How to Maintain our Products

Outside of regular cleaning it is advisable that owners put a little time aside each 6 months to conduct some small maintenance on our products to help preserve their components and finish integrity.
May 28, 2021
A lot of long-term ownership considerations revolve around the build-up of calcium and other minerals on owners’ products. Calcium in particular is an alkaline material which will act to erode surfaces and prevent serviceable parts from being removed easily, so it is a good idea to stay on top of this build-up. All minerals collect on surfaces where water is left to evaporate and so quickly towel drying your product after use is always the best way to keep calcium from building on surfaces. However inevitably this will still collect in areas that are always semi-wet such as the end of spouts and showerhead nozzles and this is primarily where your 6 monthly maintenance should be focused.
Our 6 monthly program will help you deal with this mineral build-up before it becomes too difficult to remove gently .
Mix up a solution of 50/50 bottled lemon juice and water in a bowl (you can also use pure white vinegar, but we prefer lemon juice as it leaves the room smelling fresher). This provides you with an acidic solution that will act to neutralise the alkali-based calcium. Identify any mineral marks and then gently apply some of the solution to them with a soft toothbrush. Light watermarks will disappear as you brush on the solution, but slightly heavier marks will benefit from the solution being left on the surface for about 1 minute before returning and gently scrubbing them away with the same toothbrush. Once satisfied make sure to flush the surfaces with plenty of fresh water to remove the acidic solution before drying with a microfibre cloth. This is still a potential aggressive treatment for your surfaces however and owners should not use this as part of their regular cleaning routine.

At the end of your spouts, you will find a grey plastic honeycomb aerator designed to add volume to your water. It is important to extract this item during these occasions in order to remove limescale from it and ensure that any seal being created by calcium around its connection with the rest of the spout is broken. Aerators that have been ‘inserted’ into a spout will require the use of the colourful key supplied in the original packaging to unscrew them. On several ranges however, such as Sense and Anika, these aerators are held in place by a cap that can be simply unscrewed by hand. Take the removed aerator and soak it overnight in the same 50/50 solution of lemon juice and water. Subsequent agitation with a soft toothbrush will remove any limescale or mineral build up from the aerator.

The final recommendation we suggest at this stage is to service your showerhead. All of our overhead showers are fitted with rub-clean silicone nozzles that are designed to prevent limescale and mineral build up on the surface of the showerhead by instead trapping these minerals inside the nozzles themselves. After some use therefore these nozzles will become blocked with mineral build up. To release this, you should turn on the shower and gently rub each affected nozzle until they clear.

For further information on maintenance and care of your specific finish be sure to visit our Finishes section.