Shower Door Seal Guides
Practical answers from the team that installs frameless shower doors every day.
Which seal do I need?Match the leak to the seal, by glass thickness.Which hinge do I need?Hinge Finder: match your shower door hinge in a few taps.How to measure your glass1/4", 5/16", 3/8" or 1/2"? Find out in a minute.Replacement seal lookupOld or discontinued CRL part numbers, metric glass and brand-name doors.
Fix a leak
Shower door leaking at the bottomWater on the bathroom floor almost always comes from one of four places.Leaking on the hinge side or wallThe hinge side has a gap so the door can swing.Shower door won't stay closedFrameless doors have no latch, so a door that drifts open leaks.Gap between door and wallThe gap is on purpose: a glass door needs room to swing without hitting the wall.Drips on the floor when openedThe water clinging to the inside of the glass runs down and off the bottom edge as the door swings out.Leaking at the corner panelWhen a door closes against a panel at a 90° corner, the seal on that panel edge is what keeps water in.Sliding shower door leakingSliding doors leak in three places: under the door, where the door overlaps the fixed panel, and at the ends where they meet the wall..
Install & replace
How to replace a shower door sweepA new bottom sweep takes about ten minutes.Neo-angle shower seal replacementA neo-angle shower has two angled panels that meet the door at 135°.How to re-caulk a shower doorOld silicone turns yellow, grows mildew and starts to leak.Silicone instead of a seal?Not on the door itself.
Glass care & cleaning
How to clean a glass shower doorThree habits keep a glass shower door clear: a squeegee after every shower, a weekly spray-and-buff with a soapless glass conditioner, and restoring and sealing the glass when spots build up..How long do shower door seals last?There is no single number: a shower door seal's life depends mostly on how much the shower is used and how hard the water is where you live..Remove hard water spots from shower glassTo remove hard water spots from shower glass, lift the mineral deposits with a dedicated hard-water remover, rinse and dry the glass, then seal it with a water-repellent protective coating so new spots have less to grab onto.Keep glass shower doors cleanThe easiest way to keep glass shower doors clean is to start with clear, sealed glass, squeegee the water off after showers, and give the glass a quick spray-and-buff once a week.Is shower glass coating worth it?For most homes, yes: a water-repellent coating makes water bead up and roll off the glass, so fewer hard-water spots form and cleaning goes faster.Daily shower spray vs. squeegeeA squeegee is the better daily habit, because it removes the water itself before the minerals in it dry into spots.Why is my new shower glass cloudy?New shower glass usually looks cloudy for one of three reasons: hard water spots that form fast on bare glass, soap scum, or residue left by the wrong cleaner.
Compare
Sweep vs. drip railThey do two different jobs at the bottom of the door, and the most popular frameless bottom seals combine both in one piece..H-jamb vs. bulb sealBoth close the gap along the vertical edge of the door.33S vs. RTV408 siliconeBoth are 100% silicone.Clear vs. black sealsClear and black versions of the same seal fit and work exactly the same.
Cost & buying
Shower door seal replacement costDoing it yourself is always the cheaper way if you can manage it.Seals for DreamLine, Delta, Kohler doorsMany brand-name and big-box store shower doors can use a standard replacement seal, as long as it matches the glass thickness and the gap.
Shower door hardware
Glass clamp types & how to measureA shower glass clamp either holds a fixed panel to the wall, floor or ceiling (wall-to-glass) or joins two panels together (glass-to-glass) at 90°, 135° or 180°.Shower door hinge typesFrameless shower door hinges come in three types: wall mount hinges that screw to the wall, glass-to-glass hinges that hold the door to a fixed glass panel at 180°, 135° or 90°, and pivot hinges that hold the door at its top and bottom corners.How to replace a shower door hingeTo replace a shower door hinge, buy one that fits the cut-out already in your glass, your glass thickness and the way your door hangs.Square vs. beveled hinges and clampsSquare hinges and clamps have flat sides and crisp corners.How to choose a shower door handleChoose a shower door handle by four things: its size measured center to center (6" and 8" are the standard pull sizes), whether it mounts back-to-back or on one side, the style (pull, ladder pull, knob or finger pull), and whether it fits your glass thickness and the holes in your glass.Shower door towel barsA shower door towel bar bolts through 1/2" (12 mm) holes in the glass and is sized center to center, usually 18" or 24".