Are You Afraid of Your Bathroom?

Creepy cabinets and petrified plumbing.  Blood-stained bathtubs and slimy showers. Terrified toilets and screaming sinks. For some people, Halloween doesn’t happen once a year but every day of the year. Here are some helpful tips to exorcise your bathroom from its demons.

According to Better Homes and Gardens, slow draining sinks, tubs and showers scare homeowners most. For bathroom sinks, the pro’s advice is to close the drain, fill your sink with hot boiling water and then open the drain carefully. If you’re lucky the water pressure will dislodge the debris. For tubs and showers you might have to remove the clog manually with a hanger by unscrewing the drain cover, and prying the debris out with a straightened coat hanger with a small hook at the end. If you don’t feel comfortable with this approach, call in a plumber.

Straight out of the classic horror movie Psycho, a leaky showerhead can ruin anybody’s day. Usually it’s nothing more than mineral buildup or a worn-out rubber gasket that’s seen better days. Start by finding out the cause of the problem. Remove the showerhead with a pair of pliers or a wrench; be careful to not bend the attached pipe. If the gasket is worn, you can pick up a new one at your local hardware store. But if a clogged showerhead seems to be the problem soaking it in vinegar overnight will loosen the deposits. Poking the holes with a toothpick into the showerhead’s holes and scrubbing it in the morning will remove them completely. The vinegar will also leave your new showerhead shiny and clean.

While these quick fixes might end your bathroom spook fest; you might need some help from Soak Saskatoon for the right products and accessories so that you can live happily ever after.

Choosing the Right Bathroom Sink

Top mount or undermount sinks? Wall-mount or pedestal sinks?  There is a lot of choice out there and we’ll try to break it down for you.

Before you head out the door to get that new sink (and feel free to stop by our showroom) you need to consider which bathroom (master en suite, family bathroom, powder room), who is going to use the bathroom more often and the size of the space you. You might not have the space in your powder room for a double sink but you might in your master bedroom bathroom.

A top-mount sink is the most common sink and sits in the bathroom cabinet with the rim visible. It works best in a minimalist design scheme. It can be used with any countertop material and is also less costly to install in a stone countertop, because you avoid having to polish the cutout edges, as is the case with an undermount sink.  Unfortunately you can’t wipe any spills into the sink because of the rim.

An undermount sink is installed underneath the counter with the rim flush with the countertop instead of sitting on top of it. Its clean look makes it a great fit for a high traffic family bathroom. You can clean up water spills easily but it is a more costly alternative requiring it to be installed to a stone or solid surface countertop material.

The advantage of a wall-mounted sink is that it doesn’t have any cabinets below it. Not only do you save on space but it makes the room look larger than it is. All of the plumbing must be located in the wall, there isn’t any storage space and excess water usually spills onto the floor. Ideal for the powder room; where storage isn’t a priority.

Suitable for a classic or a period oriented design, a pedestal sink hides the plumbing but the lack of any storage space under the sink or any counter space around it might not be suitable for a family bathroom.

A semi-recessed sink is the perfect alternative because it’s installed on the cabinet; providing you with some underneath storage space; perfectly suited for smaller spaces that need storage space,   Because the cabinets do not extend to the floor, it frees up additional floor space. But with limited storage space and a front of counter installation water often spills onto the floor.

If you want a statement piece a vessel sink that sits completely on top of the countertop might be the sink for you. It holds more water than most sinks but because it is higher than most other types of sinks it can be uncomfortable to use and difficult to clean.

Visit us online at www.soakbath.ca to see our full selection of high quality and reasonably priced bathroom sinks and cabinets.