Glass shower enclosures are the statement item of contemporary bathroom interiors. Various types and styles of glass shower doors are designed to suit different interior conditions. Some homeowners go for the pre-made standard glass doors while others order custom-cut glass enclosures. Although the glass shower doors are typically made up of strong tempered glass, mishandling the shower doors can still result in damaged or broken glass doors.
But, for every problem, there is a fix!
There are some shower door fixes that you can do on your own. While others require professional skills. We will consider some common issues in the shower doors and see how you can repair them.
Some Quick Fixes
Before getting into the major problem, let’s first discuss some mild cases. There are some issues in the shower door operation that should be identified and taken care of immediately. If not properly dealt with, these minor problems can turn out to be the major cause of broken shower doors. So here are some of the moderate cases of a damaged shower door.
- Sticky Shower Doors
In some cases, the glass shower doors stick to the bottom. You would feel a slight difficulty in opening or closing the door. This could be due to loose screws on the hinges or scum buildup on the shower doors.
First, check if the screws on the hinges are loose. Tighten them, if needed and the door operation would be back to normal. If the screws are alright, but there is a scum buildup in the door, go for deep cleaning of the shower door. Use synthetic or homemade glass cleaners and wipe the scum away.
- Draggy Shower Doors
This issue usually arises in sliding shower doors due to the water or soap buildup in the tracks. The tracks lose their effectiveness and the shower door drags on the rails.
In this case, the shower door needs to be realigned on the tracks. With some assistance take the shower door out of the tracks. Clean the tracks, realign the door onto the tracks and adjust the clamps. This method would solve the issue.
- Leaky Shower Doors
If your shower doors can’t contain the water inside the shower, there must be an issue with the door seals.
Buy new shower seals and install them in this case. Installing shower seals is an easy job that you can conveniently do by yourself.
- Broken Shower Doors
Broken shower doors are the worst-case scenario. Strong tempered glass is used in glass shower enclosures which is not prone to easy damage. However, misuse, improper installation, or material issues could lead to damaged glass shower doors.
How to Deal With Broken Shower Doors?
If your shower glass is broken, first consider establishing safety. When tempered glass breaks, it shatters into harmless pieces of glass. So they are not as injurious as the broken float glass. However, if the glass is not properly tempered then it could cause some safety threats. Call a professional right away to examine the glass and determine the cause for you. Only after knowing the root cause, you can proceed further.
Consider Your Replacement Options
The only reasonable solution to a broken shower glass door is “replacement”.
If it’s just a scratch, you could live with the shower door without considering replacement glass options. But if the glass panel is cracked or broken, then going for replacement glass is the rational approach. If you have a glass cut to size shower enclosure, you would have to get custom cut glass doors again. However, if a standard glass door was previously installed, a pre-made shower door would work for you. If only one of the panels is broken while the others stand strong, you don’t need to replace the whole enclosure. But, for a broken shower enclosure, go for an all-out replacement.
In case of custom cut glass doors, contact your manufacturer. Get professional advice and order replacement glass cut to size. It’s best to let a professional examine your shower problem first.
Final Words!
Tempered glass is highly impact-resistant so high-quality shower doors don’t usually break. However, if in an unfortunate incident, your shower door breaks, consider fixing the issue immediately. As we all know, “A stitch in time saves nine!”
