What is Selleys Complete Clean Bathroom & Shower Spray, and where should you use it?

Selleys Complete Clean Bathroom & Shower Spray is a household grade disinfectant cleaner for showers, bathtubs and toilets. It powers through tough soap scum, dirt and grime while killing 99.9% of germs — specifically S. aureus and E. coli, which are the two organisms the claim is tested against. It comes ready to use in a 750mL trigger bottle.

The thing most people get wrong with a product like this is treating cleaning and disinfecting as the same action. They are not. Spray-and-wipe cleans. Disinfecting requires the product to sit on the surface for 10 minutes before you rinse or wipe it off. If you wipe straight away, you have cleaned the shower, not disinfected it.

Technical specification

Property	Typical result
Colour	Clear and colourless
Density	~1.02g/mL
pH	<3
Classification	Household grade disinfectant
Germ kill claim	99.9% of germs (S. aureus and E. coli)
Contact time for disinfection	10 minutes
Packaging	750mL plastic spray bottle

Indicative data only, not intended for the preparation of specifications.

What the numbers mean in practice

The 10-minute contact time is the number that governs how you use it. Selleys gives the same figure twice — once for disinfecting, and once for surfaces that come into contact with food. Both say to rinse or wipe with a clean damp cloth 10 minutes after use. Practically, that means spraying the shower recess, leaving it while you do something else, then coming back to rinse. A wipe-down that goes straight from spray to cloth is a clean, not a disinfection.

A pH below 3 puts the formula firmly at the acidic end of the scale. Read the limitation list below in that light: the surfaces Selleys excludes are excluded for a reason, and "I'll be quick about it" is not a way around the exclusion. The safety directions ask you to wear protective gloves and clothing including eye and face protection, and to keep the product out of reach of children.

Do not mix it with other detergents or chemicals. This instruction sits at the head of the directions for use. It applies to combining products in a bucket and to spraying this over the residue of something else you have just used.

Where to use it

Selleys lists the product as suitable for use on:

• Showers
• Bathtubs
• Toilets

That is the whole of the stated use list. It is a bathroom product aimed at the soap scum, dirt and grime that build up in a wet room, rather than a general-purpose household spray.

How to apply it

1. Test suitability in a small inconspicuous area first. Do this before the first use on any surface you have not used it on before.
2. Turn the nozzle to the ON position while directing the trigger away from your face.
3. Spray the area to be cleaned until thoroughly wet. Even coverage matters more than volume — a surface that is only half wetted is only half treated.
4. For general cleaning, rinse and/or wipe with a clean damp cloth.
5. For disinfecting, leave the product on the surface and rinse and/or wipe with a clean damp cloth 10 minutes after use.
6. For surfaces that come into contact with food, rinse or wipe with a clean damp cloth 10 minutes after use.
7. Turn the nozzle to the OFF position when not in use. This is worth doing every time if the bottle lives in a cupboard a child can reach.

Spraying "until thoroughly wet"

That phrase in the directions is more specific than it looks, and it is the difference between a treatment and a gesture.

Coverage, not volume, is what the instruction is asking for. A shower wall sprayed in a few passes has wet patches and dry ones, and the dry ones are simply untreated — the ten-minute disinfection wait does nothing for a surface the product never reached. Work across the area methodically until the whole surface is visibly wet, then start the clock.

On a vertical surface the product will run. That is not a problem for coverage, but it does mean the lower part of the wall and the floor of the recess collect what drains off the top, so the tray is usually the last thing to be rinsed rather than the first.

Limitations — where it should NOT be used

These are the manufacturer's stated limits. Treat them as hard boundaries rather than cautions:

• Not suitable for use on marble, natural stone, porous tiles or aluminium surfaces.
• Not recommended for polished, varnished or lacquered surfaces.
• Hard surface disinfectant only. Not for use on skin.
• Do not mix with other detergents or chemicals.

Two of those catch people out in a bathroom in particular. A stone benchtop on a vanity, or a stone-look tile that is actually stone, falls under the first exclusion. Aluminium shower frames and trims fall under it too — so if you are spraying a screen, keep the product off the frame or rinse it promptly.

Storage

Store the bottle in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place out of direct sunlight, away from foodstuffs, and away from sources of heat or ignition. Keep the container standing upright and closed when not in use, and check it regularly for leaks. A bottle stored on its side in a warm cupboard is the one that seeps.

Safety

Selleys gives the following directions. Read them before the first use rather than after an accident:

• Keep out of reach of children.
• Read carefully and follow all instructions.
• Wear protective gloves and clothing including eye and face protection.
• If the product gets in your eyes, hold the eyes open, flood with water for at least 15 minutes and see a doctor.
• If skin contact occurs, remove contaminated clothing and wash the skin thoroughly. If irritation occurs, seek medical advice.

