Why does water stain? How to get rid of water stains? Is it easily removed? Corrosionpedia defines Water staining or also known as water spotting as a staining patch of mineral deposits formed at certain places where water evaporates. Hard water contains large amounts of minerals such as potassium, silica, and calcium. The stain and the spots develop on surfaces and when water evaporates and the leftover accumulates it will result in a dull patch on the surface.
The question is can water make a stain? The answer is yes, water can stain fabric in two ways; first, the water is not 100% pure, and second is the water may contain minerals or chemicals. Waters stain can cause areas with paint discoloration, surface etching, imperfections, and roughness of the surface
Why do water stains? Water leaves stains when the water is untreated, the untreated hard water can cause staining or spotting known as lime. They are scale build-ups around your surfaces or fixtures, shower doors, glassware, and silverware. Calcium and magnesium are the minerals that naturally cause the water to stain.
In these times of emerging and fast phasing technology there are a lot of Do-It-Yourself on how to do things easily, some tips, some remedies, hacks about home cleaning and those “get rid of” instructions posted by different kinds of social media platforms and they became magically our friendly helping tool to all of us.
Here are the hacks, do-it-yourself, and tips specifically pointed on how to get rid of water stains?
A. For Sinks, Glass, Tiles, and Bathrooms:
- A paste of white vinegar and baking soda – you have to spread it over the affected areas or surface, let it sit for 30 minutes, and wipe it with a clean cloth.
- The use of Vinegar – Pour it into a spray bottle. And spray the area with water stains. Let it sit for 5 to 15 minutes. After fifteen minutes scrub the surface with an old toothbrush or big bristles brush for large surfaces.
- Combination of White vinegar, water (distilled or bottled), spray bottle, and cotton towel – Mix 1 part regular vinegar with 1 part distilled water. Apply the vinegar and water solution with a spray bottle onto the affected area. Allow the mixture to work up to 10 minutes in which the acid in the vinegar will help loosen the hard water minerals embedded in the area. Wipe it afterwards with towel.
- Baking Soda – make a baking soda paste by adding a few drops of water, mixing it, and applying it directly to the stain, let it sit for a few minutes, use a bristle brush and gently scrub away the stain and wash it with water.
- Borax and Vinegar – these mixtures will work specifically in toilet bowls. Combine vinegar and borax to make a paste and apply it directly to hard water stains on the toilet bowl edges, let it sit for a while, and then scrub it and rinse it after.
- Commercial Cleaning Solution – you can use a store-bought solution in removing stains in your own preference.
B. For Woods
- Mayonnaise – according to the better homes gardens site the oil in the mayonnaise is the magic key to removing the water ring stain on the wood table or any furniture with cloudy residue. The key here is to leave the mayonnaise a few hours or overnight with the paper towel on top and then wipe it with a clean cloth.
- Toothpaste + baking soda – Just dab equal sizes of toothpaste and baking soda then rubbed this mixture to any area in the wood with a water ring or any water stain then clean it with a damp cloth.
- Vinegar and Olive Oil – vinegar for cleaning and olive oil for polishing. This combination mixture is amazing, just mix equal parts of vinegar and olive oil then apply the mixture to the water stain using a cloth, and wipe it in the direction of the wood until the stain is gone.
- Commercial Cleaning Solution – these are store-bought or over-the-counter products that are readily available to remove water stains in the wood just choose whatever suits you.
Although so many tricks, hacks, and tips are given, water stains can cause a lot of problems in our homes or daily lives. It may start from a small part of the stain to a bigger stain. Some water stains are from water leaks from plumbing, roofing problems, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), these may cause or result in severe damage to your home which a quick hack cannot make any solution or remedy to the severe problem.
Water Stain can be a start problem to your home by not spotting the stain rightfully, to ensure that the stain you see in your home is not potential for any severe damage here are the tips on how to spot the problem:
- Pay attention to the Strange Odor – There is a musty smell in the area even if it is a small stain.
- Discoloration of the Walls – these are off-white yellow stain marks on the surface of your wall.
Water Stains or hard water can always be removed with all the available idea hacks on how to remove it, the video tutorials and other over-the-counter products as helping tools in removing stains whether to sinks, to bathrooms down to our furniture’s we can always find solutions on how to get rid of the stain. To properly address the stain problem, even the simplest ones, to the smallest or biggest stain, it is always a great solution not just to choose abruptly, but to check, plan and invest with the right products or remedies to prevent wasting money on the process of buying products or accumulating products. As such, it is also always a great choice to practically choose sturdy structured, and known low-cost housing, investing right in properties and procuring the best properties for our family, why? Because as a matter of fact, small water stains can be a start of hidden big problems in housing or to any properties and water stains can be crucial if we will not be able to choose the right property for your family.
In this emerging world where there are boundless hacks available for us, the right to properly choose what is the best for us is our responsibility whether we are just hacking tips about water stains we must carefully choose the best tips for us and this applies to our daily lives as well, we must carefully equip ourselves with the right choices so that the right water will abundantly flow with us and there will be no stain of future problems. Always planning, prevention and making the right choices are always way better than solving a future problem.
Written by Rowena Lansang
