Short answer: limescale is left behind by the water that stays on the surfaces after you shower. Take that water away before it dries, and there's nothing left to bake on. That isn't a cleaning session, it's a thirty second job.
Short answer
Two minutes of drying after your shower, and the scrubbing is over.
I start at the top of the shower screen and work down in bands. The iZi-Dry Towel M, 60 x 40 cm takes up to 800 ml, so I only have to go over the surface once. Then the tap, the basin and the mirror. Done.
Why I started doing this
Not because I enjoy cleaning. Because I had had enough of that Saturday morning with a bottle of limescale remover in my hand.
For years I did it the way almost everyone does: let the bathroom dry and go at it with a scourer a week later. That costs you half an hour and you're always too late. Limescale that has dried on once sits tighter the next time round.
The penny dropped when I realised that limescale doesn't come from the cleaning, it comes from the drying. Tap water contains calcium and magnesium. As long as the water is there, you see nothing of it. Once the water evaporates, those minerals stay behind as a white, dull layer. So every drop you leave standing leaves a little limescale behind.
And that's where the answer sits. No water means no limescale. That's not a trick, that's simply how it works.
My morning routine, from the top down
The order does half the work. Water runs downwards, so you do too.
- Shower screen, starting at the top. I pick the towel up dry and pull downwards in bands, with an overlap. Whatever one band leaves behind, the next one picks up. This is the spot where the difference shows fastest.
- The sides and the edge of the door. Water sits in the seals and in the frame there, and that's exactly where you see that white rim appear after a few weeks.
- The tiles behind the tap. Only the tiles the water has splashed against. The rest stays dry and needs nothing.
- The tap and the shower head. Two passes. Chrome is the quickest to show whether you're keeping up with it, so this is the bit that makes your bathroom look cared for.
- The basin and the rim around it. The foot of the tap as well, because there's always a little pool sitting there.
- The mirror. Last, because by then it has half misted over from the steam. One pass in long, even bands in the same direction.
That is it. It takes me about two minutes. In a smaller bathroom you'll easily be done in a minute.
And on a morning when you're in a rush?
Then I do the shower screen and the tap, nothing else. Thirty seconds, and those are exactly the two places where limescale digs in hardest.
That matters more than it sounds. A routine you only keep up on quiet days isn't a routine. The thirty second version makes sure you do it on busy days too, and that's the difference between keeping up and starting over.
Doing half of it every day beats doing all of it once a week.
Where to hang the towel so you actually reach for it
What hangs within reach gets used. What lies in a cupboard gets forgotten.
This sounds like a detail, but it's the reason I keep it going. My towel hangs on a hook on the inside of the shower door, at the height my hand is already at when I step out.
If the towel lives in the cupboard under the basin, you'll do it for a week and then stop. We also have a smaller iZi-Dry Towel S, 30 x 40 cm hanging next to the basin, which takes 400 ml. That one is for the tap and the mirror in between, when someone has washed their hands and the whole surround is covered in splashes.
After use, hang the towel somewhere air can get to it. It dries on its own and is ready again the next day. Not on a warm radiator, that's the only thing to watch.
Ventilation is part of it
Drying takes the water off the surfaces. Ventilation takes it out of the air.
Those two do different jobs, and you need both. The drying towel prevents limescale on glass, tiles and chrome. The ventilation stops moisture settling on the coldest spot in the room, because that's where mould starts.
I switch the ventilation on before I step into the shower and leave it running for another half an hour afterwards, with the door shut. Otherwise that damp air simply moves into the rest of the house.
Want to know whether your ventilation still pulls: hold a sheet of kitchen roll against it. If it stays put, it's working. If it drops, the grille is blocked or the motor has stopped. There's more about that in the article on mould in the bathroom.
So how often do you still have to clean the bathroom?
Keeping up and cleaning have become two different jobs.
Since I started doing this, the big clean has got a lot smaller. Once a week I take in all the tiles and do the floor, the loo and the skirting boards at the same time. Not because there is limescale, but because there's dust and soap residue.
The scrubbing is gone. What's left is wiping down, and that goes quickly because nothing has baked on. For the tiles and the taps I take a Wonder Cloth slightly damp, then dry after. Cleaning and drying are two separate actions, and with two cloths you finish the round in one go.
| When | What you do | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Every day, after your shower | Dry the shower screen, tap, basin and mirror | About two minutes |
| On a busy morning | The shower screen and the tap only | About thirty seconds |
| Once a week | All the tiles, the floor, the loo and the skirting boards | Shorter than it used to be, because nothing is stuck on |
| Once, at the start | Take off the limescale that is already there | This is the only time you scrub |
Is there limescale on your screen right now?
Then it starts here, not with the towel. A drying towel prevents limescale, it doesn't take off deposits that are already there. Fresh deposits still come off with water and a splash of vinegar, after which you go over it again with water only. If the limescale has been sitting there for years, that layer comes off once with a limescale remover: that is work for an acid, not for a cloth.
Which products work and which ones don't, and where you must not use an acid, is set out in removing limescale: what works and what does not. From the moment the screen is clean again, this routine takes over.
