TikTok Hack Uses Parchment Paper to Clean Hard Water Stains

Aug 18, 2023

For me, spring is a time to reset and do a deep clean of my environment. On TikTok, there are many trends dedicated to easy, cost-efficient cleaning hacks that can be done with basic household items. The hashtag #CleanTok has more than 72 billion views as of Saturday.

Parchment paper is one particular household item that has a lot more uses than I thought — including cleaning stainless-steel faucets throughout the home.

The video, which had over 1 million views on TikTok as of Saturday, only requires a bit of parchment paper and a dirty faucet, and claims to wipe away hard water stains, which can appear as chalky residue on appliances.

If you're anything like me, cleaning supplies can be an annoying thing to spend money on. I was excited to try out this hack and see if it could save me both time and money in the future.

Outside of baking, I never had much use for parchment paper. While scouring TikTok for cleaning hacks, I found that the household staple has many uses outside the kitchen, including cleaning glass shower doors, stainless steel refrigerators, and microwaves.

Hard water stains are caused by mineral buildup on stainless-steel faucets and other appliances, according to Culligan Water. Most cleaning tips suggest using a hard water stain remover, which can cost upwards of $19.99 per bottle on Amazon, to remove the stains.

As I took a closer look at my sink, I had more doubt that the parchment paper hack would be able to get the job done.

The hack immediately started working right before my eyes. Without applying much pressure, the parchment paper was erasing the hard water stains that had been there for months.

The harder I scrubbed, the shiner my bathroom sink faucet became. As someone who had tried other multipurpose cleaners on the sink before, I was shocked to see how clean my sink got without any streaks left behind.

Within seconds, my faucet was sparkling clean.

After wiping my bathroom sink with parchment paper, it was so clear that I could see my reflection. All the water stains had been removed with ease thanks to the TikTok hack.

Moving forward, I will definitely be reaching for the parchment paper over a bottle of cleaning product when I want my faucet to shine.

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