Bathrooms are places where one goes to clean up, for that to happen certain items have to be in use in the bathroom. These sanitary items are used for washing, brushing, shaving scrubbing oneself, and drying after a bath. Items like soap are quite risky because of their slippery nature, gels, and shampoos too.
Thus it’s really important to have a piece of equipment for holding such items during shower time for convenience and use. The equipment in question here is called a caddy and it comes in different shapes, kinds, and designs to be placed in various sections of the bathroom.
Best Shower Caddy to buy and what to look for.
When buying a shower caddy, there are things to take into consideration in order to get value for your money. To choose the best shower caddy according to your needs and ease of use in the bathroom available, put in mind these features;
- Quality
One should look for a product that is trusted in the market. Quality shower caddies tend to last longer and meet all your needs.
- Flexibility
A shower caddie should have the flexibility of use to meet the users’ needs. Easy to assemble and organize.
- Durability
The material used should be durable. Plastic and stainless steel are materials that can last a long time, giving the user enough service while in use.
- Organization
When it comes to organizing, a shower caddy should fit all the essentials required by the user and with easy accessibility.
Why do shower caddies rust
Rusting occurs when metals come into contact with water or moisture hence creating an atmosphere for corrosion eventually leading to rusting. In this case the humid atmosphere in the bathroom or water splashing on them while showering lead metal shower caddies to rust. This occurs in those metals that are not rust-resistant. Shower caddies made using wood because of coming into contact with water in the showers normally rot while the ones made using metals usually rust.
How to stop shower caddies from rusting
Depending on the type of metal material used in making a shower caddie, rusting is most likely to occur when they come in contact with water, air, or humidity. There are numerous ways of preventing rust from affecting caddies made with iron, alloy, cobalt, stainless steel and any other metal material.
- A coating of oil will help to avert rust. However, an oily surface might be a bit problematic for some tools or machines and poses environmental and human health concerns.
- Special preventative products can be combined with the metals used in making the caddies. These are effective for products in use, in shipping, storage, and more.
- A fresh coat of quality paint will slow down rusting by stopping the water from reaching the metal part of the shower caddie.
- Properly fixing the shower caddie in areas where there will be no splashing of water, thus by reach it is minimal. This helps prevent and slow rusting of the shower caddie.
- Galvanizing caddie’s coats of iron or steel in Zinc, Aluminum, and Stainless Steel helps in preventing rusting
6 Types of Shower Caddies
Shower caddies come in different types and forms, all to suit customers’ needs and specifications. They are also tailored according to the consumers’ daily demands and convenience.
- Overhead hanging shower caddy.
These hang from the showerhead as you shower. Of all the kinds, hanging caddies are the most popular and for good reasons. They are less likely to get bacteria or mold in them since water doesn’t stay on the caddy and it dries down quickly.
Secondly, showering is made easier with this item. You don’t have to keep bending or reaching out for your shower items, simply grab them from above you and shower, making it much convenient. Unfortunately, they cannot be used with hand-held showerheads, there is no place steady enough to hang them on the showerhead.
- Corner shower caddy
It usually comes with strong suction cups to fit anywhere on the wall or a steady bottom to stand at a corner. This makes it a good design to use especially for shared bathroom spaces. It can hold soaps, shampoos, towels and razors, and any other bathing item.
- Over the door shower caddy
As the word suggests, they are meant for hanging over the bathroom door. They are most likely to be free of rust as they are away from the showerhead thus less contact with water.
On the downside, this is not suitable for bathroom spaces that have no doors, or with doors that cannot allow it to hang and close the door at the same time. Some bathrooms use shower curtains while in others, the door is quite far off on the bathroom making it hard to reach out for items as one is showering.
- Shared shower caddy
This is highly recommended for shared bathrooms as it comes with different sections for each individual. It is a great investment for use with trusted people you share the bathroom with. The simplicity of having not to carry it to and from the bathroom makes it a good shower caddie with ease to use.
- Unisex shower caddy
These come in neutral colors and designs to suit even the male gender. This is to do away with the stereotype that shower caddies are a girls’ thing.
- Freestanding shower caddy
They are placed at one corner of the bathroom and require no support so long as they are placed on a stable surface. Overstocking it may lead the shower caddy to troop over, thus just use a required amount of items for stability.
Some have special features for convenience in use. These are hooks and baits for hanging wash washcloths or holders and soap shelves.
How To Clean your shower caddies
In as much they are equipment used for the cleanliness sector, they also collect dirt, soap scum, and water drops. Depending on the kind of material used to make a shower caddy, it makes cleaning vary from one material to another. Below we discuss how to clean the most available shower caddies in the market. Most shower caddies can easily be cleaned with homemade available solutions.
Cleaning a plastic shower caddy. This is the easiest and simplest to clean. Make an easy homemade cleaning solution with warm water, soap detergent. Once the shower caddy has been emptied all the contents dip into your solution, making sure all areas are covered with the soap solution.
Thoroughly scrub all the regions to remove the dirt accumulated from soap scum and water spots. Rinse thoroughly in clean water then wipe down with a dry cloth. In cases the plastic shower caddy has suction cups to attach to the wall, the wall should be cleaned too before installing it back.
Cleaning a mesh shower caddy. These can easily be machine washed as their material is easy to wash too. In case a machine wash is not available, hand wash can be done too. However, pay attention to the washing instructions on the product. Wash in cold water with soap, rinse in clean water, and air dry.
Cleaning a metal shower caddy. Metal caddies tend to rust when they come into contact with water. To clean them, use a stain remover solution.
First, remove it outside and brush out the rust with a brush with soft bristles. Make a solution of vinegar, baking soda and dip the metal caddy leaving it in for a few minutes to absorb the rust stains.
Rub off the stains with a soft clean sponge, air dry outside for 30 minutes. Finally, buff with a lint-free cloth until shiny and glossy. In case the rust stains are stubborn a store-bought rust remover like WD 40 may be used.
Cleaning a bamboo shower caddy. This is a very delicate material, that requires extra attention and care.
Wipe down thoroughly with clean soapy water and a clean soft cloth, that has been wrung out to avoid too much water getting to the bamboo. Rinse out with clean water and clean cloth then air dry. To make it long-lasting use an oil like mineral oil or baby oil buffing and rubbing thoroughly.
Are shower caddies recyclable?
Indeed, they are, there are many ways to turn an old shower caddie into use. Below are a few ways to recycle your shower caddies at the comfort of your home;
- Organize your home office stationery in an old shower caddie. This ensures all rulers pencils and pens are in place. The same applies to the kids’ homework desk.
- Use it to place all your essential car fluids. This avoids spills and ensures they are all secure in one place in the car boot or garage.
- It makes a cute picnic basket to organize the kids’ snacks and treats in the back seat as you go for that long drive or road trip.
- Easily create a movie night by placing popcorn, soda, and other snacks for a home or a drive-in movie.
Conclusion
Shower caddies are an essential part of our daily life in whichever area of life you may be. Whether in the gym bathrooms, homes with the family set up, student dormitories, to camping sites, we cannot afford to ignore them.
And to see that they can also be recycled and used creatively at home make them even more valuable. Whether you are thinking about buying your shower caddy, installing a shower caddy in your home, and taking care of the already existing ones, we hope that this post helps you make good choices.
