Rust is a threat to metal, especially when placed in a humid environment. Mirrors can become rusty over time and greatly affect aesthetic beauty and visuality. Mirrors in bathrooms, on the balcony, or in a moist environment are most prone to rust.
Moisture could contaminate and harm the silver lining, resulting in the development of black patches. The clean, hygienic mirror is essential for getting ready and looking your best.
You are reading the right article if you just realised that the mirror has become rusty and looking for solutions.
A bathroom mirror not only offers a clean reflection but also serves as the room’s unifying centerpiece. Therefore, it’s crucial to have a mirror that stays immaculate. Upgrading your standard mirror to superior quality LED illuminated bathroom mirrors offers a practical remedy for the rusty mirror. However, below, we will explore ways of fixing rusty mirrors.
Why does Mirror Rust?
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Mirror rusting is a chronic issue, especially in bathrooms that are frequently wet and humid. The silver nitrate coating on the mirror’s frame is the main cause of its rusting.
Silver nitrate tends to deteriorate when exposed to moisture, air, heat, cold, and occasionally even cleaning chemicals. Some mirrors come with capabilities and features, like defogging. However, they can be relatively expensive. Here are several reasons why your mirror may be rusting:
- De-Silvering
Mirror rot, also known as de-silvering, is one of the major possibilities why there can be rust on your mirror. Instead of just at the borders, mirror rot causes corrosion or dark blotches on the glass surface.
A sealer that stops moisture from entering should ideally be included with mirrors. But as soon as there are scratches on the surface, the mirror is exposed to moisture, which ultimately causes rusting.
- Use of Cleaning Products that contain Ammonia
Many mirror cleaning products, especially those containing ammonia, harm your mirror’s sealing surface. Ammonia is a strong basic chemical that removes moisture by absorption and rust barrier from the rusty mirror. The metal portion of the mirror oxidises and rusts as soon as moisture from the air gets in.
- High Humidity Level
Is there a lot of condensation in the room where the mirror is located? Or maybe you have a mirror in the bathroom where moisture is always in the air. If you see that your mirror frequently steams, rusting may have already begun.
Rust is frequently seen on the edges and corners of your mirror if the issue is too much dampness. It’s the chrome part of your mirror that is corroding, not the mirror itself. Chrome rusts when moisture seeps in, maybe as a result of a damaged mirror that allowed wet air to enter.
How to Fix a Rusty Mirror
Though mirrors can rust, there are solutions and preventive mechanisms to avoid the occurrence of rust. Here are the easiest and best ways to fix a rusting mirror.
- Fix Rusting Mirror with Glass Repair Kit
Despite the fact that mirrors exist in a wide range of sizes, forms, and designs, the process of making them hasn’t changed much over time. Typically, a mirror is created by covering the back of a piece of smooth glass with a tiny layer of aluminum or silver. A mirror may be fixed if it has minor dings or scratches. A glass repair kit can be used to fix minor cracks.
De-silvering-related black patches can be covered up with a re-silvering spray. Typically, it depends on the size and condition of your mirror… Restoring the mirror’s damaged silver or aluminum coating is a difficult operation called re-silvering.
- Mirror Finish Tape
You may cover the edges of mirrors with black dots using mirror finish tape. The finish tape prevents moisture from entering through the edges of the mirror. Below is how to use the mirror finish tape
- Clean your mirror edges with rubbing alcohol and lint-free cloth.
- Apply the mirror duct tape next with caution. The best outcomes come from a well-designed application.
- The tape hanging from the mirror edges should be cut off last using a sharp precision knife.
The result will be tidy and clean-cut, and your new framed mirror border will be complete. There is a second simple fix for covering scratches and desilvered places. For a fresh mirror surface, you can cover the mirror with a vinyl wrap.
Remove Rust with Cleaning Agent (e.g. WD40)
Fixing a rusty mirror is also possible with a cleansing agent such as WD40. For the desired result, follow the steps below:
- Spray the cleansing while sliding the can around the base of the mirror by pointing the flexible straw under the mirror and getting as near to the space where the front and backing of the mirror join as possible (where the moisture has infiltrated).
- Allow the cleansing agent to work for around 10 minutes.
- Put an old toothbrush beneath the mirror with the bristles aligned along the joint line.
- Brush at an angle so that part of the bristles enters the gap and scrape back and forth. If you look through the mirror, you can see the bristles agitating the rust particles.
- Scrub the mirror’s underside again and reapply the cleansing agent until all the rust has been eliminated.
- Once finished, wipe away any cleansing agent that may have gotten on the sink, tiles, or mirror.
Carefully and safely dispose of used toothbrushes or place them where they cannot be unintentionally utilised.
Even though the mirror will not be exactly brand new after cleaning, the damage will not be as visible as it used to be. The cleansing agent will also assist in stopping the rust from returning and the de-silvering from getting any worse, which is the prevention.
Bottom Line
Your mirrors may develop rust stains, which may be ugly. If ignored, these rusty patches will eventually consume your bathroom mirror and leave nothing behind. Even worse, once rust starts to form, there is no way to cure it without a professional’s assistance completely.
We explored several options for how to fix the rusty mirror. One of the solutions is using a glass repair kit, another option is mirror finish tape, and the last option we discussed is WD40. As mentioned above, it is impossible without the professional’s assistance to fully cure the rust on the mirror. But prevention and “fixing” is definitely possible.
Mirrors are vulnerable to rusting when the humidity level around them is high. Thankfully, controlling the humidity levels (if possible) and utilising protective and mirror-cleaning chemicals can prevent your mirror from rusting and keep it clear and immaculate.
