How To Fight Against Misty Mirrors

Let's Begin

You’ve just had the best shower of your life, but your skin dries out after. You step out of the shower, knowing you need to moisturize as soon as possible to keep your skin in top condition. You dry your face; you reach for the moisturizer and then-Shock! Horror!

You can’t see your reflection, not because you’re a vampire, no even worse, because your mirror is steamed up!

Why Does My Mirror Fog Up?

Bathroom wall mirrors often fog up in the bathroom because when steam from hot water meets a cold surface, it will condense onto it. Because mirror glass is inherently cooler than steam, it gets covered in condensation and due this being a reflective surface, you notice.

Steam forms when hot water evaporates into vapour, so when you use a hot shower or run a hot tap you are likely to create some steam, which in turn clouds your mirror.

Why Is Mirror Fogging A Problem?

Mirror fogging can be a problem for a number of reasons. The primary issue is of course the fact you can’t see yourself. This makes a lot of the aftercare that comes with showering difficult. As previously stated, you won’t be able to moisturize properly or effectively brush your teeth without the help of your reflection.

Another reason is time. It can take a long time for a mirror to naturally lose the fogginess gained by condensation. This means your bathroom wall mirror is out of action for potentially hours. This is not just an inconvenience to you, but those you live with.

Temporary Solutions To Mirror Fogging

So, what can be done? A lot actually. Some methods are more practical than others, but we’ll explain several and let you decide what solution is best for you.

Soap and Buffing

The classic cleaning technique of cleaning and buffing is up first. By applying some regular cleaning soap to the wall mounted bathroom mirror’s surface and then buffing the glass, you can remove the misty menace. Buffing involves dabbing a cloth against the glass and rubbing it in a circular motion. The mild abrasion of the cloth gets rid of whatever is sitting on top of the glass, like dirt, fingerprints, or in this case, condensation.

Shaving Cream

Weirdly enough, an item you may already have in your bathroom could be perfect for cleaning your mirror. Shaving foam can be used to buff and protect the mirror from steam. Before you have a shower, take a glob of shaving foam and use a microfiber cloth to buff it into the mirror until you can’t see any foam anymore. Then when you have a shower, you will see that the foam prevents the mirror from steaming up by acting as a layer between it and potential condensation. However, you can expect this to have diminishing results over the week.

Vinegar

You can achieve a similar result to the shaving cream using something else you may have lying around the house, vinegar. If you mix a little bit of vinegar, only about two tablespoons, into hot water and use that to buff your mirror, then the concoction will act as a barrier between your mirror and the condensation, much like the shaving foam. However, unlike the shaving foam, vinegar is quite acidic. Because of this they can actually damage other parts of your mirror that aren’t glass. For example, if you have a silver backed mirror, you could actually trigger corrosion through the use of vinegar. So, vinegar is definitely a last resort option.

Car Products

There are actually several brands of glass defogger made for cars and other vehicles. As cars are constantly faced with changing weather, they often need to be cleaned. This includes their glass as it can get dirty or fogged up. When car windows or mirrors are fogged up, you can use a demisting spray to clean away the mist. These same sprays can be applied to glass in the home, like the wall mounted bathroom mirror!

Hair Dryer

One quick and easy way to get rid of mist on your mirror is to use a hair dryer. As the name suggests, it dries. However, unlike the name suggests, it can dry more than hair. If you turn your hairdryer up to high and point it at your fogged up mirror, you can speed up the process of the condensation vaporizing. By turning it to vapor, it becomes one with the air and leaves your bathroom mirror as clear as a sunny day.

Open Windows

If you open your windows during your shower and leave them open for a bit after, you are much less likely to encounter any fogginess. This is because the steam escaped the room and doesn’t settle on the cold glass. This is a very practical answer to the great defogging question, but is also somewhat unreliable. This is because depending on the temperature of the day, your bathroom wall mirror could still steam up.

Run Cold Water

If you run your shower on cold for a minute before heating it up and getting into it, it will cool down the area and slow down the creation of fog. Depending on how quickly you shower, this could be the ideal solution for you. However, it is a race against time and of no use to those who take more leisurely showers.

So, there are clearly a lot of temporary solutions that can somewhat solve the problem. However, all of these solutions have either an air of unreliability, inconvenience or both. So let’s look at ways to stop the fog for good.

Permanent Solutions To Mirror Fogging

There are two main methodologies when it comes to permanently ending the reign of terror mist has on your bathroom.

1.       Reliably Preventing Condensation From Forming

2.       Automating The Removal Of Condensation

We have devised a selection of options that could be of use to you and take advantage of one or both of these methodologies. Let’s begin!

Smart Mirror

Smart Mirrors are quite humbly named, as they offer a genius solution to a simple problem. Before you enter the shower, simply turn on the fog free mirror with a quick press of the sensor.

