How to Care for a Kitchen or Bathroom Faucet

Your new kitchen faucet requires proper maintenance and care in order to maintain its attractive appearance and provide you with years of uneventful performance. Keeping the faucetry in your home in optimal shape means staying on top of the best ways to care for and maintain it's fresh from the factory look.

Daily Maintenance and Care
Most faucets need very limited amounts of maintenances on a day to day basis. Cleaning your faucet should require merely a damp cloth and mild soap, followed by drying your kitchen faucet with a soft cloth. This will retain the original shine and luster of your faucet. You may also use window cleaning products on your faucet; however, use of harsh and abrasive cleaners can damage your faucet's finish. Always read the standard usage directions and warning that are found on all cleaning products before use. Faucets that have a matte finish may need an added step of an aerosol or liquid furniture polish when being cleaned. Using furniture polish on your faucet renders a more uniform appearance, reduces variations, and protects the faucet from fingerprints due to the silicon oil found in the polish.

Faucet Care: Removing Deposits
Many homeowners are faced with the challenges of having hard water, and this can hard water can also be hard on your faucet. Higher mineral counts in hard water may often lead to mineral and lime deposits on your faucet or drain. These deposits may be removed with a window cleaner or mild abrasive cleaner, but with caution: avoid scrubbing with coarse sponges or bristly soap pads that can damage your faucet's finish. More stubborn deposits may require a specialized cleaner (Faucet Depot carries some great faucet cleaning solutions). Specialized cleaners made particularly for these and other types of problems are often the optimal choice to preserve the beauty of your faucet. These cleaners are reasonably priced and well-worth the investment.

Minor Faucet Maintenance
Most well-made faucets from leading manufacturers will provide you with high performance that requires very little maintenance. There are precautions that you can take with your faucet, however, to make sure that it functions at peak levels for the long run. For instance, tiny components in your faucet known as springs and seats may experience normal wear and tear and need to be replaced at some point during the life of your faucet. One tell-tale sign of this is a dripping faucet. Although many homeowners are more comfortable leaving maintenance to a certified plumber, many small maintenance tasks can easily be completed at home. Faucet Depot stocks the maintenance products that you need for do-it-yourself repairs. No matter where you purchase any replacement parts for your faucet, be sure to buy only genuine parts from a reputable manufacturer - doing so will save you money in the end. Be certain to retain the materials that came with your faucet when it was purchased for your records; this will expedite selecting any replacement parts and components in the future.

Kitchen Faucets with Warranties
Most of the faucets that are sold at Faucet Depot come with a limited or lifetime warranty. By purchasing a faucet that has a warranty, you will save yourself any headache that you might experience with a defective product.