Mystera Booth at KBIS 2014
I was tending the Mystera booth at the 2014 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) answering attendees questions about Mystera, when a gentleman walked up and started asking about the product. I shared with him that it is a solid surface product made of 100% acrylic resin, similar to Corian®.
The man immediately responded, “WOW! That’s great!”
It was obvious that he liked the new look of the Mystera sheets that were on display. It was also clear to me that he had experience working with solid surface.
“If you want a shower that is easy to care for and will stay looking nice with very little effort, then you should use solid surface. The key difference is that solid surface can be cleaned with both chemicals and abrasives.”
After this exuberant response, the man started telling me why he was so enthusiastic. His enthusiasm, as it turns out, arose from two lines of thought. First, he was excited to see a new look for solid surface products like the multi-veined swirls of Mystera. And second, he was enthusiastic about the many virtues of solid surface as a shower and tub material.
Mystera Shower Walls and Bath Countertop
The first thing he asks his customers is, “After every shower, do you want to take a glass squeegee and squeegee the walls of the shower?” And then, “After you have done that, do you want to take your towel and wipe the walls dry?”
“Well”, he explains to his customer, “that is what you will need to do if you want the walls made of stone to stay looking nice and not become covered in soap and mineral build up, along with mold and mildew.”
He then goes on to explain that, “there is no easy way to clean stone walls once minerals in the water spots and soap scum build up. They stick to the surface just like they do to the glass shower doors and can eventually etch into the surface. Once the surface is etched, the walls have to be resurfaced which is not something that can be easily done with the stone in place. Removing it and taking it back to the shop for resurfacing is not really an option.”
He continues, sharing additional virtues of using solid surface material: “If you want a shower that is easy to care for and will stay looking nice with very little effort, then you should use solid surface. The key difference is that solid surface can be cleaned with both chemicals and abrasives.”
His potential customers are often pleasantly surprised to hear that all they need to do is spray the shower or tub walls with Scrubbing Bubbles®, or some similar product, every two weeks. And that, coupled with scrubbing the shower floor once a month with an abrasive cleaner like comet or soft scrub, keeps the walls and floor in as good of a condition as when they were first installed.
As it turns out, this man is really onto something here!
Solid surface, which is the same color throughout, owes its awesome finish to abrasives. This is because abrasives, along with a final sanding, are what give solid surface material its final finish—a finish that can range from matte to glossy. Nothing else is needed; not even additives or sealer. And, since solid surface is composed of the same material and color throughout, this step can be repeated over and over, thousands of times, and the color looks the same.
Let’s say you don’t clean the walls of your shower or tub for several weeks or months, and the minerals and soap build up. When you clean the entire area with an abrasive cleaner, a maroon colored, general purpose Scotch-Brite™ pad, or both, you’re back to a finish that is just like the day it was installed.
So, after this man’s usual exchange with potential customers, what material do you think they decide to go with?
You guessed it! They typically purchase a solid surface shower enclosure or tub surround and come back later to tell him what a remarkable decision it was and what little effort is required to maintain a gorgeous easy-to-clean shower.
In the market for material to build a low-maintenance, easy-to-clean bathroom shower or tub? Check out Mystera and/or the numerous overstock solid surface sheets options at SolidSurface.com and reap the benefits of a beautiful bathroom and ease of maintenance!