As you shower, the anti-steam mirror begins to work. It activates lights around the mirror and begins to heat the glass.

This twofold combination works wonders at preventing any fogging issues. This is because the heated up mirror doesn’t develop condensation because it is not cold in comparison to the shower. So, you can bask in your reflection to your hearts content.

Compounding on this, the use of lights cuts through any built up steam in the bathroom. This means even if a cloud of steam is emanating in your room, you will still be able to look at your perfectly clear mirror.

It really is the ideal choice!

Extractor Fan

Now, the extractor fan is a great choice for fighting steam in your entire bathroom, not just your mirror. The extractor fan removes the humid air from the room and replaces it with fresh air. This prevents steam build up during and after the shower process and helps remove any existing steam. This is a great, if expensive choice. This is because you not only need to purchase the fan, but have a professional installation. However, for the person willing to spend that bit extra, this is the ideal choice. When it comes to extractor fans, we recommend Inline fans as they are discrete, yet effective.

Mirror Covers

Now, a method of preventing condensation with a little bit of effort is through the use of mirror covers. You can buy these from some shops or make them yourself out of towels. They essentially sit on the face of the wall mounted mirror while you are in the shower, to prevent the steam touching the glass surface.

Once you are out of the shower, open the windows to let out some steam and remove the covers to greet your perfectly clear mirror.

The drawback of this method is there is a bit more effort involved, as the process is not automated. But the keen craftsperson, making your own mirror covers could be the ideal choice.

Cold Showers

Much like running cold water before your hot shower, you could avoid the creation of steam completely, if you chose to exclusively have cold showers. This has the tangential benefit of improving blood circulation as your body has to pump more blood to maintain your core temperature. However, consistent cold showers are not recommended for everyone, as they can negatively affect those who are in some way immunocompromised. So, check if consistent showers are right for you before you switch to cold. If you’re a person of good health, who is looking to solve the issue of misty mirrors and save some money, this is the ideal choice for you.

Biophilic Design

Sometimes instead of technology, you may want to turn to nature. Plants need water to live and some plants thrive in humid environments like bathrooms, because they can absorb the moisture from the air. With enough of the right plants, you can reduce the amount of humidity in your bathroom and decrease the amount of steam that forms, as the plants absorb it.

However, this method is hard to get exact results with, as you can’t manage plants the way you would a machine. So, you may still get steamy mirrors, however the use of plants will decrease the likelihood of this. This option is perfect for someone trying to improve their air quality as well as fight steam, or for the person looking for an aesthetic answer to a functional problem.

How To Install A Smart Mirror

Because we feel the smart mirror is the best option as it features automation at a lower price than the extractor fan, we’re going to explore it a bit more. Starting with how to install one.

An anti-steam mirror works by having a long life battery connected to a heating element on the rear side of the mirror. These parts are sealed to the wall with an aluminium frame so no moisture can get in and damage the parts.

To install, all you need to do is screw the frame to your wall of choice and voila, your fog free mirror is installed.

How To Clean And Maintain An Anti-Fog Mirror

Like any glass, you can clean it with warm water and a cloth. If you notice any toothpaste splashes or any other kind of build up on the mirror, make sure it is turned off and then wipe it down to keep it squeaky clean.

What Sizes Do Anti-Steam Mirrors Come In?

Durovin’s anti-fog mirrors come in four sizes. The 400x600mm Anti-Fog Mirror, the 800x600mm Anti-Fog Mirror, the 900x700mm Anti-Fog Mirror and the 1200x700mm Anti-Fog Mirror. The prices of these mirrors vary from 109.67 to 190.50, so no matter your budget you can afford a beautiful and brilliant mirror that fights back the fog on your behalf.

Which size you should get comes down your own sensibilities and sense of style, but typically we would recommend choosing your mirror size based on your vanity size. For example, If you have a small basin and vanity, it is probably best to have a smaller mirror over them, as not to dwarf them. However, if you have a large basin and vanity, you don’t want your mirror to seem inconsequential in comparison, so you will want a big mirror.

What Aesthetic Does A Smart Mirror Serve?

The great thing about the anti-fog mirror’s aesthetics is that it keeps it simple. Because of this, these mirrors can be utilized effectively in pretty much any style. Their hidden electronics allows them to present as a standard mirror, so you don’t have to worry about a futuristic look clashing with your classic style.

To Finish

Overall, how you tackle the scourge of mirror mist is up to you. Whether you seek the frequent use of temporary solutions or the laxer long term solutions is your choice. We would recommend the installation of anti-fog mirror and if possible, an extractor fan. This will provide you with a less humid bathroom and a mirror that will be clear as crystal, whatever the weather.