Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Gold finished fixtures

I moved into my house 8 years ago and decided on gold tone fixtures for my bathroom. I have not had any problems with the sink faucets or rings around the drain. However, the plate for the shower drain and the bathtub are constantly tarnishing and I am finding myself having to replace these parts often. The plate in the shower is stuck on with grout. I don't know whether this is standard. Two years ago, I had someone remove the old plate and replace it. In the process, he cracked one the tiles. So this time around, I polished the plate using a stainless wool pad and sprayed a clear coating over it. About a month later, the plate tarnished again. I have not used my shower since. Is there a solution for this problem?

Shanee

Welcome to the forums! As with all hard water, it comes with drawbacks. One is gold "tone" fixtures. It is an inexpensive brass coating with a clearcoat, an once the clearcoat is degraded, either by scratching or hard water, the brass coating will tarnish. Your shower doors and enclosure probably have white deposits on them, too that require frequent cleaning. Other than installing a water softener ($$) you could switch to solid chrome or nickel covers. Using an abrasive will only aggravate the situation. Try jewelry dip, then the clear coat.