Maintenance Monday: Squeegee Me

Posted on | November 19, 2007 |

I am of the “quality, not quantity” philosophy. But quality will only get you so far; proper maintenance of your possessions is a very important component to getting the most value out of the quality products you buy. My Maintenance Monday “column” of sorts is where I share a maintance tip that I employ to help keep my house and my possessions in tip-top shape.

Last week I wrote about the importance of using a bathroom fan to keep your bathroom from steaming up [view here].  Today’s maintenance tip is again focused on keeping away the dreaded bathroom mold and mildew.In a word, squeegee.

When I was still in the process of planning two bathroom remodels, one of my biggest concerns was how do I keep my new bathrooms looking new?  The most common advice I received was to use a squeegee every single time the shower was used.

Using a squeegee was a new concept to me.  I’d used one only once — when visiting my sister a few years ago, she insisted that I squeegee the glass shower door after showering.  The idea was to avoid water spotting on the glass.

Every surface, Every time.
But now I was being told to squeegee every shower surface — tiles and glass.  And after a minute of thought, the concept makes perfect sense.  Using a squeegee on your shower walls removes all the excess water and allows your tile, and more importantly your grout, to dry much more quickly thus, in the long run, avoiding the growth of mold and mildew.

Getting it Done.
Knowing you should squeegee and actually doing it can sometimes be two different things.  Especially for cranky old men and lazy teenagers ;-)  The Husband was easier to train than I had expected but then he had a powerful motive — protecting his investment!  The kids were a little tougher but I finally found the right motivation — anyone neglecting to squeegee immediately after showering (2 hours after the fact does not count) loses their allowance for an entire month.

My preferred squeegee is made by OXO and costs about $8.00. It’s got a nice rounded rubber handle and comes with a suction-cup holder. When dropped, there’s no danger of damage done to tubs or toes. The suction cup works extremely well on traditional tile but simply will not stick to my marble shower tiles in our master bath.

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