath, but they aren’t always that great for your skin. Most people scrub too hard when using a loofah, causing more harm than good, but most notably; people usually store them wrong and rarely replace them.To give your skin its best loofah-loving experience, use gently on the skin, never rough, dry out and store in a dry area, and replace it every month to avoid scrubbing nasty bacteria into your pores.
Only Condition What Needs Conditioning
Believe it or not, a LOT of people are conditioning their hair all wrong. To get a deep moisturizing sesh on your hair, don’t dump it all over your scalp like you would a shampoo.Conditioner can clog your hair cuticles and cause unwanted build-up, so only apply it to the ends and midsection of your hair in small amounts and rinse after just a few seconds for a full effect.
Wash Your Body After Your Hair
When showering properly, you should always remember; hair first, body last. While it may seem more convenient to give your body a quick scrub-down while letting your shampoo or deep-clean conditioner work its magic, you’re actually just making things harder on yourself.Runoff from body care products like shampoo and conditioner contain harsh chemicals that also clog the pores, so always rinse your body down after rinsing out your hair.
Improvised Bath Mat
If you haven’t gotten around to creating that nifty moss bath mat yet and don’t have anything for your feet to grip, not to worry. Simply throw a towel in the bottom of the shower and get it sopping wet.While you might think this would make for more slipping, it does just the opposite because the towel is completely weighed down by the water!
Revitalize With Essential Oils
One way to keep that fresh and relaxed feeling after a nice shower is to use essential oils. After stepping out of the shower, the pores in the skin on your feet are open and breathing.This is the perfect time to rub them down with essential oils that have the action you need, whether it be uplifting and energizing, or calming and sleep-inducing, there’s an oil for every time of the day.
Hands-Free Foot Scrub
Sadly, many people have foot problems like toe-fungus or athletes foot because they do not properly scrub them while in the shower.Fortunately, Amazon has an answer for that with the Simple Feet foot scrubber. Just stick the suction cups to the bottom of your shower where you stand most of the time, pour on a drop or two of soap and go about your shower habits as normal!
Water Stopper
If you know someone who is disabled, this nifty gadget might benefit them immensely. Accessibility to everything takes a dive after becoming disabled, including your shower.That can all change with the WaterStopper, an easy-to-install strip of rubber that stands flat but can easily bend when being stepped on or rolled over while containing the water in the shower, allowing a person with disabilities to safely get in or out.
Wine Caddy
For the BEST shower experience for any wine-lover out there, this portable wine caddy for the shower by SipCaddy is an absolute must-have.Adhering to the wall by way of a suction cup, the grip on this little guy is the perfect size to hold a bottle of beer or a glass of wine. Just don’t drink too much while you’re in the shower…or you might have to have help getting out.
Bathtub Splash Guard
If you’re one of the folks who have that perfect balance of water pressure combined with poor faucet placement, then you will know just how handy these little guys can be.The Tidee Tub Splash Guards adhere right to the corners of your tub. Adding the perfect depth to your tub to keep those stray water droplets off of your bathroom floor, you’ll never have to deal with post-shower puddles again!
Moveable Shower Head Mount
If you live in a full house with people of varying heights, you may have had to compromise on where the shower head got mounted.If so, then you’ll definitely want to consider picking up this Vacuum Suction Cup Shower Head Wall Mount by BOPai. You can move it as high or as low as you’d like, making sure everyone in the house gets a comfortable shower.
Healthy Bath Bombs
Bath Bombs are crazy popular right now, but a lot of people don’t know what goes into the ingredients. Sadly, most store-bought bath bombs are loaded with toxic chemicals.Do yourself a favor and make these DIY bath bombs that are not only NOT bad for you, but actually can be made to have health benefits as well!
Shower Foot Rest
If you like to shave your legs, or have trouble bending over to scrub your bottom half, then this gadget was made for you.StarMall has created a suction cup mounted footrest for your shower that adheres to just about anything. Now you can safely wash and shave your legs with ease!