Cleaning Bathroom Mirrors

Many of our routines require bathroom mirrors, so it is necessary to keep them clean. Aside from using mirrors to make sure our hair is well kept, our teeth are clean, etc, mirrors are also used for shaving, and visibility becomes even more of a necessity. Bathroom mirrors are constantly sprayed with water, toothpaste, hair care products and the like, resulting in opaque splatter stains that can be tricky to remove completely. There has been an ongoing debate about the best cleaning method for bathroom mirrors. Here are the three most common "remedies":

1. Glass Cleaners
Commercially sold in almost every grocery store.

2. Vinegar
Many people swear by this household trick, and some reiterate that it is only fully effective when used with a black and white ink newspaper.

3. Rubbing Alcohol
Use a good quality soft cloth.

It gets even more confusing when you hear supporters of one camp state that the other camp's method is not only ineffective but also harmful to your mirror. For example, those who support the vinegar solution state that chemicals in glass cleaners will hurt your mirrors in the long run. The best thing to do is to try one cleaning solution on a small area of your mirror first before going ahead with the rest. If you have a small mirror on your house that you don't use often, it will be better to test it there. Also, always make sure you do NOT directly apply cleaners to the mirror. Make it a habit to apply the cleaning solution on your cloth / newspaper and then use that to wipe your mirror.

Black spots on your bathroom mirror

Those black spots aren't dirt so they cannot be rectified by the methods above. If you look closely, you'll notice the spots are almost inside your mirror rather than just on its surface. This means that the silver is coming off the film on your mirror's back.

Unfortunately, you cannot remove such spots. You can only try to cover them by etching something decorative onto your mirror where the spots are. You may also opt to resilver your mirror. If you are not used to taking up DIY projects, you may want to have this done by professionals. There is another method that involves taping over the dark spots on your mirror with aluminum foil.