Do’s

• Remove and clean your aerator on any taps frequently. You can clean it by soaking it within a vinegar and water solution. Cleaning your aerator will help stop any low water pressure.
• Turn off your hot water system when you are going on holiday, or when no one is going to be in the house for a long period of time. This not only saves energy, but helps to preserve your pipes.
• Insulate water pipes outside your home during cold winter months. This will stop the water in your pipes from freezing, which could be problematic to not only your water supply, but in the functionality of certain appliances.
• If you need to plunge your bath tub or bathroom sink, use a cloth to block your overflow. This will help to direct any blockages, and lessen any mess.
• Clean your toilet tank at least twice a year. Bacteria can form in stagnant water if you haven’t flushed your toilet for a certain period of time. The bacteria can stay within the tank even if you have flushed the toilet after the bacteria has formed.
• Pour a few litres of hot water down your bath tub or shower drains at least once a month. This will help to prevent blockages.

Don’ts

• Pour hot water into your toilet bowl. This may lead to the toilet bowl cracking, which will not only ruin the aesthetics of the toilet, but could lead to bacteria harvesting within the cracks, that could be hard to remove.
• Put nappies, sanitary towels, tampons or anything other than tissue paper, human waste and wipes that are approved for flushing down the toilet. As nappies and other such materials expand, they will lead to a blockage if flushed down the toilet.
• Put a brick within your toilet tank in an attempt to save water. Although this is often recommended by people, it could lead to your toilet malfunctioning.
• Let your water valves rust. If your water vales are not in use for a certain amount of time, it is best to oil them, as they may end up rusting or seizing.
• If your pipes have frozen, use open flames to thaw them out. This could potentially melt the pipe.
• Have items hanging, or upon a shelf, above your toilet. They may easily fall in, which could not only ruin the items, but could also crack your toilet bowl, or lead to a blockage if the item gets flushed down the toilet.

Keep these do’s and don’ts in mind, and hopefully these will prevent any plumbing problems! If a problem does occur and you are not 100% certain on how to fix it, always call in a professional. If you do need a professional, always make sure you know what they are doing before they take on the job.

Written by Stephanie Staszko on behalf of Branded Bathrooms who sell whirpool baths, perfect for relaxing in. You can follow Steph on Twitter @StephStaz for more home improvment and interior design posts.

You probably will have some black patches or mould coming up on your walls again and that is when you know there is something wrong; if you don’t take care of your vent then you are going to get problems and that your bathroom is not going to be a very nice place, that is why you need to take proper care of your bathroom vent.

Knowing your bathroom vent maintenance

For your bathroom vents then you really do need to do some basic maintenance work; it doesn’t haven’t to be every day or week or even every month but at least twice as year would be best. Four to six months could be great for some basic maintenance. You get a lot of moisture in your room and that is how you get some mould and mildew building up and since the vents are always going to have that in their systems so that means that they are used to getting dirt attaching to each part of the fan like your motor which can stop the unit from working properly if it is not regularly cleaned and oiled. You will find that any long term dirt is going to be effecting how your unit works and could even stop it from working completely.

What you are going to need to Maintain Bathroom Vents?;
1.Clean cloth, toothbrush and vacuum cleaner
2.Knife
3.Drill
4.Screwdriver
5.Wrench
6.Oil – motor retailed oil
7.Caulking mixture
8.Metal tape

Some Basic Maintenance of Bathroom Vents

What you should be doing is to stop your vent from working until you have done your maintenance of your fan; these steps should be done properly so that you get the full use of your unit.

Take a dry cloth and start to wipe the front of the exhaust fan down; this helps to take off the top layer of dirt off. Now you can remove your protective grille and start to clean that thoroughly but be careful it could be stuck in your actual wall so you will have to take it out with your knife and carefully remove it so you don’t damage your unit or wall.

You can take out your wires and prevent from damaging them before you can remove your fan out; you will need to remove the screws holding it into place.

