I tried this $5 laundry hack for a spotless shower — and the results have totally surprised me

I'm fed up of scrubbing my shower screen, hoping to rid it of the soap scum and limescale buildup with a handful products and a lot of elbow grease. Even when I think it looks clean, once it dries it goes back to being streaky and the stains taunt me every time I take a shower.

And while I've been searching for an answer amongst all the different cleaning solutions, it turns out it could've been hiding in plain sight all along.

Amongst the 7 surprising uses for dryer sheets, from burned-on food to tough kitchen spills, there's a clever hack that promises to be the answer to all my bathroom cleaning woes.

All I needed to do was head to my laundry essentials and grab out a dryer sheet (or two) before tackling those hard-to-beat stains. And honestly, I've been completely shocked by the results.

How does it work?

As @cleansnob on TikTok demonstrates to her over 100K followers, it's a really simple method that won't cost you much at all. In fact, you might already have dryer sheets ready to use in your home. All you have to do is grab one, wet it under a faucet, rub it over the shower door thoroughly, and then rinse away any residue left behind.

You may find that you need to use a few sheets in one go, as @cleansnob has done, or that you need to go over it with glass cleaner after you've used the sheets. Afterwards, you can also dry the glass with a microfiber cloth to give it a buff, but hopefully it'll dry nicely once you've used the sheets.

Gain 120 Dryer Sheets: $5.47 at Amazon

120 dryer sheets might feel excessive, but when you're using them on your laundry as well as cleaning up your shower screen it's a great investment for just $5. Don't try and use them for both though, they're strictly do not re-use.

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What happened when I tried it

After so many different attempts at cleaning my shower screen including trying a range of products and using this one tool to remove limescale buildup, I was a little bit hesitant to try out this dryer sheet hack.

Fortunately, I already had dryer sheets in my house so I thought it wouldn't be any great loss if it didn't work the way I'd hoped (or had seen on social media).

And, I'm happy to report, I was totally surprised by the results. Yes, I needed to use several sheets in one go to get it to clean because I'd left it too long between cleans. I was also a little worried that I wouldn't be able to get the residue off at all. But, with a spritz of glass cleaner that wouldn't usually touch the sides on the soap scum alone, it's the shiniest it's ever been.

Now, I just need to look into how to clean a shower head and get rid of limescale and my shower will go back to looking like it did when I first bought it (hopefully).

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More from Tom's Guide

• 7 ways to prevent limescale in your shower
• This TikTok hack claims vinegar will clean your shower head — I asked my plumber husband if it actually works
• I never have to deal with limescale in my shower, and it's thanks to this one daily task that takes seconds