Ritec Sparkles in Dorchester's Showers

Ritec’s ClearShield has brought the sparkle back to stylish shower screens at The Dorchester in London, one of the world’s most luxurious hotels...

Shower enclosures in selected rooms have been treated with ClearShield – an award-winning glass protection system developed by Ritec to convert high maintenance unprotected glass into Low-M® (Low-Maintenance) Glass.

Glass shower doors and enclosures are particularly susceptible to surface damage and discolouration because of the many salts and minerals (limescale) found in tap water, which bond to the glass and eventually etch the surface. In addition, dirt and greasy substances, such as soap and shampoo, accumulate in the microscopic valleys of the glass surface, making cleaning difficult and labour-intensive. Faced with just this problem in elegant art-deco style bathrooms on the second floor, The Dorchester’s in-house engineering team appointed Preedy Glass to look for a solution. Preedy turned to Ritec’s proven ClearShield system for an effective and long lasting solution.

Treating glass with ClearShield creates a chemically non-reactive and 'non-stick’ surface. As a result limescale and general dirt only builds up half as fast and cannot bond to the glass. Alongside the obvious aesthetic benefits, cleaning time and frequency are cut, on average, by 50%. The treated glass is quicker and easier to clean, without the need for harsh chemicals, so contributing to a significant reduction in maintenance time and costs.

At The Dorchester, discoloured glass in shower enclosures was renovated with specialist products before ClearShield was hand-applied by Ritec applicators with the minimum of disruption to the Hotel and its guests. Once cured, any residue coating is simply washed off, leaving a sparkling, stain-resistant surface that will retain its visual appeal for much longer. Commenting on the success of the ClearShield treatment process, Kevin Flaye of The Dorchester’s engineering team says, “The shower screens being free of limescale helps keep the bathrooms looking as good as our guests would expect."

Preedy Glass uses the ClearShield process at its works “all the time", according to Mike Preedy, Director of Preedy Glass. “It was the first time we have used it on site, and it worked well," he comments.