Keeping your kitchen faucet head clean is critical to getting rid of harmful bacteria in the kitchen as well as improving the water pressure. In the bathroom, the same methods can help your shower heads.
There are a few ways to tackle this problem and there are plenty of ways to clean a shower head without vinegar!
How Do You Clean Buildup on Faucets?
Buildup on a sink fixture or shower head can disrupt water pressure and take away from the fixture’s appearance.
Luckily, you can use a few different methods to get your shower head clean. Aside from vinegar, baking soda, soap, steam, and even Coca-Cola will help you clean your shower head without vinegar!
What You’ll Need to Clean a Kitchen Faucet Head with Baking Soda:
- Shower head or kitchen fixture
- Baking soda
- You’ll need 1/2 cup of baking soda, so it’s handy to have this premeasured or have a measuring spoon ready.
- Warm water
- Something to mix with
- A spoon or even a paint stirrer is handy for this.
- A container to mix your cleaning solution in
- Microfiber cloth
- Cleaning gloves
How to Clean a Kitchen Faucet or Shower Head with Baking Soda
Step 1: Create Your Baking Soda Paste
To create the paste you’ll use to clean your shower head without vinegar, start with 1/2 cup of baking soda. To this, add warm water until you have a paste-like consistency.
There’s no specific amount of water to add here. Just keep adding water until you get the thick, pasty consistency you’re looking for.
If you go overboard and add too much water, don’t worry! Just add a bit more baking soda to level out the mixture again.
In a similar fashion, if you find the mixture is too powdery, it’s a sign that you need to add a bit more water before putting it on your shower head.
Step 2: Coat Your Faucet or Shower Head with the Baking Soda Paste and Wait
First, before moving forward, it’s a good idea to don those rubber gloves now. The last thing you want to do is irritate your skin with baking soda in the name of cleaning your shower head.
Once you have your baking soda paste ready, all you have to do is coat your kitchen fixture or shower head with it. Coat this liberally and make sure the entire fixture is covered.
Then, leave the coated shower head to soak for 25 minutes. Set a timer – you won’t want to forget and have to try and wash this paste off several hours later! For clogged sinks or drains, contact a professionals such as the ones from Graham and Sons.
Step 3: Rinse Down the Faucet or Shower Head
Once those 25 minutes are up, throw your gloves back on and use a damp cloth to wipe down the shower head.
Make sure to remove all of the baking soda you added. Again, it’ll become hard to remove if left too long.
Then, run water through the shower head. This will help remove any remaining paste stuck in the water holes. Let the water run on hot for a couple of minutes for the best results.
How to Clean a Kitchen Faucet or Shower Head with Steam
Step 1: Grab a Handheld Steamer
A handheld steamer is great for your wardrobe but it can help you get a clean shower head as well! Plus, they can offer results without the need to soak your shower head.
The first thing you’ll want to do when you’re cleaning a shower head or faucet with steam is to load up your handheld steamer. Most models need a few minutes to heat up before they’re ready to use.
Step 2: Start Steaming
After you’ve prepared your steamer, you can start steaming the shower head to loosen any dirt or debris.
If you have a soft-bristled brush attachment on your steamer, you can use this to help loosen the mess up even more.
In case you don’t have a soft-bristle attachment, it’s often useful to have a spare toothbrush handy.
You can find soft-bristle models that will help you dislodge dirt without scratching the finish on your shower head.
How to Clean a Kitchen Faucet or Shower Head with Soap
Step 1: Create a Cleaning Solution
Another way to clean the shower head is to use liquid soap rather than harsh chemicals. Castile liquid soap is a popular choice for this.
For your solution, mix two cups of warm water with about 1/8 cup of soap. You’ll want to do this in a plastic bag like a Ziplock bag.
Step 2: Add Over the Faucet, Wait, and Rinse
Now, use a rubber band to secure the plastic bag of cleaning solution over the shower head.
Make sure it’s secure and the whole faucet or shower head is in the soapy water.
Leave it for 30 minutes to soak and then rinse it thoroughly.
How to Clean a Kitchen Faucet or Shower Head with Soda
Step 1: Mix Soda and Water
Believe it or not, Coca-Cola might be just the solution you’re looking for. You’ll use it much the same way you’d use Castile soap.
Create the mixture in a plastic bag as you would with the liquid soap tutorial.
This time, instead of adding 1/8 cup of soap, though, pour a can of Coca-Cola into the plastic bag.
Step 2: Secure in Place and Wait
Next, use a rubber band to secure the plastic bag of Coca-Cola in place.
Once again, make sure the entire head of the faucet or shower head is in the cleaning solution.
After letting it soak for 30 minutes, thoroughly rinse the faucet head and wipe it down.
Remember to wipe the shower heads very thoroughly after using this method. The last thing you want is to leave a sticky residue behind!
How Do You Clean a Faucet Without Scratching It?
Using a microfiber cloth when you wipe down your faucet or shower head is an excellent way to avoid scratches on the finish.
These are less abrasive than just grabbing an old rag and scrubbing away. You should always avoid materials like steel wool during the cleaning process.
Using one of these methods and avoiding vinegar will also preserve the finish on your faucet or shower head.
Exposing materials like chrome to vinegar will lead to a rapidly decaying finish.
If you want your shower head to last longer, make sure to avoid anything abrasive or wearing!
How Do You Get Hard Water Stains Off Faucets Without Vinegar?
Hard water deposits can leave unsightly stains on your shower head. Plus, they can seem hard to avoid in your shower as well! You don’t have to turn to white vinegar to remove buildup, though.
The mixture of baking soda and water that we looked at earlier is an excellent method for tacking hard water stains on your faucet or shower head.
How Do You Keep Your Faucet Shiny?
White vinegar is often recommended for keeping your faucets shiny. However, as we discussed, this could come at the cost of your finish.
To start, regularly cleaning your shower head or faucet will go a long way toward keeping the shower head clean. Again, using baking soda can come in handy here! See these tricks to clean the bathroom shower tiles too.
How Do You Clean a Kitchen Spray Hose?
Using a method that keeps the kitchen spray hose submerged will be the easiest to accomplish. Again, a plastic bag and rubber band are helpful for this.
Since you’re already in the kitchen, many opt for dish soap and water to create their cleaning solution.
Again, you’ll want to let this sit for a while and then come back and rinse it thoroughly. Generally, you can clean your kitchen spray hose and shower head in the same manner.
Did you enjoy our tutorial on how to make sure you have a clean shower head without vinegar? There are a few different ways to clean your shower head or faucet without breaking out the vinegar. Let us know what you thought in the comments below and share this with someone who needs a clean shower head!