Top tips for cleaning taps and showers

Time for a big spring clean?  Here are some tips for how to clean your taps and showers to keep your bathroom sparkling.

How to clean taps?

One of our most popular FAQs is how to clean the chrome finish on some of our basin taps.  All Bristan taps have been made with high grade brass and, if you care for them correctly, the finish will last for years.  We never advise using products that contain alcohol, hydrochloric acid or phosphoric acids.  These products can cause some taps to blister and could invalidate your warranty.

The best way to clean taps is simply with warm, soapy water and a soft microfiber cloth.  Or you can purchase a Bristan ‘Love Your Chrome’ cleaning kit which includes a spray gel de-scaler, a mould remover spray and a micro fibre cleaning cloth.

How to clean a shower handset?

Like any product that comes into constant contact with water, your shower handset can get clogged with limescale.  Cleaning a blocked shower handset is an easy task though.

Here’s our guide to descaling a shower handset:

The best way to clean a handset is with white vinegar.  Remove the shower head from the hose.  Be careful that you don’t lose any of the parts when doing this.  Dip the handset into a bucket or bowl of white vinegar.  If you have a plastic handset, then leave for 1 hour.  If you have a brass showerhead, then don’t leave it in for any longer than 30 minutes.  Once soaked, rinse with water and replace.  Once back in place, turn the shower on to rinse out any residue.

Fixed head showers are a little trickier, but can still be cleaned with vinegar.  Pour vinegar into a plastic bag then place the bag over the shower head so that the head is submerged in the water. Leave for 30 minutes then remove.  Rinse the shower head with a cloth and turn the water on to flush out any remaining limescale.

An old toothbrush will also help with cleaning the nozzles.

Hard Water Map

Those living in hardwater areas will find their taps and showers need to be de-scaled more often.  Take a look at our hard water map here. 

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