Daily bathroom wipe down

[Merlin5]

Now that I have a new bathroom fitted I'm trying to stay on top of it and keep it clean. Each time after showering, I wipe down the tiles, glass and chrome fittings (taps, shower unit, toiler toll holder, shower screen chrome fixtures, led mirror, chrome toilet push button, vanity unit chrome handle, etc) with a damp sponge to remove excess water. Then I go over it with a dry microfibre cloth (doesn't scratch) to dry everything. This is quite time consuming to do every day. Would it be enough to just do the damp cloth to get excess water off without drying every time? I'm just trying to avoid any build up of mildew and mould and break down of grout, and any staining and limescale build up on the chrome.

 

[Harbourwoodwork]

Have you had extraction fitted? that removes most of the moisture in the air that condenses on the cold surfaces

 

[JohnD]

if you can get a water softener, it will save you a vast amount of work, as there will be no limescale or watermarks, even on glass.

 

[Merlin5]

I'll look into a water softener, thanks, sounds like a good idea.
Yeah, 4" humidistat fan installed, it comes on quite shortly after the shower is running and overruns for a few minutes after till it senses the humidity level is down sufficiently. Also has a pull cord for manual override. But there's still plenty of water to wipe off.

 

[foxhole]

You need the fan running every time the room is occupied, regardless of the type of use, that's why humidistat's are quite lame they react too slow.You need a 10min over run if walls are getting wet.

 

[Merlin5]

You need the fan running every time the room is occupied, regardless of the type of use, that's why humidistat's are quite lame they react too slow.You need a 10min over run if walls are getting wet.

Yeah, I'm gonna unscrew the cover and turn the adjuster to reduce the humidistat level to make it run for longer. It's set to 75% relative humidity by default, so presumably if I set it to around 40% that'll maker it run for longer and turn on sooner. The walls, taps and bath obviously get wet from showering hence the need to wipe down excess water, but condensation then coats the rest of the bathroom. It's a really tiny bathroom though so it's hard for it not to get moisture everywhere. This is the fan by the way, it's a SELV 12v.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350662006068?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

 

[longdogs]

A good way to clean the water off a shower screen is by using a rubber squeegee. I've been cleaning mine with one for about 15 years now and the screen still looks as good as new. It does depend however on the quality of the glass as some screens are quite (rough) and it will not stop the rubber seal from turning green but these are readily available on the web at a good price.

 

[RigidRaider]

Seconded. I remove the worst of the water with a squeegy blade then finish off with a microfibre cloth. It keeps the bathroom dry and helps stave off the mildew in the sealant.

 

[ntb]

I just use an old flannel to get the worst of the water off. It then dries quite quickly. This makes a very big difference to the rate of mould growth compared to when I didn't bother. I'm drip drying as I do it which means the towel doesn't get as wet either.

 

[longdogs]

I just use an old flannel to get the worst of the water off. It then dries quite quickly. This makes a very big difference to the rate of mould growth compared to when I didn't bother. I'm drip drying as I do it which means the towel doesn't get as wet either.

Too much information

 

[kbdiy]

.... or just open a window?

 

[deniance]

Is it one of those silly little white fans? The square ones?, bin it, buy a bigger loft mounted one, about 60 quid, it sucks more air out and sucks the steam away as its happening, so it can't go everywhere and condense on things, it also has an overrun and humidity thing too, screwfix I think mine was, a major improvement over the little square ones!

 

[Merlin5]

Is it one of those silly little white fans? The square ones?, bin it, buy a bigger loft mounted one, about 60 quid, it sucks more air out and sucks the steam away as its happening, so it can't go everywhere and condense on things, it also has an overrun and humidity thing too, screwfix I think mine was, a major improvement over the little square ones!

They're mostly all white and square though aren't they? But yeah, I'm not sure mine is really doing anything. It's this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350662006068




It does come on fast from the humidistat and often stays on for ages, so it's detecting humidity. But unless I have the heated towel rail on or the window open, I find condensation at the bottom of the new double glazed windows and any moisture on the tiles isn't sucked away. Is the fan meant to dry my walls then or just try and reduce some of the moisture in the air before it condenses? I don't really know what it's meant to do. There's another problem though. Mine is SELV which is a low voltage fan because an electrician advised me that it needs a low voltage due to how close it is to the shower head. So is there a better one to get which is low voltage? Also, I don't have a loft.

 

[deniance]

I Had a low voltage One just like yours, but the actual fan was in the loft, same thing just away from my shower so you don't get an electric shock, this was then connected to the shower vent with ducting, same type as a tumble drier, I bought a big black fan from screwfix, its sucking power on paper was triple so I gave it a go, stuck it in the loft stuck the power cable in it stuck the pipes on and done, much better, when I showered before room would fill with steam and condense on taps etc, now room.stays steam free for 5mins then the mirror slowly starts to steam up, also when shower is finished, its steam free by the time I scrape the shower glass and dry
But if you don't have a loft you will have to find another method, visit the vent Axia swebsiteand see if there's a fan for your situation but upgraded power
R
Humidity in your house needs to be controlled, the main reason for these fans is to remove the excess moisture the shower creates, it will not stop the cause of humidity in other areas of your home, but it can be used with the bathroom door open to suck air through your house and remove that humidity as well, if you search ebay for hygrometer, cheapest first there's a little solar powered hygrometer for three quid, it will tell you temperature andrrelative humidity, use it outside then use it in rooms in your house, then you will start to understand how much moisture you create in various parts of your home, if your houseis well sealed with no draughts around windows and doors etc then it can be hard for the moisture you create to leave the home, this moisture will float around your house on air movements and hot air from your radiators until it finds cold taps and toilet tanks and windows to condense on, then this cycle repeats every day every month and you only notice when mould starts growing on the damp parts,

I know it sounds like science fiction, but buy a hygrometer and you will.see, or at least be able to build a picture of what is going on, if left uncontrolled this moist humid air can find its way up into your attic and condense there causing droplets to form and drip.on your ceiling giving the impression you have damp or a leak , or it can condense on lower parts of cold walls and build up for weeks and weeks giving the impression its rising damp, oh and all this humidity comes from us, breathing, cooking showering ,drying clothes or tea towels on radiators, it all evaporates and goes.into the household air, any thing I can help with just aask, if you need advice with the fan I'm an electrician

 

[deniance]

Oh and in answer to your question, it cannot dry your tiles, if the moisture is airboure it easily sucks it away, once droplets are formed.it won't suck it away, it only condenses on your tiles because they are cold, so unless you can heat them up you will just have to scrape them down after each shower