Barcelona’s hard water and your taps

Barcelona’s water is hard: 30–35 French degrees against 12–15 in Madrid. On a tap you see it within a week — a whitish crust round the edge of the aerator, streaks on the spout, dull patches on the shower head. Here the material matters more than the price.

How the finishes behave

All four are available from our factories, and the difference in upkeep between them is bigger than the difference in the invoice.

1. 01 Polished chrome The scale shows at once, but it comes off more easily than on anything else. The classic for this city: a cloth after the shower and the tap looks new.
2. 02 PVD The coating is applied in a vacuum; it is harder than chrome and does not wear off. Limescale grips it less well, but on dark finishes the streaks are more visible.
3. 03 Matt black Beautiful right up to the first shower. Every drop leaves a white dot, and it has to be wiped after every use.
4. 04 Unlacquered brass It patinates and lives a life of its own. Limescale doesn’t show on it — it simply becomes part of the patina.

What to clean with, and what never to use

Acid limescale removers kill PVD and matt finishes in a handful of applications: first light patches appear, then the coating comes away in flakes. What works is warm water, a soft cloth and, if things have gone too far, a citric acid solution for five minutes — on chrome only. No abrasives and no bleach.

A matt black tap in Barcelona means a cloth every day. Don’t buy one if you are not up for that ritual.

Finishes and hard water

One thing to do once

Fit a water softener for the flat. It costs about as much as one good tap, goes in at the mains and settles the question for every fitting at once — including the boiler, the washing machine and the glass shower screens, where limescale leaves a cloudy mark that never comes off.

If there will be no softener, choose chrome or brass and stay away from matt. We say this to everyone who picks a black tap from a photo.