Last week was ‘Bathroom Week’ on ‘The Block’ and all the contestants were out shopping for basins with the WOW factor.
Fine for the judges. . . . . but some of these design concepts don’t think about the splashing of soapy water that can mean constant cleaning is needed.
Here are some of the practical things I have learned about wash basins.
- Basins with a flat internal base, or that have a mixer that directs flow at the drain tend to cause more splashes than a bowl shaped basin.
- For basins on the vanity a straight back that can be sealed against the wall avoids having a hard to clean area behind the basin.
- A mixer set to the side, rather than centrally, allows you to lean lower over the basin minimising splashing outside the basin.
- Having a medicine cabinet in front of the basin can prevent you leaning lower over the basin, thus increasing splashing outside the basin.
- Square mixers result in water drying on the top surface of the mixer rather than running off, so they need cleaning every day.
- Splashes really show on mirrors so have at least a couple of rows of tiles between the top of the basin and the bottom of the mirror.
All great points.
It seems that aesthetics have taken priority over functionality in most things these days.
Maintenance and cleaning issues are an after thought.
Even safety aspects are ignored. I was astounded to recently see a plethora of bath taps with fairly sharp, square edges.
Not a good combination when you add water, soap/detergent and the likelihood of slipping.
The bathroom feature that really does amaze me is the freestanding bath that is 100mm or less from a wall. . . how do you clean in that space????
Brian