Quick bathroom fix-ups
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Bathrooms rank with kitchens as the room most frequently remodeled.
Here are tips for updating your bathroom:
Wash all floors and bathroom tiles.
Clean the tile and grout. Run a grout pen over the grout lines to clean and recolor it.
If the floor is ugly, cover it with a cut-to-fit bathroom rug or peel-and-stick tiles.
If the tile is discolored or you don’t like the color, paint it: 1. Wash the tiles with a detergent and an abrasive non-
metallic pad.
2. Rinse and dry the tiles thoroughly.
3. Sand the tiles with a fine aluminum oxide sand paper.
4. Wipe off the residue with a damp rag.
5. Paint the tiles with a high-adhesion interior latex bonding primer.
6. After the primer dries, apply a finish coat of paint.
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Apply stick-on mini-murals to ceramic tiles. You could put these on lamps, mirrors, tubs, sinks, switch-plates, and accessories. You can even put them on walls to cover small holes.
Replace leaking or worn-out faucets.
Clean under the sinks and put down fresh contact paper.
Paint the walls with a semi-gloss or bathroom paint in a white or neutral color.
Use a 3:1 water-bleach mixture to clean away all mildew.
Thoroughly clean the toilet. If you can’t get rid of toilet stains, install a new toilet.
Add more storage – extra towel bars, shelves on the wall or over the toilet, a medicine cabinet, etc.
Add a storage cabinet into the wall between the wall studs.
Add hooks behind the door, next to the shower, and near the sink. Add a hook under the sink to hold a blow-dryer.
If you have a plain, large mirror on the wall over the sink, frame it with molding to give it a custom look.
Add a new shower curtain and window topper. You could also replace your shower curtain with shower doors.
Replace the knobs and pulls on your vanity drawers and cabinets.
Add a lighted switch to make nighttime bathroom visits a little easier.
Add electric outlets – particularly in older houses where the only outlet may be connected to the lighting fixture.
Replace or reglaze the sink.
Replace caulking around the tub, shower, and sink.
Refinish or repaint the vanity and replace the vanity countertop.
To update an old tub that you can’t afford to replace, reglaze it or apply a prefabricated tub surround to the existing wall.
If you have shower doors, clean them thoroughly.
Check that the sink and tub drain well. If they drain slowly, pour some baking soda and vinegar down the drain. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then flush with boiling water.
Clean the bathroom thoroughly - fixtures, floor, vanity, windows, lighting fixtures, mirrors, etc.
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