The visual appeal of your tapware in the kitchen and bathroom can be significantly enhanced with a good sense of cleaning and maintenance. Who doesn’t want to wake up to see a sparkling clean, and shiny finish of chrome or gold on the tapware surface? However, this reality doesn’t just jump on people. It takes diligent care to obtain such a culture. On the other hand, a grubby and grimy tapware turns of one’s excitement and removes any supposed beauty that the appliance may have.
At the end of the day, with only use and without cleaning, the tapware and other related components may hardly last for as long as they should. Therefore, traditional culture of cleaning and thorough maintenance is a must. When you organize your time well with a cleaning routine, it won’t take as much work to regularly obtain a spotless and shiny tapware surface. Therefore, this article discusses some of the essential elements of tapware maintenance.
A General Rule of Tapware Maintenance
One of the general rules of tapware maintenance is the avoidance of abrasive cleaners in the process. The reason for this caution is to avoid any cause of scratch on the surface of the tapware, which may eventually make the character look horrible. Apart from the scratchy effect of the abrasive cleaners, they also leave off areas where other dirt can gather over time. What then are the easy items that you can employ to maintain a clean surface on the tapware?
Get a liquid detergent and soft clothing or sponge with some soapy water. Then apply these cleaners while rubbing gently with the clothing material or sponge to remove any stain on the tapware surface. Remembers to particularly clean the spouts, tap outlet, and drain covers. At the same time, clean the metallic surface of the chrome and brass with unique metal polishes that can help maintain their shiny quality.
More so, these unique polishes can add an extra layer of shine to these parts, but you may not repeat them as often. Without a special polish, get dry silk or wool-woven clothing to clean out the metallic surfaces. Special drains and waste outlets made of some other common materials may require first checking out the materials before the cleaning strategy. Later in this article, we will see the recommended materials to clean out a kitchen tapware’s chrome and stainless steel surfaces.
Removing clogs from the drain
A blocked draining system in the kitchen or the bathroom can be frustrating but not a situation one can easily overlook. However, before you can even begin to do anything when you see the drain is blocked, wear protective layers. Also, take other protective and sanitary steps against any germ that may have accumulated in the system. A blocked drain can be removed by just a string of solid wire, which depends on the blockage’s extent.
The next level of blockage removal is applying a plunger into the drain hole to dislodge any obstacle. Again, only at the last resort can we employ drain cleaners because if used more accessible, one may cause more complications to the drain blockage.
How to Maintain a Spotless Sink Tapware
Due to the different kinds of materials that pass through your tapware inlet and outlet at different temperatures, there must be a deliberate care time. For instance, the sink may harbor acids, bases, salts, grease, oils, and other substances. Therefore, a great manufacturing company first works towards using a surface that cannot be stained by any of these materials. When that is settled, the onus lies to ensure that no stain is left on the tapware surface.
The number one material that can ensure no stains on the tapware is the gleamy chrome plating. Alternatively, the tapware may be made of stainless steel that removes all the possibility of staining. These two materials are close in their properties and applications, mainly regarding their durability and ease of cleaning. Over time, each item can allow the user to apply the correct technique to maintain the shiny sheen while in use.
In addition, chrome and stainless steel finishes have anti-bacterial properties and are highly hygienic. There is no chance that they will get rusty too, neither will there be any food-grade case. Stainless steel is also resistant to acid and heat, so the surface is relatively easy to maintain. Meanwhile, the following rules can also be beneficial in maintenance practices.
- Do not use aggressive cleaning agents on the sink, drains and tapware. Some of these aggressive cleaning agents, such as formic acid, bleaches, acetic acid, and hydrochloric acid, can leave deposits on the surfaces. In addition, they may also splash to some unintended places and cause damage. Besides, they might simply be too concentrated for the tapware surface. The same rule goes for other abrasive cleaning agents and hard sponges.
- Avoid spraying cleaning agents directly on the kitchen tapware surface. When trying to clean the tapware, do no spray the cleaning agents directly on the sink or drain cover. Instead, follow the substance manufacturer’s manual, which in many cases asks you to prepare a solution from the substance before application. In addition, do not mix two or more cleaning products together to achieve better effectiveness. The chemical agents may counteract and cause harm. Instead, follow the dosage and application recommendation.
- Use citric acid acid-base stain removal to deal with any limescale. When you notice any limescale stain on your kitchen or bathroom sink and drain, use this gentle cleaning agent put on a soft dry cloth to remove them gently. But ensure the fabric is also lint-free and made of cotton. Next, wipe away any part of the kitchen tapware that contains the limescale while holding on for some time for the stain to be removed entirely.
- Finally, after applying all the cleaning agents of any kind, ensure you still wipe all the surfaces of the tapware with an article of dry clothing. This final process ensures that there is no longer any chemical residue on the tapware surface. More so, the tapware needs to be restored to the shiny state after you must have rinsed with clean water.
Final word
On a final note, it is easy to maintain the tapware if it is first a deliberate action rather than a haphazard one. At the same time, kindly follow every instruction in the chemical being used and that of the tapware manufacturer.
