How to clean a chrome-plated brass accessory?
The easiest daily way to clean the traces on a chrome-plated bathroom accessory is to use a soft cloth or a simple microfiber.
To avoid damaging the finish, never use cleaners containing acids, ammonia or abrasives.
Never use construction cleaning products (too acidic).
Never use an abrasive sponge.
Avoid anti-lime solutions.
How do I clean my mirror?
Some simple rules to follow but important for the longevity of your mirrors:
1 - In most cases, mirrors can be cleaned with a large amount of clean water, glass cleaner and a soft sponge or rubber squeegee.
2 - Apply the cleanser with the sponge, not directly on the mirror.
3 - After cleaning the mirror, rinse it with water and dry it completely with a soft cotton cloth.
4 - The edges must always be dried carefully and quickly. Many detergents can cause a blemish called a "black edge" if left in contact with the edge of the mirror for too long!
5 - Always use an alcohol-based glass cleaner.
6 - When cleaning solid residues, remember to wipe the cloth gently.
7 - Never use aggressive cleaning products such as razor blades, glass straw, abrasive material, etc. to clean a mirror.
8 - Never attempt to remove impurities using a dirty cloth, the friction of impurities could scratch the mirror. If stains remain, repeat the operation.
9 - Never use products containing hydrofluoric acid, or fluorinated, chlorinated or ammoniacal derivatives (such as anti-lime products) because they can damage the front face or the back face of the mirror in the event of contact.
10 - Never use strongly acidic or alkaline products as they can be abrasive to the glass surface.
11 - Never use detergents with a pH of 12 because they can cause corrosion in the event of contact with the rear face of the mirror.
Why the choice of brass for my accessories rather than a material like aluminum or zamak?
Brass is a non-ferrous alloy mainly composed of copper and zinc.
This is the base of the accessory on which will then be applied a surface treatment such as chrome plating for example (the latter is composed of a large layer of nickel to strengthen the hardness and a layer of chromium for the final shine. Chrome plating therefore combines several surface treatments).
Very resistant and durable, it resists corrosion and cannot oxidize (rust phenomenon for example).
Its density (equivalent to that of steel) is 3 times greater than that of aluminum (8.73 g / cm³ against 2.7 g / cm³).
In fact, aluminum is therefore more fragile to impacts and torsion of the tubes.
Brass can be recycled: this ability offers energy savings because it is easily remodelable and reusable and is not toxic to the environment.
Joineries and accessories in chromed aluminum in a humid environment, what to think about it?
Chrome plating directly applied to aluminum is risky in terms of durability and more simply in terms of warranty (salt spray test).
It is necessary to go through a treatment of the metal then a copper plating which will then fix the chrome plating.
The copper plating of aluminum is complex, the benefit / risk ratio obtained is to the detriment of this treatment.
Direct contact of aluminum with copper or one of its alloys such as brass or bronze is always very dangerous.
It can cause significant galvanic corrosion of aluminum, even anodized or powder coated: it must be prohibited unless one is certain to be in a perfectly dry atmosphere.
Indeed, copper salts can chemically attack aluminum.
This means that poorly executed or worn chrome plating (all it takes is a scratch) will make your product obsolete.
We therefore never provide an aluminum structure placed in such a way that water may have circulated over the copper before reaching the aluminum.
In addition, the simple runoff of water on aluminum having previously been in contact with copper (or one of its alloys) can also cause corrosion of the aluminum.