Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Where can I go to find a bath or shower enclosure?
A. Bath and shower enclosures are available from glass shops, mirror shops, various do-it-yourself building supply stores and, in some parts of the country, at plumbing supply companies.

Q. What is the best way to clean my bath or shower enclosure?
A. Cleaning the soap scum and limescale from enclosures without damaging the metal finish on the hardware has been a major focus of BEMA. Tests conducted by BEMA on some of the most popular cleaners yielded a way of protecting the hardware while cleaning the glass. For more details go to Care and Cleaning of Your Enclosure.

Q. How safe are bath and shower enclosures?
A. All glass doors and enclosures must meet code specifications and are therefore constructed of tempered glass. Tempered glass is created by applying heat to strengthen the glass. When untempered glass is shattered it breaks into large dangerous shards. Tempered glass is stronger and when broken breaks into many small beads of glass.

Q. My installer said that I have to replace my broken door glass with tempered glass even though the original glass was not tempered. Is this true?
A. YES. Any replacement glass in shower enclosures is required to be tempered or laminated safety glass by the federal government. Any repairs have to meet current safety standards.

Q. Why can't my glass dealer cut the glass for my door since it would save time?
A. Unless they are using laminated glass, which is very expensive, the glass in the door has to be tempered because of safety standards. Once glass is tempered it cannot be cut, therefore the glass must be ordered in the correct size.

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