Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
aces67

Which shower material would be easiest to keep clean???

aces67
10 years ago

We are replacing our old double shower unit. It's Fiberglass.

We have well water and often get a red scaly build up on the shower from the iron in our water.

This time we are going with Acrylic with innovex, Solid Surface or Ceramic TIle.

Which of these will stand up to a good scrubbing the best or repel the iron scale the easiest?

Comments (22)

  • mdln
    10 years ago

    great question, I also have awful well water; sometimes wish for a cast iron shower. :-)

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    10 years ago

    Solid surface, no question.

  • aces67
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The only problem is the product says it's made from solid surface. NO other details. What does that mean? It's not cheap either. It's a product called Style selections shower walls sold by Lowe's. Just the three walls will be around $2100 without the floor, fixtures, plumbing, etc.

  • Olychick
    10 years ago

    I have the same problem, so I put in porcelain tile with epoxy grout. It appears to be bomb proof. I scrub with softscrub when needed (not too often), and spray with clorox/water mixture to kill the mold if it grows, then just rinse. I'd never have fiberglass or acrylic shower again.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    10 years ago

    Mold and mildew cannot survive on solid surface. Not even AIDS.

    This is probably why it is specified for hospital operating rooms instead of tile or stone.

    This post was edited by Trebruchet on Wed, Feb 19, 14 at 7:02

  • DreamingoftheUP
    10 years ago

    I'm planning a bathroom refresh and will be using a solid surface tub/shower surround while keeping the ceramic tile in the rest of the room. I'm basing the choice on my solid surface (Corian) kitchen countertop which looks like new after almost 25 years.

    I have a fiberglass shower stall in my second bath. It's about 20 years old and while it hasn't leaked there are a few hairline cracks and the white color seems to have yellowed a bit over the years. It definitely has a cheaper look compared to other surfaces available, IMO.

    Can't speak to hard well water since I'm on city (Chicago) water.

  • jakkom
    10 years ago

    Slab solid surface. Doesn't matter whether it's low-end cultured marble/granite or high-end Silestone. Non-porous and impervious. No way that any tile even comes close.

    My DH says using the solid surface surround was the hands-down best decision we made in our 2003 remodeling.

    You can use CLR on the scale with solid surface walls, no problem.

  • chisue
    10 years ago

    I love the CM tub surround in one of our bathrooms. I plan to put the same CM on two walls of a corner shower. Is there some less expensive similar material I can use for the shower pan. This will be about 34 X 34, so not the standard 36 X 36. I want a low curb.

  • Susie Kennedy
    6 years ago

    We have solid surface around on our vanity and hard water has not worked well with it.

  • Kaillean (zone 8, Vancouver)
    6 years ago

    I love the look of tiles but I tell my DH never again. I hate, hate, hate trying to keep grout clean. We are definitely doing some sort of slab or solid surface in our retirement home. I'll be totally over housework by then. Lol

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    6 years ago

    Suzy Kennedy:


    What brand specifically, please?

  • PRO
    Dial A Glass
    6 years ago

    Solid Surface

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    6 years ago

    Here's the very latest in one-piece wall tile from Coverings '17 if your shower doesn't exceed 39". If it's bigger, you'd only have a single vertical grout line. Very light and very strong with the mesh backer:

  • mrspete
    6 years ago

    Easiest to clean:


    It's also the cheapest thing you can do. We had these in our first house, and since they have NO "lines" or "breaks", there's no place for gunk to build up. However, you can see that they're far from stylish, and the size is what the size is.


  • nosoccermom
    6 years ago

    What is that Zero3?

    Something like Corian or Quartz or Dekton/Neolith, or?

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    6 years ago

    It is a very large format tile; you can see the 39" at the top of the picture. It's probably 96" long at least. What makes it different is it's thickness; it's only about 1/8" and it has a fiberglass mesh backer. This makes it much lighter and easier and safer to handle. This lowers contractor's risk, which saves consumers money.

  • nosoccermom
    6 years ago

    So porcelain slabs? How's it different from Neolith or Dekton?

    So is it an issue if the walls aren't totally straight?

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    6 years ago

    "So porcelain slabs?"


    I think so.


    "How's it different from Neolith or Dekton?"


    They aren't designed to be lightweight. These are designed for vertical applications.


    "So is it an issue if the walls aren't totally straight?"

    That's the great thing about solid panel walls as opposed to tile with grout. The walls are easily shimmed to flat, plumb, and square before the panels are installed.

  • nosoccermom
    6 years ago

    OK, where do I sign up? And what do you use for the shower floor then?

  • designsaavy
    6 years ago

    At our last house, we did a pour base, Kerdi, and tile for our shower. We used a squeegee after every shower. We still had issues with keeping the grout clean.

    Add me to the list of practicality over appearance for the next bath remodel.

  • nosoccermom
    6 years ago

    Hehe, I don't "mind" this look (slim slab porcelain)