There are a range of chemical cleaners available on the market; however there are concerns about their negative impact on the quality of indoor air. The use of these cleaners can cause skin irritation, and unfortunately carcinogens – any substance directly involved in causing cancer – can constitute some of the key ingredients.

In addition to this, with some makes of shower enclosure (such as the EasyClean cubicles) it is not advisable to use chemical cleaners. This is because they damage the special cleaning coating, and the extended use of such cleaners will ensure that you will not see the benefit of the expensive nanotechnology.

The cleanliness of the enclosure can also be dependent on the type of water which you have in your area. For example, soap doesn’t lather as well in hard water, and it can leave behind a light scum on the shower surfaces. And not only will the shower enclosure glass need cleaning, but the tiles, grout and drains may also need some attention. Below, if you follow our steps, you can make a multi-purpose cleaner in a matter of minutes.

Walk-In Shower Enclosure for Alcove, with a special EasyClean coating, from BathEmpire

The Easy Single Solution

1. Mix the above ingredients, with two parts of baking soda, with one part vinegar; lemon juice can be used as an alternative to vinegar.

2. Mix this into a thick paste, and apply with a damp, warm cloth. This mixture can be used on shower doors, sinks, as well as tiles and grout; to apply to grout, rub in with a toothbrush.

3. Leave on all affected surfaces for at least 10 minutes, then rub with a sponge. As you rinse this off, the benefit will pass to the drains.

This is a quick, simple solution that will let you cross commercial cleaners off your shopping list permanently!

Folding Door: (Bi-Fold)
In these enclosures, the door folds in the middle and slides to the side, always opening inwards; these provide a great space saving option.

Sliding Door: (Sliding, Quadrant)
The sliding shower doors provide complete ease of opening. While the Quadrant styles are ideally placed to make the most of the corner of rooms, because generally the doors open from a central position. The Sliding styles are designed for slightly larger bathrooms (the largest enclosure extends to 1400mm in width).

Hinged Door: (Pivot)
The hinged door provides a sturdy, wide opening to the enclosure.

No Door: (Wet Room, Walk-In)
With no moving parts, these enclosures provide an open finish. The Walk-In enclosure can be installed with a tray, or installed as an alternative to the Wet Room.

Corner or Alcove?
You also have two options when installing a new enclosure. You can install a corner enclosure, which features the door and side panel in any corner of your bathroom.

Alternatively, with just a door panel, you can convert any bathroom alcove into an enclosure. Instead of using these areas for storage, purchase a tray to fit the space, and let the single door panel cover the length completely. Should you wish to add an alcove in an existing bathroom, simply construct a stud wall in the desired location.

A Bi-Fold Shower Enclosure, installed in an alcove.

These are some key things to look out for when buying a shower enclosure:

Quality of the glass – Always look out for tempered shower glass, as the manufacturing process heats and cools the glass several times. This provides an incredibly strong safety glass which should meet BS6202 standards.

Quality fittings – Molten metal is forced into a cavity at high pressure, and this is known as solid die casting. When this is done in a single mould, a quality fitting is produced as there is less chance of breakage.

Metal rollers – Too many shower enclosures have a single roller attachment. However, problems can occur if the roller detaches itself. A better solution is to have both rollers attach themselves on the top and bottom of the door to prevent such accidents.

Now Wills and Kate (or Catherine as we are now meant to call her) are married they’ve left behind the pomp and ceremony of London and returned to their rented farmhouse in Wales to begin married life.

Victoria roll top bath, BathEmpire

We love that they are so normal in some respects, living in a farmhouse rather than a castle – although we expect their property is rather swanky inside.

No chipped baths or mildew for them, we imagine.

We wonder whether Kate’s taste is traditional and formal or relaxed and modern.

Judging by her wedding dress we’d say she like to keep things fairly traditional but isn’t into anything overly fussy or ornate.

We think Kate and Wills would love the Victoria roll top bath – it’s definitely classy and the high end makes it a great bath for relaxing bath in with a glass of wine and a book, just what’s needed after a day official engagements.

Sliding door shower enclosure

When William gets home from his duties as a search and rescue pilot though, we think he might like something a bit more practical.

This sliding door shower cubicle will fit into an alcove, and is really roomy.

If you fancy getting a little royal style in your home, there are lots of roll top baths and shower enclosures to choose from at BathEmpire.