Easy tips and tricks for a stain-free bathroom

Keeping your taps and spurts clean can augment the appeal of your bathroom or kitchen, especially if they have a glossy finish. Bathroom fittings are usually made of stainless steel or chrome. Stainless steel is a metal alloy without plating. Chrome short for “Chromium” refers to the plating. Chrome plating is overlaid on a metal core. It is meant to work as a protective layer against rust. Chrome faucets are quite popular nowadays because of their attractive look and easy maintenance. However, if not maintained properly, they do begin to lose their shine. Both stainless steel and chrome offer corrosion resistance. Unfortunately rusting can still occur if the chrome plating is damaged due to scratching or dents exposing the metal underneath to moisture. So, one needs to be careful while using and maintaining these fittings.

Easy tricks to maintain the gleam in your bathroom:

Vinegar and Water Solution: One of the best ways to clean the taps and bathroom fittings is to make a solution of white vinegar and water in the ratio of 1:2. Take a spray bottle and pour this solution into it. Use it regularly to clean your taps, bathroom fittings, tiles, kitchen taps, etc. Use plain water to wash it thoroughly later. This will not only give a sparkling touch to the fittings, but also help keep limescale at bay.

Word of caution:

• • As vinegar is acidic hence it is advised to use it with care. One should avoid using it on iron.
  • If you have marble flooring, be very cautious as regular use will corrode the surface giving it a stained appearance.
  • When trying to remove limescale from your bathroom/ kitchen fittings, clean with the water/vinegar solution and leave it for 20-30 minutes.  After that rinse your fixtures thoroughly with plain water. Leaving the vinegar solution for longer is not advisable. Its acidity helps to clean up the limescale, but prolonged exposure can damage the chrome finish.
  • You can add a few drops of essential oils like lemon to the solution to mask the odour of vinegar and leave a soothing fragrance in your bathroom.

Salt: Sprinkle some salt on a wet cloth and rub the fitting/tap with it. This helps to regain the shine of your bathroom fittings/taps.

Flour: Rubbing the taps with flour and rinsing them with warm water restores the shine of your bathroom furnishings.

Baking Soda and Lemon: Make a mixture of baking soda and lemon and apply it to the taps. Wash thoroughly with water to regain the lost shine.

Cleaning the Shower Glass

The glass partition in the bathroom often gets stained due to the hard water/soap. If not wiped regularly, it leaves stains that give your bathroom an unpleasant look. The homemade solution discussed below is very helpful in cleaning any kind of stains left on the glass doors.

For normal regular stains:

• • Just spray some water on the glass surface and rub it with a newspaper to get a beautiful sparkly finish.
  • You can also use shaving foam to clean the glass. Rub it on the glass surface and later wipe it with a clean microfiber cloth to get a clean stain-free glass.

For hard water/ soap stains:

• • Make a solution of water, white vinegar, dish soap in the ratio of 2:1:0.5. Add a few drops of essential oil like lemon for a nice fragrance. Spray it on the glass, and leave it for about 30-40 minutes. Later rub it with a damp sponge and then rinse it with fresh water. Dry the glass using a microfiber cloth. This is very helpful in getting rid of the marks on the glass formed due to soap/hard water.
  • Another way is to cut a lemon and dip it in baking soda. Rub this on the glass. Later, wash thoroughly with fresh water.