Water shouldn’t always be the best option when you need to scrub down every surface in your home. Sometimes water does more damage than good. Here’s a list of things that you should never clean with water.
Even though water is much more plentiful—and cheaper than any cleaning product you can buy at the store, it shouldn’t always be the best option when cleaning. Sometimes it does more damage than good and you need to use cleaning products meant for specific finishes or surfaces.
1. Velvet
You should never use water to clean velvet or other fuzzy fabrics, such as suede or microfibre. According to experts, when the fibers on these fabrics get wet and then dry, they can get stuck in their new position. This could mean you will have a swipe pattern permanently on your furniture as a result. So, with velvet, you should use the “dry clean” way.
2. Hardwood and laminate floors
Even though there is a water-resistant finish on hardwood and laminate floors, it wears off over time, and cleaning them with water could cause damage. If water gets into the wood it can cause it to swell and turn black. The proper way to clean a wood or laminate floor is to use a flat microfibre mop and spray-on cleaning solution with a spray bottle a little bit at a time.
3. Wooden instruments
Musical instruments can be tricky to clean because they are made from lots of different materials. But similar to how wood floors can get damaged if cleaned with water, wooden instruments can as well.
Cleaning your wooden instruments with water can cause areas of discolouration and splits and cracks in the wood. You should only be using cleaners made for musical instruments.
4. Electronics
This should already be known, but electricity and water do not mix. You should only dry dust electronics. If you do have to clean something that will not come off with a dry cloth, get your cleaning cloth just slightly damp with a light-duty cleaning product then clean the electronics. Never spray any liquid directly onto electronics.
If cleaning them with a damp cloth makes you nervous, there are wipes and cleaning sprays designed specifically for electronics.
5. Silver
If you try to clean your tarnished silver with water, it will just create more tarnish. The best thing you can do is use silver polish. If you don’t have silver polish around, you can use ketchup. The mild acidity of ketchup will help get rid of the tarnish.
6. Contact lenses
This might seem like an obvious item that you shouldn’t clean with water, but a surprising number of people think it’s OK to store their contact lenses in water overnight.
The proper contact lens cleaning solutions all have antimicrobial ingredients that discourage bacterial growth. A contact lens stored in water may have a small number of bacteria on its surface after a day of use.
Also, tap water is not sterile like contact solution and it could contain bacteria, fungi, or parasites that will make their way onto your contact lens if you let them soak in water.
7. Brick
Surfaces that are porous, such as brick, have a protective sealant, and when cleaned with water it can be removed or damaged, says Harris. You should use a soft brush to wipe away grime and then cleaning with a soft cloth.
8. Silk
Using water on silk, whether it’s your curtains or a shirt, can cause water spots and permanent discoloration. Better leave it to the professionals, like your neighborhood dry cleaner.”
9. Leather
If you try to clean leather furniture, bags, or clothing items with water, it will cause streaks and will eventually cause the leather to crack over time. There are specific leather cleaners designed for leather, which will not have these problems.
10. Marble
Similar to brick, marble is also a porous material that can be damaged by water. If you used water to clean marble it can remove the protective sealant on it, potentially damaging any grout of caulking. Just like with brick, use a soft brush and cloth to get it clean.
11. Gas range burners
Don’t clean the burners on your gas range with water. The igniters on your gas range are very sensitive to water. If they get wet they will not turn off when the range is activated and your range will click over and over again as the igniter keeps going off. Sometimes, this issue will correct itself once the igniter dries out, but cleaning your gas range burners with water can also permanently damage them.
As a result, never spray a cleaning product directly into your gas range burners. Spray the cleaning cloth then wipe down the surface.
12. Brass fixtures or instruments
Using water to clean brass fixtures and instruments will remove the lacquer and lead to further tarnish and cause permanent damage. Avoid DIY cleaning solutions and stick to cleaning with quality brass polish.