Water spots and stains are unsightly regardless of which surfaces they end up on inside your home.
No one wants them hanging around, but is there an effective way to get rid of them? Spending your entire weekend cleaning up is not exactly ideal, so is there a way to eliminate those water spots and hard water stains relatively quickly?
The answer to both questions is a resounding yes.
In this article, we will talk about which tools you need to use as well as which methods you need to employ in order erase the water spots and hard water stains inside your home. Please read on to learn more about those effective solutions.
Step By Step Guide for Removing Water Spots
Step 1: Prepare the cleaning materials
The thing about removing water spots is that there is no blanket solution you can employ. Depending on the surface you want to clean, the materials you’ll need will differ.
With that in mind, here are the items you will want to gather before you start cleaning:
- Cleaning cloth
- White vinegar
- Detergent
- Petroleum jelly
- Denatured alcohol
- Soap
- Water
You can swap out the cleaning cloth for a sponge if you want, but I find working with a piece of cloth to be much easier.
Step 2: Create the cleaning solution
Before cleaning most surfaces, you will first need to whip up a solution that is capable of getting rid of the water spots. Once again, the solution you will need is going to differ based on the surface you are planning to clean.
For household surfaces:
According to How Stuff Works, a simple solution made up of warm water and white vinegar is going to be an effective cleaner for acrylic, aluminum, glass, linoleum, porcelain, stainless steel, and even vinyl surfaces.
Don’t go overboard and just mix a few drops of white vinegar into the water to create the solution.
For stone surfaces:
You can use a solution that features detergent and water. It’s a simple mixture, but it’s highly effective when used for cleaning stone surfaces.
Step 3: Make Use of the Cleaning Solution
Once you have your solution ready, you can proceed to the actual cleaning. You don’t have to do anything extra special when it comes time to clean.
You’ll first want to soak the cleaning cloth you’ll be using in the solution. Just let it soak for a few seconds and that should be fine. Wring out some of the excess solutions and then proceed to wipe down the surface you want to clean.
After wiping the surface, just let it dry out and it should look as good as new.
Step 4: A special process for removing water spots from fabrics
If you’re trying to remove water spots from fabrics, you will have to do something different from the steps outlined above. This time around, you won’t need a special cleaning solution. What you’ll need instead is some heat.
Target the water spots by getting the area they’re covering in more water. Place the targeted area on top of an ironing board and then proceed to go through it with your iron. Water spots can be very stubborn, but as long as you apply enough heat, they should disappear.
Just as a reminder, make sure that the fabric you’re cleaning is actually safe for the iron before you try out the aforementioned cleaning process. Water spots are unpleasant, but a ruined shirt is even more unsightly.
Step 5: A special process for removing water spots from wood
Removing water spots from wooden surfaces is going to be a longer process than the ones mentioned previously. The good news is that it’s still a relatively straightforward process.
Take your container of petroleum jelly and smear a good amount of it on the wooden surface you want to clean. Using a clean piece of cloth, rub the petroleum jelly into the wooden surface and keep going until you start to notice the water spots disappearing. Put some elbow grease into it to ensure that all the spots will be removed.
If you have the time, feel free to polish the wooden surface after cleaning so that it can look beautiful once again.
Step 6: A special process for removing water spots from leather
For this cleaning process, you will need to be extra careful because you are working with a potentially harmful substance known as denatured alcohol. Denatured alcohol is poisonous and it can even make you nauseous if you use it within a confined space.
To minimize the risk of working with denatured alcohol, make sure to use it in an open area that is also not reachable by pets or young children. It’s not a bad idea to wear protective gear as well.
After making the preparations, wet your cleaning cloth with just a few drops of the denatured alcohol and then use that to clean the water spots on your leather items.
You can polish the leather using some special conditioner if you want to improve its appearance.
Step By Step Guide for Removing Hard Water Stains
Step 1: Gather All the Cleaning Materials Needed
Once again, you will need a variety of materials for removing hard water stains because they can show up on just about every type of surface inside your home.
The materials you will need are:
- Cleaning cloth
- Cleaner
- White vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Rinsing agent
- Toothpaste
- Petroleum jelly
- Water
Step 2: Use a specially-formulated cleaner to make the cleaning process faster
We don’t often have time on our side when we’re cleaning our homes. While it would be ideal to save money by using homemade cleaners, it’s certainly more convenient to just go to the store and pick up a cleaner that’s already good to go.
According to this post on WikiHow, picking up an acidic cleaner is a good idea because it will work great against the hard water stains that are alkaline.
Just follow the instructions on the label that detail how to use the acidic cleaner and you should be good to go.
Step 3: Create your own acidic cleaner
Now, if you do happen to have a little more time to spare for cleaning, then you can just stay at home and whip up an effective cleaning solution of your own.
To formulate your own cleaner, grab an empty squeeze bottle and fill it with equal parts water and white vinegar. Top off the mixture with some lemon juice to make it even more acidic.
You can go ahead and put that cleaning solution in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it up and make it more potent. It is worth noting that the aforementioned cleaning solution will still work fine even if you don’t warm it up beforehand.
Step 4: Removing hard water stains from dishes
You can try out more cleaning methods if you are just trying to remove hard water stains from dishes.
One method you can try out involves using white vinegar and water once again. Grab a small container and fill it with equal parts of white vinegar and water. You can then take your dishes that have hard water stains and place them in the container with the cleaning solution. By the way, you should also make sure that you aren’t putting dirty dishes into the container.
Go ahead and let the dishes chill out in the solution for a few hours. After enough time has passed, take the dishes out and rinse them with some soap and water. Doing all of that should get rid of the hard water stains.
Alternatively, you can also just take some rinsing agent and mix that with some dishwashing detergent before adding the solution to the dishwasher. With the solution added, all that’s left to do is to run the dishwasher.
Step 5: Scrub away hard water stains with the aid of sandpaper
Maybe the hard water stains have ended up on items that you don’t necessarily want to douse with cleaner, white vinegar, or any other liquid, is there still an effective way to clean them?
As long as you have some sandpaper, the answer to that question is yes.
According to The Spruce, you can make use of fine drywall sandpaper to scrub away those hard water stains that have been hardened by the passage of time. Just make sure to adjust the intensity of your scrubbing to the surface you’re working on to avoid dealing lasting damage.
Step 6: Other cleaners to consider
If you don’t have time to drop by a store to buy a cleaner or sandpaper and you also somehow ran out of white vinegar, there are still other items you can use to remove hard water stains.
Readers Digest notes that petroleum jelly is a useful alternative and it works especially well on wooden items such as pieces of furniture.
Non-gel toothpaste is another option and it also works great on wooden surfaces.
Conclusion
Did you find the previously mentioned cleaning tips helpful?
We know all about how annoying it is to have water spots and hard water stains on your possessions and that’s why we want to make it easier for other homeowners to get rid of them. The battle against water spots and hard water stains is one that will last for years, and it’s important for you to be aware of all the tools you can use.
Please tell us what you think of this article by leaving your comments below. If you found this article helpful, then please feel free to share it with friends and family members who may also need help fighting against water spots and hard water stains.