14 things you should never clean with water

If you try to clean leather furniture, bags or clothing items with water, it will cause streaks and will eventually cause the leather to crack over time. “There are specific leather cleaners designed for leather, which will not have these problems,” says Smith.

Similar to brick, marble is also a porous material that can be damaged by water. If you used water to clean marble it can remove the protective sealant on it, potentially damaging any grout of caulking, says Harris. Just like with brick, use a soft brush and cloth to get it clean.

Here are 10 occasions when you should never use antibacterial wipes. 

“Don’t clean the burners on your gas range with water. The igniters on your gas range are very sensitive to water,” says Smith. “If they get wet they will not turn off when the range is activated and your range will click over and over again as the igniter keeps going off.” Sometimes, this issue will correct itself once the igniter dries out, but cleaning your gas range burners with water can also permanently damage them. “As a result, never spray a cleaning product directly into your gas range burners. Spray the cleaning cloth then wipe down the surface.”

Similar to wood floors, water can also ruin your wood furniture. Just think about what happens when you leave a glass on your wooden table without a coaster. “The best course of action is to regularly dust your wood tables and furniture (we recommend a microfibre cloth) and you can use wood polish or lemon oil to protect it,” says Turley.

Using water to clean brass fixtures and instruments will remove the lacquer and lead to further tarnish and cause permanent damage. Harris says to avoid DIY cleaning solutions and to stick to cleaning with a quality brass polish. For cleaning, Harris recommends a brass polish. “It leaves a shine on the brass that lasts for a long time. The only downside is it does leave an easily removable white layer in corners of the brassware,” says Harris.

Sign up here to get Reader’s Digest’s favourite stories straight to your inbox!

Source: RD.com