Anti-corrosion glass: A clear solution for humid spaces

Shower facilities, gyms, pool enclosures, and spas have more in common than just water: They also tend to be designed using glass. Particularly in commercial applications, such spaces often feature glass doors, glass windows, and glass partitions to add a light and airy feel to an often closed environment.

Over time, however, contaminants related to water, heat and high humidity can cause glass corrosion, aging its surface, resulting in a dull and dirty appearance that worsens the longer the exposure exists. This happens because glass is made from sand, and subsequently, it contains sodium in large quantities. When water enters in contact with sodium it progressively damages the surface of the glass giving it a whitish aspect that cannot be cleaned away.

As a solution, a coating that fuses permanently with the glass can seal the glass surface and subsequently protect it from this corrosion. An example of this is LUXCLEAR® Protect by AGC Glass North America, the world’s largest glass manufacturer. LUXCLEAR Protect is a coated glass product that prevents the main consumer issue in a shower enclosure: hard water, staining, or etching, also known as glass corrosion. The coating is invisible, meaning that it maintains the optical properties of the glass, and it is easy to clean using regular methods and traditional non-abrasive household cleaners.

LUXCLEAR Protect provided an optimal answer to corrosion issues at the Audubon Club in Louisville, KY -  a high-profile country club dating back to 1908. Over the years, it has hosted prestigious events and golf tournaments, and produced several golf champions from its ranks. Naturally, over time, elements of the facilities have been upgraded or changed for maintenance purposes or to modernize. Such was the case with the locker rooms and showers.

The management decided that, in particular, the shower doors needed to be replaced after years of use and exposure to contaminants like hard water, heat, and high humidity. Due to these and other factors, the glass doors had an aged appearance and seemed dull and dirty, despite conscientious cleaning and careful upkeep. Fortunately, Greg Abrams, Founder and CEO of 310 Tempering, and a club member, had a solution: He selected AGC Glass’ LUXCLEAR® Protect for the new shower doors because of its ability to withstand contaminants in the space and its ease of cleaning.

“Too many commercial operators stray from glass because they don’t know we have possibilities like this,” says Greg Abrams, Founder and CEO, 310 Tempering. “I think if they saw these locker rooms they’d understand what can be achieved by using something like LUXCLEAR Protect, which for me is the best glass being offered in this industry right now.”

With the aid of handcrafted molds, Abrams and his team created a series of elegantly embossed doors using LUXCLEAR Protect. As an added bonus for the club and its maintenance workers, the glass does not require any special cleaning solutions or processes, which means that even with its tactile surface, the doors are easy to clean and the glass will retain its like-new appearance for its lifespan.

As the Audubon illustrates, solutions like LUXCLEAR Protect present an elegant, reliable way of ensuring that spaces subject to water and heat can retain their attractiveness for years into the future, and that glass is the ideal material to use in these circumstances.