How to clean the floor of a fiber-glass shower

Q. What can be used to clean a fiber-glass shower floor? Elcie Bouquet Ashland, Ore.

A. First of all, fiber glass is inert to almost every kind of chemical or solvent.

Fiber-glass showers and tubs are fairly easy to maintain by using almost any good liquid (no powder) cleanser. Avoid acetone as well as any type of cleanser that contains pumice, borax, or both. If continually used, these abrasives will scratch the fiber-glass finish coat of resin. And once scratched, the surface will absorb residues from then on unless recoated with resin to restore its surface integrity.

Damaged fiber-glass shower or tub surfaces can be restored by occasional bleaching. Plug the drain and fill the basin with a good grade of household bleach. This treatment should improve the scratched, stained surface appearance considerably.

Only temporary satisfaction may be obtained from painting fiber glass.