Cleaning and maintenance: protecting faucets and shower systems
Most premature faucet and shower failures on site are caused by the cleaning regime, not by the fixture. This is a short manufacturer's protocol for extending service life without fighting the way a bathroom is actually cleaned.
Daily cleaning
A soft microfibre cloth and warm water is the correct daily cleaning tool for every finish in our range. Dry the fixture after cleaning — limescale is the single most common visible failure on bathroom fixtures and it is almost entirely preventable by drying.
Weekly cleaning
A neutral-pH bathroom cleaner is safe on every VALA finish. Acidic and alkaline cleaners are acceptable only on chrome. Never use acidic cleaners on matte black, PVD gold, or PVD nickel — they discolour.
Limescale
For heavy limescale, use a dedicated limescale remover on a cloth and then wipe the fixture with the cloth — never spray directly onto the fixture. Spraying reaches under the handle and into the cartridge seat where the chemistry does damage it was not formulated to do.
Never use
Abrasive powders, scouring pads, steel wool, and bleach-based whitening agents are never appropriate on a premium finish. They scratch, etch, and accelerate finish failure.
Cartridge maintenance
Ceramic cartridges have an expected service life of eight to ten years in residential use and three to five years in heavy contract use. Replacement is a spare-part swap, not a fixture replacement — every faucet and shower in the VALA range is designed to accept a cartridge swap without disturbing the fixture mounting.
For cartridge references, spare-part policy, and finish-specific cleaning notes, contact the trade team or request the maintenance catalogue.
