I won’t soon forget the day my teenage son was taking a shower in one of the three bathrooms of our 70’s built high ranch house when he suddenly started shouting and cussing, using language he’d been advised not to use. Without any regard for his modesty that he was so careful to protect, I threw open the bathroom door (the lock had been busted for awhile) and saw, much to my horror, water gushing from what appeared to be a busted, broken pipe.
“The shower head just came right off,” my son said, lunging for a towel.
“Turn off that water immediately,” I said in my most commanding voice. He fiddled with a faucet and that also fell off, causing me to scream, which brought my husband crowding into the bathroom. It took him a minute, but he figured out how to turn the water off.
“Looks like we need a plumber,” he said grimly. “Or a contractor.”
I think it’s fair to say we were delinquent keeping up with that bathroom. In the decade or so we’d owned the house, we’d updated and remodeled two bathrooms but hadn’t gotten around to the third. Sure, I cleaned it, sometimes every day, but I was cleaning with Windex and Bon Ami and a Swiffer, so the cleaning was strictly surface stuff and not at all deep. That bathroom taught me the hard way that the key to avoiding costly emergency repairs is maintenance, not superficial cleaning.
Maintenance is everything
Did you know soap scum is a real enemy? Add to the enemy list shampoo, conditioner, and those adorable “scrubbing beads” found in many body washes. I bet you didn’t know those “beads” are actually micro bits of plastic. Are you addicted to bath bombs? Well, hello! They’re filled with stuff guaranteed to gunk up your drain. Is there someone in your household with a great magnificent mane of hair? Hair, sadly, is the primary culprit behind almost every clogged drain.
The good news for homeowners is bathroom drains can easily be professionally cleaned twice a year. You’re probably groaning to hear this, but scheduled maintenance is one area where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Why should you consider scheduled maintenance by a professional? Well, maybe you’re chill around plumbing tools and know how to use a plunger. A manual drain snake isn’t as expensive or complicated to use as a powered tool but beware if used incorrectly you can scratch your pipes or damage the coating. This can lead to cracks or rusting in the pipes that will only cause a more serious problem. And know that pouring a commercial drain dissolvent down your tub or sink like it’s going out of style can do more harm than good. If you really must tackle drain cleaning yourself, besides a well-fitting pair of rubber gloves, consider a drain weasel. This little tool reaches into the drain and its micro hooks latch tight to those greasy, gummy, yucky wads of hair that inevitably slow down your sink and tub.
People rarely think about cleaning the bathroom fan, another rookie mistake. If you’re like me, you probably take your bathroom fan for granted and don’t think about its essential role in controlling humidity. To properly clean your fan, you might have to get out your screwdriver to remove the fastening plate. The blades themselves must be cleared of dust bunnies and the inevitable greasy debris. Use caution as they might be sharp! It’s also a good idea before you start any deep cleaning to disconnect the electricity first. Why are you cleaning your bathroom fan, you ask? Because routine deep cleaning of bathroom fans ensures moisture circulating out and fresh air comes in. Do you have to stand on a ladder to reach the fan? Consider professional assistance.
Bathroom caulk is cheap and easily found in any local hardware store. It does require a steady hand and can be trickier to apply than people imagine, another strong reason to call a professional. And while silicone sealants will last for years, eventually they will crack and dry out, leaving gaps where moisture can creep in. Make sure whoever is doing the re-sealing also checks the grout. Crumbling grout is not only unsightly; it’s also a Petrie dish for mold, mildew and rot. A grill brush power scrubber is a handy tool to remove embedded grout grime. Try it on your shower floor, in the corners, even on glass doors. You have to attach the brush to a drill, though. Assuming you have a drill. (Not everybody does.)
Quick fixes to freshen up the look of your bathroom
My mother was in the Army and she was fixated on shiny taps. Nothing says clean and sparkly like a shiny faucet. Polishing your taps doesn’t take any special talent or even much elbow grease. This is one area where paper towels and any vinegar-based window cleaner can really make a difference.
Rust stains are ugly and make every surface look old. If you have hard water, you probably have rust stains. My favorite product for removing rust stains is Bar Keeper’s Friend but you can also make a paste using baking soda and a little vinegar. Give the paste a chance to work. Let the paste sit on the stain overnight and in the morning scrub the paste away with a cloth made of microfiber. You might have to do this a few times.
Paint is the quickest and least expensive way to give a tired bathroom a facelift. But don’t just go with any old paint. Look for ones with antimicrobial additives that are mold resistant. Don’t love those mold-resistant color choices? Apply a base coat of a mildew-proof interior product (Zinssner’s Perma-White is a professional fave) and then top it with an environmentally friendly acrylic latex coat in your favorite shade. Blue is the number one color choice for bathrooms right now, and why not? Blue is peaceful. Blue vibes are cool, calm, grounded.
At the end of the day, scheduled routine maintenance is a painless way to prevent expensive plumbing surprises. A Homesquare professional will keep your bathroom looking great and running smoothly, possibly for decades. The company’s Essentials Maintenance Plan offers year-round services for your bathroom, kitchen, gutters, and electricals. A licensed and insured handyman coming to your home will save you hundreds if not thousands over the long run.
I wish I’d known about scheduled maintenance when we first bought that house. All I could think of at the time was about the luxury of having three bathrooms. Because I’d let things get so out of hand, we ended up remodeling that third bathroom. It made more sense in that case to throw in the towel and start over. I did get to upgrade to the claw-foot tub I’d always wanted.
Eve Marx
Eve Marx is a national journalist and book author. Follow her reflections on home design and interior style on Instagram at the hashtag #funkybeachhouseseasideror.