The Best Way To Keep Your Trendy Brass Faucets Looking Brand New
Brass fixtures add a touch of class to any style of home décor. When you add a brass faucet to your kitchen or bathroom sink, you automatically have an accessory that pairs well with modern, contemporary, or even country or rustic motifs. Moreover, brass, with its illuminating shine, never seems to go out of style and invites an elegant aesthetic into your spaces.
So, how can you maintain the signature shine that brass faucets are best known for? On the one hand, keeping them free from residue and tarnish is easier than you think, but at the same time, dullness is bound to settle in over time. The key, as you have guessed, is consistent cleaning. As long as you regularly wipe off your faucets with a soft, damp, lint-free cloth, the brass finish will remain in excellent shape. Plus, we have simpler hacks for keeping your brass faucets shiny and beautiful!
Use ingredients from your pantry or fridge
One tip MCK Kitchen and Bath offers is to mix your own solution. While you have many choices of cleaners for brass faucets on the market, you can use solvents that you can easily find in your kitchen cabinets. For instance, you can combine vinegar, flour, and salt to form a paste and apply it to your brass faucet. After waiting 5 to 10 minutes, wipe away the paste to reveal a clean, dirt-free surface. Likewise, MCK also recommends ketchup to remove tarnish and smudges from your faucet. The acidic ingredients in ketchup effectively dissolve any residue that accumulates on brass without scratching it — as long as you use a soft, damp cloth for wiping it off.
Another method for removing unwanted substances on your brass faucet is to pour salt over lemon (cut in half, of course) and gently rub it over the tap, per Kibi Live Simply. Like the ketchup, the acid in the lemon melts the dirt, while the salt gently scrubs away leftover residue without scratching it since it also dissolves in the citric acid.
Minimizing fingerprints and tarnish
Ultimately, to avoid having to start eliminating surface corrosion and fingerprints sooner, you can clean your faucets more regularly instead of just once a month. For example, a quick wipe-down with warm water and a non-abrasive sponge or cloth would be enough to keep brass faucets clean and shiny. Adding dish soap to the water is optional, depending on the extent of stains on your faucet. Plus, drying the brass completely is vital to keep water spots from forming.
Moreover, daily buffing with a soft, lint-free towel would do the trick in between uses, especially if you have hard water in your region. After all, water can splatter and leave mineral deposits that dull the shine. Another recommendation from Kibi Live Simply is always wear rubber gloves when deep cleaning or wiping your faucets. This practice helps keep fingerprints off the brass and prevents any oily buildup from occurring.