How to get the rest of the household on board
Not with a rota on the door. With a towel that hangs there.
One agreement worked for us: whoever showers last pulls the screen dry. Nothing more. No list, no turns.
It helps that you see the result straight away. A glass door that dries clear instead of dull convinces people faster than any explanation.
Something else that made a difference here: a colour of towel per room. The blue one belongs to the bathroom and never goes to the kitchen. You don't have to explain that to anyone, you just pick up the blue one.
Does the same towel work outside the bathroom?
Anywhere water leaves streaks, it does the same job.
I use mine on the windows, on the worktop and on the car. That last one is exactly the same job as the shower screen: taking up water before it can dry. How that works out on paintwork and glass is in drying a car without streaks.
In the kitchen I reach for the drying towel for bigger loads of washing-up. Glasses and cutlery dry streak-free, because the towel takes the moisture up instead of smearing it about. Everything the Wonder Cloth does in the kitchen is set out separately.
How do you look after the towel itself?
At 40 degrees, no fabric conditioner, and not in the tumble dryer. There's no more to it than that.
Soak a new towel once for 15 minutes in lukewarm or warm water. Never again after that, not even after a wash.
Wash at 40 degrees and sort by colour, so nothing runs.
No fabric conditioner, no liquid detergent, no pods or beads. Washing powder or a splash of vinegar works better for the fibre.
Not in the tumble dryer, not ironed, not on a warm radiator. And no bleach or ammonia.
The full care instructions are in how to use and wash your iZi-Clean cloths.
What this gets you
-
✓
No more scrubbing sessions
Nothing has baked on, so there's nothing to rub loose. The weekly job has turned into a wipe down.
-
✓
Fewer bottles in the cupboard
You don't need a product to keep it up. Because chemical products leave something behind, and water does not.
-
✓
You prevent the damage you cannot undo
Limescale that has sat on glass and chrome for years sometimes never comes off. Prevention here is literally cheaper than the cure.
-
✓
It doesn't feel like a chore
Two minutes while you are standing in the bathroom anyway. That's a different sort of work from half an hour on your knees.
Frequently asked questions
How much time does this routine take a day?
About two minutes for the whole bathroom. If you're in a rush, do the shower screen and the tap only: that's about thirty seconds and it covers the two places where limescale digs in hardest.
Why does a drying towel work better than an ordinary bath towel?
A bath towel moves the water about, a drying towel takes it up. The iZi-Dry Towel M, 60 x 40 cm goes up to 800 ml, so you don't have to go over the same spot twice and you are left with no lint. A bath towel also gets soaked through itself and then has to dry as well.
In what order do you dry the bathroom?
From the top down, because that's the way water runs. The shower screen first, starting at the top, then the sides and the edge of the door, then the tiles, the tap and the shower head, then the basin, and the mirror last. That way you never go over anything twice.
Does this work if there is already limescale?
Not straight away. The towel prevents limescale, it doesn't take off deposits that are already there. Give your bathroom one thorough clean first with a mild acid, as described in removing limescale. From that moment on you keep it up with the drying towel.
Do I still have to ventilate after drying?
Yes, that's a separate step. Drying takes the water off the surfaces, ventilation takes the moisture out of the air. Leave the ventilation running during your shower and for another half an hour afterwards, with the door shut.
Which size towel do I choose for the bathroom?
The iZi-Dry Towel M, 60 x 40 cm for the shower enclosure and the tiled wall, and if you like the iZi-Dry Towel S, 30 x 40 cm next to the basin for the tap and the mirror. What else to look at when you're choosing is in the best drying towel for the bathroom.
How do I wash the drying towel?
At 40 degrees, sorted by colour, with iZi-Wash Sheets or with washing powder and a splash of vinegar instead of fabric conditioner. No liquid detergent, pods or beads, and no bleach or ammonia. Not in the tumble dryer, not ironed and not on a warm radiator.
Can I use the towel dry, or does it have to be damp?
Dry. That's exactly the difference with a Wonder Cloth, which you use slightly damp to clean with. You pick a drying towel up bone dry, because that's when it takes up the most water.
How do I get my mirror streak-free?
Do it last, once it has half misted over from the steam, and work in long, even passes in the same direction rather than in circles. If there is more on it than condensation, wipe it slightly damp with a Wonder Cloth first and dry after.
Can I use the same towel in the kitchen?
Better not. Give every room its own colour and you'll never carry grease from the hob to the bathroom mirror. A cloth that has been past the hob spreads that grease over your glass as a thin film.
Love, Yasmin
What do you do this with?
The two towels this routine runs on.
- iZi-Dry Towel M, 60 x 40 cm · up to 800 ml, for the shower enclosure and the tiled wall
- iZi-Dry Towel S, 30 x 40 cm · up to 400 ml, for the tap, the basin and the mirror
- Everything for the bathroom
Keep your bathroom free of limescale
Two minutes after your shower, and limescale gets no chance. More than 300,000 households got there before you.
Browse the drying towels4.8 out of 5 and 15,000+ reviews. Questions? You can always reach us.
iZi-Clean is a registered trade mark.
