The Best Shower Cleaning Brushes

Cleaning the shower is one of my least favorite chores so I have armed myself with a few helpful tools to make the job easier. Whenever it’s time to clean, I grab my bathroom cleaning checklist, my shower cleaning caddy, and of course a shower cleaning brush. Below are some of the best shower cleaning brushes for every bathroom.

Best Overall: OXO Good Grips Soap Dispensing Brush

Best Eco Friendly: Redecker Natural Bristle Scrub Brush

Best for Corners: OXO Good Grips Grout Brush

Best Extendable Scrubber: OXO Good Grips Extendable Tub and Tile Scrubber

Best Electric: Drill Brush Tool Attachment

5 Best Shower Cleaning Brushes

Best Overall: OXO Good Grips Soap Dispensing Brush

This is the perfect cleaning brush for the person who hates cleaning their shower. You might be wondering why I am recommending a dish brush for shower cleaning – I can summarize my reason in one word: convenience. 

The handle of this brush can be filled with your shower cleaning solution of choice (I like using a mixture of distilled white vinegar and dish soap). The dispensing button releases small amounts of the cleaning solution as you scrub shower tile and grout. 

It’s an all-in-one cleaning brush solution that can hang from a hook or shower caddy IN your shower. That means you don’t have to designate a specific time every week for shower cleaning… you can simply clean your shower whenever you’re taking a shower. Shower cleaning doesn’t get any easier or convenient than that. 

Pros:

• All in one solution – shower brush and cleaning solution dispenser
• Store in your shower so you can conveniently clean whenever you take a shower
• Brush heads are replaceable
• Tough on grout

Cons:

• Brush heads aren’t the best option for cleaning tight corners

Best Eco Friendly: Redecker Natural Bristle Scrub Brush

If you’re doing your best to avoid purchasing plastic products, then this is a great plastic-free shower cleaning brush. It comes in a pack of two so you can designate one for bathroom cleaning, and the other for kitchen cleaning. I like using mine to clean my kitchen sink every evening.

The handle allows you to use maximum pressure on grout and other tough spots. Their small size means they are easy to store in a cleaning caddy when not in use. Because they are plastic-free they will biodegrade over time once they are worn out.

Pros:

• Plastic-free
• Small and easy to store
• Stiff bristles are tough on grout

Cons:

• Not good at reaching tight corners

Best for Corners: OXO Good Grips Grout Brush

The trickiest areas to clean in showers are the hard to scrub corners. This is why it’s so helpful to have a small scrub brush in addition to a larger shower cleaning brush. 

For a free, eco-friendly corner scrub brush you can simply upcycle an old toothbrush. They are the perfect size and shape for scrubbing grout in tight corners. With that said, the bristles will probably be too soft for tough jobs. 

In those cases I love this pack of two grout brushes by OXO. One brush has a tiny brush head for super tight corners and the other brush head is larger to cover a bit more surface area. I like to have a few brushes like these when cleaning grout, the base of my faucets, sink drains, and more.

Pros:

• Fantastic for cleaning corners
• Pack of two with different sized brush heads to clean tight spots in showers, sinks, and more
• Great for cleaning grout, the base of faucets, sink drains and more

Cons:

• Not good for large surface area cleaning

Best Extendable Scrubber: OXO Good Grips Extendable Tub and Tile Scrubber

If you have trouble reaching the tile at the top of your shower, or if you have trouble getting on your knees to clean the bottom of your tub, then an extendable scrubber might be perfect for you. 

This scrub brush attaches to an extendable rod that allows you to scrub tile that is otherwise difficult to reach. It’s a much safer alternative to standing on a stepstool or hurting your back as you hunch down to clean lower areas. 

The tip of the antimicrobial brush head is pointed, enabling you to really get into corners of your tub and shower. The brush head also pivots so you can clean at any angle.

Pros:

• Pointed brush head is great for reaching corners
• Extendable handle enables further reach

Cons:

• Difficult to apply consistent pressure when scrubbing shower walls

Best Electric: Drill Brush Tool Attachment

This is the brush head for serious cleaning jobs. If you have a particularly messy, stained, or moldy shower on your hands then you will enjoy the extra scrubbing power that this drill brush attachment set offers.

This scrub brush set attaches to your drill (drill is not included) and can be used to scrub all types of surfaces from showers and tubs to gross toilets (see it featured in my roundup of the best toilet brushes). 

I have seen magic happen when this drill brush is used on a stained bathtub with only baking soda and water as cleaning ingredients. Such a satisfying cleaning experience!

Pros:

• Powerful scrubbing
• Multiple brush heads can be used on a variety of surfaces
• Scrub brush attachment is so powerful, you can effectively clean surfaces with gentler, non-toxic cleaning ingredients 

Cons:

• Requires a power drill to use

Considerations Before Purchasing

Shower Design

Before selecting a shower cleaning brush it’s important to first consider your shower design and cleaning requirements. 

If you have a shower with a lot of tile and grout then it might be important to have a strong grout brush. Are there sharp corners that seem to be perpetually grimy? Grab a small corner brush as well. Is your shower an acrylic shower kit with a consistent surface all over? A basic scrub brush will be perfect!

Physical Ability

For those of us lucky enough to have no trouble crouching or cleaning on our knees then we can use just about any scrub brush to clean a shower. However, if bending over a tub is not an option for you, then consider a cleaning brush with an extendable handle so you can clean while standing upright. 

FAQs

How often should you replace shower cleaning brushes?

The answer to this question is simple but ambiguous: it depends. If you’re using your shower cleaning brush on extremely messy jobs, with extreme frequency, and without cleaning it regularly (yes, you can/should clean your shower brush head) then it should be replaced more frequently. Maybe once a month or so. 

But if you’re cleaning your shower(s) weekly with a gentle cleaning solution and you’re disinfecting the brush head after every few uses then it will last you much longer. Maybe 6 months or even longer in some cases. 

Pay attention to signs of wear like frayed brush bristles, mold or other buildup at the base of brush bristles, and general wear and tear that can’t be remedied with disinfectant. These are signs that it’s time to buy a replacement brush head!

How do you disinfect a shower brush?

To properly disinfect a shower brush, chlorine bleach diluted with water is going to be your simplest, most effective cleaning solution. 

Follow the instructions on your bleach bottle to create a disinfecting solution. If instructions aren’t readily available then this is the mixture recommended by the CDC: 

• 5 tbsp bleach
• 1 gallon room temperature water

Soak your shower cleaning brush head in the bleach solution for 1-2 minutes. Rinse well with water. Allow the brush head to drip dry completely before storing.