Cleaning gold plated bathroom fittings

[Huma0]

I'm wondering if anyone can help with this.

I recently had a new bathroom installed with gold plated fittings (shower, taps etc.). You are not supposed to use standard cleaning products on these as they can damage and strip the gold finish. Instead, you use diluted dishsoap/washing up liquid and you can also buff with a soft dry cloth. I have tried this, my cleaner has tried it, and it does't work.

Almost from day one, the shower valves especially were covered in watermarks that won't come off and make them look dirty. I have exactly the same style of shower in another bathroom in chrome, which is years old but never has this problem because it's cleaned with normal bathroom cleaners.

I called the manufacter to ask what they would recommend and they said either the diluted dishsoap or diluted white wine vinegar. So, I tried the latter as well. Didn't make any difference. I bought a gold polishing cloth (the kind you use on jewellery). That didn't work. Neither did a microfibre cloth for cleaning chrome.

I've heard suggestions to use Brasso or Silvo but the manufacturer said absolutely NOT to use that. In fact, they wouldn't recommend anything other than washing up liquid or dilued vinegar. A lot of the suggestions I've found online are for removing tarnish from gold and that's not the problem.

Any suggestions that have been tried and tested? This is the fitting that's showing the water marks the worst and how it looked when new and unused. It does not look like that now!

[Huma0]

@Meet-The0

Thanks for the tips. I'm sure these are really helpful for getting watermarks off a lot of things and the Bar Keeper's Friend powder keeps my white ceramic kitchen sink looking like new. The less abrasive spray or cream versions are really good for removing watermarks from shower glass and limescale from chrome fittings.

However, this post is about cleaning real gold plated fixings, which need to be handled with care as gold is a soft metal. You are not supposed to use even regular bathroom cleaners on them, so I'd never dream of attacking them with strong chemicals and a sanding sponge!

[Meet-The0]

We clean our wedding rings with Oxy and they are 24K and 14K gold! You may be surprised. The olive oil might also work as it is non- corrosive and effective for soil removal. Happy Cleaning!