Removing stain from fiberglass shower pan / There's even a trick to keeping it clean

Q:I hope you can suggest something that will remove a stubborn stain from my fiberglass shower pan. I have used a product called Zap, X14 and a few others to no avail. Can you help me? Thank you.

A: Fiberglass -- a plastic resin reinforced with glass fibers used today in everything from shower pans like yours to skylights -- is, as you've surely noticed, easily scratched. So we'll need to be careful cleaning here.

Once scratched, fiberglass becomes harder to clean, as you've clearly found in attempting to get rid of your shower pan's stubborn stain. Your best cleaning bet is a neutral (generally a pH between 7 and 9) cleaner, such as liquid dishwashing detergent, applied with a white, nylon-back scrub sponge. Add hot water and a bit of elbow grease and the stains should be lifted in no time.

Finally, to prevent future stains from grabbing a toehold, lightly wax the fiberglass with car wax. Really. This sealant will close surface pores that allow stains to set in fiberglass and will make buff-shine like new. Be sure to use a rubber bath math so you won't go slip-sliding away in your newly stain-free shower.