Applying elbow grease to your bathroom is a rite of passage this time of year. That’s right; spring cleaning is upon us. Mopping, dusting, disinfecting – that’s the easy, obvious stuff. But before you call it a day, make sure to remember these hidden spots if you want a truly sparkling clean bathroom.
Vent Fan Covers – Although the air might seem clean, there’s likely unhealthy dust hiding behind the cover of your exhaust fan. Remove your cover by pinching any spring loaded clasps that connect to the fan. Once the plate is removed, run water over the fan and take a toothbrush to all crevices to rid the device of dust. Be sure to take a vacuum to the fan be reattaching.
Faucet Aerators – Getting rid of gunk in your faucet takes a little more than simply running water until it’s gone. Faucets come with an aerator, which is found at the tip of the faucet and prevents splashing, creates an even stream, and conserves water. Gunk and debris can get caught in the aerator, so regularly removing and cleaning this piece can help keep it clean.
Calcified Shower Head – Hard water buildup is a common occurrence on many shower heads. When holes get clogged, they can create problems with water pressure while making it’s home to high levels of bacteria. Fill a bag with vinegar and wrap it around your shower head, securing it with a rubber band. After leaving it on for a few hours, remove the bag and scrub the remaining debris off with a toothbrush. The end result will be a free-flowing stream and a better shower experience.
Shower Grout – No bathroom feels clean without immaculate grout. There is no uniformed way to clean grout, but applying cleaning solution and water to the grout and scrubbing away is truly the finishing touch for any bathroom.
Spotless Glass Door – There’s no better way to view your newly clean shower head, tiles and grout than through the lens of a clean glass shower door. Squeegee your glass to avoid water spots and mineral damage. If you do this after every use, your shower door will remain pristine.
Maryland Frameless Showers is a premier provider of decorative hardware and frameless showers. We work with everyone from large contractors, remodelers, customer homebuilders and homeowners around Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. Contact us today to see how we can transform your bathroom.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with a new bathroom in your future, but doing a bit of research before you begin can ease your mind, keep costs under control, and ultimately get you the bathroom of your dreams.
We at Maryland Frameless Showers wanted to expound a bit of advice to help you with the planning process:
1. Create a Budget – The majority of homeowners are budget conscious when planning a bathroom, so calculate what you can afford and stick to it. To figure out the best budget for you, consider how long you’ll be living in your space and how much ROI your remodel will yield – according to a 2012 U.S. News & World Report article, investing bathroom remodel returns 62% on average. Also, understand things might go awry, so plan on some financial cushion.
2. Project Length – Inviting construction chaos into your bathroom can mean you’re out of amenities (i.e. toilet, sink and shower) for a few days or weeks. This is particularly inconvenient when a home has less than 2 bathrooms, so plan accordingly!
3. You Design It! – One of the more fun parts of remodeling your bathroom is selecting your specific style. We recommend you make a statement by tiling both your floor and walls, and create a focal point in your bathroom with a frameless shower.
4. Plumbing & Ventilation – Major renovations to your bathroom, especially in older homes, often require updates to existing plumbing and ventilation systems. Exhaust fans control odor, reduce humidity and aerate harmful chemicals from your bathroom. If you plan on repositioning your sink, tub, shower or toilet, you’ll also need to plan on reconfiguring your plumbing infrastructure as well. Don’t get caught off guard!
5. Storage Capabilities – Modern bathrooms with open concepts don’t lend themselves to storage, so make sure you leave a few square feet to stow away bathroom essentials.
Maryland Frameless Showers is a premier provider of decorative hardware and frameless showers. We work with everyone from large contractors, remodelers, customer homebuilders and homeowners around Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. Contact us today to see how we can transform your bathroom.
As a homeowner with a frameless shower door, you obviously have an inclination for elegance. It’s no secret that our products can be the finishing touch on your dream bathroom, as they provide a clean, transparent look that helps you showcase tiles and elegant fixtures you paid big money to install.
But what do you do when your shower glass isn’t so clean and transparent anymore? We at Maryland Frameless Showers wanted to give you the best methods to keeping your shower glass spotless.
