Bathroom Furniture Aftercare - Bathroom Mirrors
Bathroom MirrorsSometimes an aged mirror can look attractive: householders with a Victorian styled home, for example, or fans of the popular 'shabby chic' trend may deliberately choose a slightly age worn, blackened, or spotted mirror. Whether you prefer a new, unblemished look, though, or one that is artfully worn, you're unlikely to want your new bathroom mirror to deteriorate while it's in your possession - you bought it for its reflective qualities, and you won't want these obscured.
Modern mirror manufacturers consistently produce high quality mirrors from high quality materials: there are fewer defects in the surface or interior of a mirror today than even ten years ago. But a mirror is composed of several elements brought together in a complex process, and the finished product can be susceptible to changes in temperature - low or high - and by an environment that's too moist or inadequately ventilated.
A bathroom is always going to be moist to some degree, but you should ensure there is adequate provision of ventilation to dry the room out properly after each use. Bathrooms with no external wall and therefore no window will require the most attention in this regard.
The ventilation rate your bathroom will require depends on the number and type of fixtures it has: a room with a steam shower will clearly require a lot more ventilation than a room with simply a toilet and basin. Opening a window will help during the time the window remains open, but this is not an ideal long term solution, especially in winter. Use of humidity controlled extract ventilation allows ventilation to be switched on when the humidity in the bathroom rises. You can help the process by wiping up and pouring away surface water, and by drying wet towels elsewhere so that they cannot contribute to replacing the humidity that's being removed.
To keep any mirror looking its best, the key is regular cleaning. Use simply clean, warm water and apply it with a non-abrasive cloth, to prevent any surface scratches occurring. A glass cleaner may be used if you wish, but you should use a neutral type - acidic, alkaline, ammonia based, and abrasive cleaners may cause damage to your bathroom mirror. Spray the cleaner onto a cloth, then apply it to the mirror: if you spray it directly onto the mirror, it's more likely to be able to run to the edges of the mirror and potentially get inside. Your bathroom mirror should be dried after cleaning: this should again prevent water and cleaning agent working their way to the backing of the mirror through the mirror's edges, and will also prevent watermarks appearing as the mirror dries, bringing instead a beautifully polished look to your bathroom mirror.
Helen Davies is a senior content writer for Better Bathrooms, suppliers of a range of bathroom furniture including various mirrored cabinets, and illuminated and non-illuminated bathroom mirrors.