Cleaning your vents

This should be quite easy when you have taken out your motor and your blades; you should take your blades and clean them with a toothbrush – make sure it is an old one or buy one specifically just for cleaning the units off, and clean the dirt away. You then put that carefully onto a dry towel and then start with your motor; you should use a small vacuum cleaner to remove the dirt and then do the same with the toothbrush and remove the dirt again.

You should get a solution of cleaning liquids and some water and mix together before you clean the parts of the fan with this. This will help to remove a lot of the more stubborn dirt and grime so you could use this on your blades as well as your motor; you should use a sponge to wipe them down and then dry a little. You could leave the parts out in a dry area so that they can also dry them completely; an hour or even two would be the best time to leave them.

Once your two hours are up then you can now replace your parts back into the vent again – make sure that you get them all into the right places however.

Functional maintenance of your Bathroom vents

This means that you should be regularly looking to see if there are any replacements or repairs needed for your unit.

You need to know that your air vents are stable and is working to the full potential of the unit; you need to make sure that the area around the vent is still intact and that there are no leaks getting through because since you have your unit on your ceiling then the ceiling has probably been weakened a little so you are going to have to make sure that there are no gaps in the ceiling and that your frame is not damaged either. If you frame is damaged then you could find that your unit may be quite noisy when it is switched on.

Your unit should be secure in place and shouldn’t be able to move at all but if you find that there are any problems then you could get some caulking mixture to help sort out any problems with gaps.

You need to have your unit properly oiled; lubrication for your bathroom vent is what keeps it all working properly. The noise level is lowered and your unit will work as it should when you put a few drops of oil on your motor and your blades.

Here are some helpful tips to make your bathroom project a positive image of you:

1. Mold and mildew from bathtub and shower – Remove mold and mildew from around your bathtub or shower with a diluted solution of chlorine bleach in water (one cup bleach to three cups of water, increasing the bleach as necessary). Spray or sponge on this simple mixture, then wait for a few minutes. When it is time, rinse the area well with clean water. Goodbye to mold and mildew!
2. Toilet bowl rings – These nasty rings are caused by alkaline which is present in water. Pour one or two cups of white vinegar into the toilet once a month to eliminate this problem. If it does not work for the bowl, just increase the amount of vinegar.
3. Dull mirrors – When your bathroom mirror becomes dull from hairspray or toothpaste splash build-up, wipe the offending film off with rubbing alcohol or ammonia.
4. Clogged drains in the sink – Here is a nifty tip to clear the sink drain. Drop three Alka-Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of white vinegar. Wait a few minutes, and then run the hot water if you have a built-in heater. Otherwise, just pour hot water down the drain. It will be running freely again, in no time.
5. Urine odor from tile and grout – To remove urine odor from tile and grout, you need to completely remove the odor source. Pour baking soda on the spots with offensive smells. Then use a scrubber to clean the surface with bleach and detergent soap.
6. Wipe chrome fittings such as the faucet, soap dish, tissue and glass holders and towel bars with damp cloth, using only soap and water. Dry properly to avoid water spots. Polish to restore sparkle. You may also spray with commercial furniture polish to give them a protective coating, minimizing water spots.
7. To remove rust stains on bathroom tiles, you can use a specialized toilet bowl cleaner. Let stay about 3-5 minutes, scrub, then rinse away. If the stain persists, repeat process but always follow with water immediately. Or, apply 10% oxalic acid solution. Rinse immediately after scrubbing.
8. Spread out wet showers curtains to dry, thus preventing mildew growth and musty odor.
9. Do no let strong solutions like household bleaches, vinegar, lemon juice, or urine stand for any length of time in a lavatory or toilet bowl as they can cause discoloration.
10. Train the family to use the bathroom properly and with consideration for the other users.

There is no need for extra effort to keep the bathroom sparkling-clean, fresh-smelling and germ-free. Just regularly scrub the floors and walls, toilet bowl, sink, and the metal fixtures.