Squeegee: Keep it Simple
One of the best selling points on a frameless shower is how easy it is to clean. Unlike shower stalls, which tend to have many crevices and require a lot of elbow grease to get the job done, the task of cleaning your glass is easily completed with a few swipes of a squeegee. Water falls off with ease and washes down the drain. 99% of the time this eliminates the need for extra cleaning. Religiously maintaining your shower with your squeegee will prevent the problems that come with streaks and hard water buildup. Don’t stray from this strategy, trust us.
But if worse comes to worst…
and you don’t have the time or patience to clean your shower glass after every use (a fine excuse if that shower is in a guest bathroom), it’s not uncommon for streaks, hard water stains, scum, and mildew to accumulate on your glass.
When you’re ready to put a little muscle to correct the problem, try popular over the counter products like CLR, Lime-Away, or Kaboom. Some people highly recommend Bar Keeper’s Friend. If you don’t feel like going to the store, a combination of white vinegar, baking soda and salt can do the trick. But make sure you use a microfiber cloth or a magic eraser so to not damage the glass.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jim Long at Maryland Frameless Showers. Jim has decades of experience helping homeowners in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia achieve their dream bathrooms.
One of the biggest issues we’ve witnessed in our years installing frameless shower doors in the Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area comes from issues with homeowners and contractors improperly laying bathroom tile. Here are some words of wisdom to remember as you prepare to build your dream bathroom.
Your Tiles Matter
Tile is often the baseline for most shower enclosures. The most important step in the process of tiling your bathroom is creating a level surface on your shower walls. Because glass is usually cut in a straight line, obtaining a straight edge is critical to shower door that opens seamlessly. Tiling your wall correctly the first time is a whole lot cheaper than tearing it out and re-tiling!
The Thinnest of Margins
To achieve a sleek look without putting your bathroom floor at risk of accumulating water, precisely measuring the surrounding tile is the name of the game. Our margin of error couldn’t get any slimmer. Measurements come down to literally as much as one-eighth of an inch. Being wrong in one direction or another can hinder the process and require extra time, sometimes weeks, to get the right size glass manufactured and one your shower. The worst part about that scenario means not being able to shower in your bathroom for all that time!
Carpentry 101
A great lesson to implement when working on your bathroom (or on any project in general) is to measure three times before executing an action. Tiling, woodworking, hanging blinds – no matter the task, the same principle applies. Being accurate with your measurements is of the utmost importance when getting the job done right.
To ensure improper measurements don’t happen when Maryland Frameless Showers installs your fixture and glass doors, owner Jim Long personally measures the size of your shower enclosure. For reasons we’ve discussed in this post, getting it right before putting the work in is critical to success.
Looking for the best spot in your house to do some thinking? A pensive place full of peace and quiet, where the brain can shut down for a few moments after a long and stressful day? Well, take a trip to your bathroom, turn on the hot water and get in your shower!
You heard that right. Your shower is an optimal location to find some of your best ideas. According to studies, a person has a higher propensity to develop creative thoughts and ideas when the brain is most at ease.
Think about it: you’re relaxed, distracted, and happy from the dopamine flowing in your brain. That combination can create a wheelhouse for solving one’s problems through new creativity.
Shower thinking doesn’t happen by accident, either. In science, the areas of your brain that awaken when you’re not focused are defined as the default mode network. When you passively think about things, daydream, or find your mind wandering, the default mode network is active.
Reflect on the time you spend in the shower. The water trickling down soothes you. The steam from the heat creates a cloud. It’s easy to be transported to a dream-like trance where suddenly your troubles melt away for a few moments, and your focus shifts. As the brain relaxes, you lose awareness of your surroundings.
Unlike sleep, where you enter a REM state, showering requires relatively unconscious physical activity. Lathering soap or applying shampoo to all parts of your body keeps active parts of your mind involved. So when both your default mode network the parts of your brain that need physical activity are engaged, the setting is ripe for creativity.
As you recall the day and contemplate your troubles in your shower, it’s natural for your brain to come up with unique solutions. Now the only problem is remembering to write those ideas down before they go down the drain!
(Read more about the science behind shower thoughts here and here. The details are very cool!)
And if you’re in need of a new shower, give your bathroom a modern, elegant look with a frameless shower from Maryland Frameless Showers!
