If, like me, you're on the cleaning side of TikTok, then you've probably come across some questionable cleaning hacks that have made you raise an eyebrow. For the most part, I believe hacks that use vinegar or baking soda, but I do draw the line at candle wax. The second I flicked onto this hack I knew I needed to try it on my stainless steel faucets—I feel like I am forever cleaning the water marks off them thanks to living in a hard water area.
Apparently, if you rub candle wax directly onto your stainless steel faucets and buff it in with a cloth, it prevents water marks for days. Armed with a couple of tealights and a cloth, I gave it a go on my decorative but difficult-to-clean faucets in my en-suite, and here's what happened.
I'll definitely do this again for the shine alone as it left my faucets looking hotel-worthy. I've never seen them shine like that! Will I do it every time I clean? Probably not — but before guests come I'll definitely put it on my to-do list. How did it fare with watermarks, though? Here's what they looked like three days and six showers later.
@makelifesimpler_ ♬ Bed Chem - Sabrina Carpenter
What do you need to clean your stainless steel faucets?
You're going to need clean faucets and shower ware, firstly. You can't do this on anything that's dirty or that already has limescale build-up. Otherwise, all you need is a candle (I used an unscented tealight candle) and a clean, dry microfiber cloth.
How to clean your faucets with candle wax
It's a pretty simple thing to do — firstly, take the tealight out of the aluminum shell. Then start rubbing the disc of wax onto your faucets or any stainless steel you want to clean. It's easy to use on things like sink faucets but I did find it tricker on my shower as it's a wonky surface. You can do this on any stainless steel that you want to shine, so long as it's already clean.
Once you're happy that you've applied a generous amount of candle wax, you'll need to buff it in with a dry microfiber cloth. This is fast and easy — and it leaves your faucets looking so shiny! Immediately I was pleased with the results and couldn't quite believe how fast it buffed into the stainless steel.
You really can't deny the results here! My faucets looked so shiny within seconds.
The results
At first glance, the results are totally worth it. But, this is an extra step in your cleaning routine, and if you're doing it on all of the stainless steel in your bathroom, it's going to take a little time. I definitely agree that it's worth it for the shine, but is it worth it for preventing watermarks?
My short answer is no. I took some photos of the same faucet in my en-suite bathroom three days later. We'd had six showers in here within this time. I didn't notice a huge difference in how this faucet usually looks around three days after cleaning.
Saying, that, though, I did give my sink faucet a quick wipe with a damp cloth and it was instantly shining once more.
So, while I wouldn't use this cleaning hack to prevent watermarks in my bathroom, it is great for getting your silverware to shine. Normally I'd have to clean my faucets again after a few days with bathroom cleaner and maybe some white vinegar to get them to shine, but it seems like a damp microfiber cloth did the job thanks to the layer of candle wax that was already on my faucet.
Good to know
I only ended up using one tea light for this entire bathroom, which I think is great when it comes to price per use. It's an affordable way to make your bathroom shine.
Your hands do get a little waxy so some people might prefer to wear gloves. I didn't mind.
When you get to the end of your block of candle wax it'll probably break into pieces, but these small pieces are handy for getting into cracks and crevices!
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