Bar Keepers Friend: An Unbiased Review

I think I might be one of the last people to use Bar Keepers Friend.  But in case I'm not, I have an honest review of my first experience with it.  I'm not one for suspense, so I'll tell you right now...I liked it.  But, I do have some reservations and recommendations for use.

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My honest review of Barkeepers Friend:

Before I just straight into the review, let's rewind and start with the not so pretty pictures of the hard water buildup on my half bathroom faucets.

Hard water buildup:

Nice, huh?!  I know, it was pretty bad.

I'd tried several different cleaners over the years but I'd never had good success.  The black cultured marble makes it look even worse.  Most of the time, I just finish off the cleaning process with window cleaner hoping the sparkly faucet would divert your eyes from the nasty buildup.

It didn't.

Here's another before shot:

I'm not even sure what prompted me to buy Bar Keepers Friend.  I was at Walmart one day and I just threw it in my cart on a whim, thinking 'hmmm, I might try this in my half bath'.

No research, no asking friends.

You should also know, I was doing several other things when I decided to actually give it a try and I didn't thoroughly read the directions.

When I was completely finished using it, I sat down to read the back of the bottle.  It did mention "test clean all delicate surfaces in a hidden area".  Oops!

The back also mentioned cleaning within one minute of application (I let it sit on the hard water build up while I swept my kitchen floor which took way longer than one minute).  Once again, oops!

In retrospect, reading the instructions would certainly have been helpful.  Take my advice, take a moment to fully read the directions prior to using and I think you'll be really happy with this product.

 During - with Barkeepers Friend:

As you can see in the above photo, I just poured it all over the faucet as well as a wide area around the counter top.  The directions also suggest using sparingly.

My impulsivity gets me into lots of trouble!

I should have kept it more confined and not allowed it to get on as much of the counter.

I scrubbed fairly aggressively which ultimately led to a scratched counter top.  Once again, this was due to my lack of reading the directions and could have been prevented.

Despite me using LOTS of the Bar Keepers Friend, I was not able to remove all of the build up on the first attempt.

Related: How to Clean a Wax Warmer

After first attempt with Bar Keepers Friend:

Look closely in the above photo where the base meets the faucet handle, you'll notice the majority of the hard water build up is gone!

I definitely spent most of my time scrubbing that area.  I used a simple scrub sponge.  If I were to do it over, I would likely try a soft bristled toothbrush to get in the nooks and crannies to avoid scratching the surface.

I applied more cleaner, primarily around the base and removed more of the build up on round two.

After Second application of Bar Keepers Friend:

After the second application, it still wasn't perfect, but much better.  I started to panic a bit because I could see I was scratching the black marble top.  The picture makes it challenging to see, but it is pretty scratched.  If I would have used a different tool to scrub, I could have possibly had a better outcome on the marble top.

My unbiased review of Barkeepers Friend; So, what did I think?

Did I like it?  Yes

Would I use it again?  Yes

Am I 100% happy with the end result:  No, not 100%.  But to be fair, I think any displeasure I felt could have been prevented if I would have followed the directions.

Would I recommend Barkeepers Friend to remove hard water build up?  Yes

As I stated, follow the directions and I think you'll be fine.  Take a few extra moments to protect the area you are attempting to clean...you'll be so glad you did.

Have you ever tried Bar Keepers Friend?

I'd love to hear about your experience?  Was is good?  Was it bad?  Leave a comment and share any tips or experiences with this product that you have!

For more tips on using Bar Keepers Friend, go to their official website.

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