Proven care tips to help you extend the life of your mixer taps

Proven care tips to help you extend the life of your mixer taps

Mixer taps are functional. They improve the experience of using kitchens and bathrooms.

However, they require regular cleaning as these plumbing fixtures come in contact with water every day. Because they are in contact with water day in, day out, mixer taps can get limescale formations on their surface. Having limescale deposits is bad news because they can clog finemeshed sieve present on the outflow and the aerator of the taps as well. Once the clogging happens, the mixer tap can start spraying as well. Which is why, we’ve rounded up two battletested maintenance tips for effectively avoiding these problems. Let’s get started.

Avoiding limescale marks Whenever you use wet hands for turning off a mixer tap, you’ll likely leave water droplets over it. Over time, these droplets dry and eventually leave limescale behind. Limescale formations

can happen fast, particularly if you live in a region that has hard water. For the uninitiated, the phrase “hard water” refers to water whose calcium bicarbonate is sky-high. You won’t find any limescale deposits if the water’s hardness is below four. In case your tap receives hard water, rub its surface dry using a microfiber cloth whenever you use it. This way, you save cleaning the mixer tap again and again.

Getting rid of limescale When limescale is formed, you should treat it with an organic, mild acid—for example, citric acid or a solution of acetic will do just fine. A word of caution: Before applying acidic solutions on the tap’s surface, check whether its material is resistant to them. A case in point: Aluminium and marble never go well with acidic solutions and similar substances. Some varnishes and plastics may even react unfavourably to acids. Once you’re sure your tap material can withstand the use of acidic solutions, you can go ahead with the cleaning process. For removing the limescale, gently apply the cleaning agent on the sponge’s soft side. Then wipe the mixer tap thoroughly, but not aggressively, with the soft side of the sponge. Make sure you don’t vigorously scrub for longer on the mixer tap.

Closing thoughts You now know the tips for avoiding limescale marks and cleaning them once they get formed on a bathroom or kitchen basin mixer tap. Once you follow these tips by the book, you’ll make sure that the shiny mixer tap will smoothly serve you in the long run. These maintenance tips work well with a range of mixer taps including wall mounted mixer basin taps and diverter mixer taps. For finding more of these amazing maintenance tips about mixer taps and other plumbing fixtures, bookmark this space.