Tips for Cleaning Hair Dye Off Glass Shower Doors
If gray hairs are ruining your youthful appearance, but you don't want to visit the hairdresser every few weeks, you may have decided to wash away the gray with home hair coloring. While this is an effective and easy way to preserve your natural color, it can make a mess in the bathroom. If you have accidentally splashed hair dye on your glass shower doors, you may find the dye difficult to remove. Try these tricks for cleaning up a spill or removing the stain from your shower doors.
Blot Away Fresh Spills
Blot fresh spills with a paper towel to remove the dye. Use care not to rub the area, as this will cause the hair dye to spread and stain the glass. Blot to remove as much as possible and then repeat with a clean paper towel until all the fresh dye is removed.
Blot Stains with Rubbing Alcohol
Saturate a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and apply it to the stains on your glass shower doors. Use care not to wet the cotton ball so much that the alcohol runs down the door when you press it against the stain, as this will cause the dye to spread and make a larger stain on the glass. Repeat the process several times, changing the cotton ball when it becomes dirty until the cotton ball no longer picks up traces of dye. Keep a paper towel handy to quickly blot away any drips as you work to remove the dye from your glass doors.
Remove Stubborn Stains with Peroxide and Baking Soda
Make a paste with baking soda and peroxide and spread it over stubborn hair-dye stains. Allow the paste to set for 15 to 20 minutes to dissolve the dye and lift the stain. Scrub the area with a sponge or soft cloth that has been wetted with peroxide.
Try a Melamine Foam Sponge
You can find these sponges in the housewares aisle marketed as magic sponges. Once wetted, the sponge becomes slightly abrasive and will remove nearly any stain. Test the sponge on an inconspicuous section of your glass door to make sure it does not scratch the surface before you attempt to scrub away the stain.
Use Color Remover
Products designed to remove the colorant in dye generally contain sodium hydrosulfite, a compound effective in removing dye from a variety of surfaces. You can purchase this is craft stores, in the cleaning aisle, or wherever dye for fabrics is sold. Follow the instructions for mixing the powdered dye remover and blot it over the stain. Allow the remover to set for a few minutes and then gently scrub the stain free of the glass.
Remove the Stain with Diluted Bleach
Household bleach may remove the stain from your glass shower doors. You can either use bleach wipes or dilute liquid bleach with equal parts water and use it to moisten a cloth. Scrub the area to remove the stain. Make sure the bathroom fan is on and that the room is well ventilated before using bleach for cleaning the stain.
Try White Distilled Vinegar or Lemon Juice
If your shower doors have soap scum or lime scale on them, the dye may be embedded in the scale. Try saturating a cloth with vinegar or lemon juice and wetting the stain. Allow the mixture to sit for 15 minutes and then scrub the area. Both vinegar and lemon juice are acidic and will cut through soap scum and scale helping, to wash away the stain from your hair dye.
You may need to try several methods to remove the hair dye completely, but do not mix cleaning products. Try one method and rinse the door clean before you attempt to remove the stain with another product.
If your door is old anyway, and you're looking to replace it, visit sites such as http://glasshopperaurora.com to look at your options.