Warnings, first aid and shipping information are on the product's Safety Data Sheet, available through the Selleys website.

Hazard classification

Classified as hazardous under Safe Work Australia GHS 7, with the signal word Warning.

• Skin corrosion/irritation — Category 2. H315: causes skin irritation.
• Eye damage/irritation — Category 2A. H319: causes serious eye irritation.

What is in it

Chemical entity	CAS number	Proportion (w/w)
Citric acid	77-92-9	1–10%
D-Glucose, decyl octyl ethers, oligomeric (alkyl polyglucoside surfactant)	68515-73-1	<1%
Non-hazardous ingredients	—	Balance

This is a mild acid cleaner, and the composition tells you how it works and what it will not do. Citric acid is the active: it dissolves the calcium and magnesium salts that make up limescale and hard-water film, which is the main soil in a shower. The alkyl polyglucoside is a plant-derived non-ionic surfactant that lifts soap scum and body oils.

Two consequences follow from an acid cleaner. First, it works on scale and soap scum, but it is not a degreaser or a mould killer — a black mould stain in silicone needs a different product. Second, acids attack acid-sensitive stone: do not use it on marble, limestone, travertine or any polished natural stone benchtop or floor, where citric acid will etch the surface permanently.

Never mix it with a chlorine bleach product. Mixing an acid with hypochlorite releases chlorine gas. That is a real risk in a bathroom, where people commonly reach for a mould spray and a shower spray in the same session.

Protection

• Eye protection — safety glasses or goggles.
• Gloves — nitrile rubber for intermittent contact.
• Ventilation — use in a well-ventilated area.
• Wash hands after use, and wash contaminated clothing before reuse.

First aid

Exposure	What to do
Eyes	Rinse cautiously with water for several minutes, removing contact lenses if present and easy to do, then keep rinsing. If irritation persists, get medical advice.
Skin	Wash with soap and water. If irritation develops, get medical advice.
Inhalation	Move to fresh air. If irritation persists, seek medical advice.
Swallowed	Do not induce vomiting. Rinse the mouth and seek medical advice.

If poisoning occurs, contact a doctor or the Poisons Information Centre — 131 126 in Australia, 0800 764 766 in New Zealand — with the container to hand. Selleys emergency line: 1800 220 770 in Australia, 0800 220 770 in New Zealand.

Common questions about Selleys Complete Clean Bathroom & Shower Spray

How long do I have to leave it on to disinfect?

10 minutes, then rinse and/or wipe with a clean damp cloth. Wiping sooner cleans the surface but does not deliver the disinfection claim.

What germs does the 99.9% claim cover?

S. aureus and E. coli. Those are the organisms the claim is made against.

Can I use it on a stone vanity top or stone tiles?

No. It is not suitable for marble, natural stone or porous tiles.

Can I spray it on my aluminium shower screen frame?

No — aluminium surfaces are excluded. Keep the spray to the glass and the tiles, and be deliberate about overspray onto the frame.

Is it safe on a benchtop where I prepare food?

Selleys covers this case in the directions: for surfaces that come into contact with food, rinse or wipe with a clean damp cloth 10 minutes after use. Note that the product's stated uses are showers, bathtubs and toilets.

Can I mix it with bleach or another cleaner for a stronger result?

No. The directions say not to mix it with other detergents or chemicals.

Will it take off soap scum and grease?

Yes to both. Powering through tough soap scum is one of the product's stated functions, along with removing dirt and grime, and cutting through grease and grime is listed among its features.

Can I use it on a painted or varnished surface?

It is not recommended for polished, varnished or lacquered surfaces.

Do I need gloves?

Selleys says to wear protective gloves and clothing including eye and face protection. It is a hard surface disinfectant only and is not for use on skin.

Do I have to test it before the first use?

Yes. Testing suitability in a small inconspicuous area comes before the application steps in Selleys' own directions, and it is worth repeating for each new surface type rather than once for the house.

What size does it come in, and how should I store it?

A 750mL plastic trigger spray bottle. Store it upright and closed, in a cool dry well-ventilated place out of direct sunlight, away from food and away from heat or ignition sources, and check it regularly for leaks.

What else in the range covers the rest of the bathroom?

Selleys publishes separate pages for Complete Clean Toilet Gel, Complete Clean Glass & Mirror Spray and Complete Clean Multi Purpose Spray. Each has its own use list and its own limitations, so check the one you are actually holding.