How to Remove Limescale from your Home?

Limescale removal is probably one of the hardest tasks you will ever encounter in your household.

Since statistically, 8 out of 10 US households have to deal with hard water, you might likely have to deal with limescale clogging your pipes at one point or another. Or maybe you’ve already dealt with it and know how hard it is to clean up.

Even worse, hard water and the eventual limescale build-up cause corrosion. This results in rust going straight into your drinking water, which gives it an unpleasant smell and a horrible taste. The rust also damages your pipes in time, and you might one day notice significant leaks and water loss. No one wants a bigger water bill and finding a small flood inside their house.

You’re going to need a solution that reduces limescale build-up and that will make it easier for you to clean your pipes when the time comes. There are several methods to achieve this, some tricky, some simple and some that might bring other disadvantages. We’ll be looking at several of these and try to find the solution that will bring you the least headaches.

Myths about how to remove limescale

First, let’s get out of the way the methods that do not work, just in case someone incorrectly recommended these to you:

• Cola is believed to remove limescale from your toilet bowl if you let it sit in it overnight. The theory is that the acid inside the coke eliminates many organic tissues, so it should also work for limescale. Right? If you do this, you’ll only get cola-colored limescale.
• Bleach is a powerful substance and an outstanding cleaning agent. Using simple logic, one might think that it is also effective against limescale. Sadly, it’s not the case. The bleach only makes the limescale stains look white. It doesn’t remove any of it. This solves the aesthetic issue regarding your toilet and sink. But it won’t be of any help for actually removing limescale.

Now that we’ve got the myths out of the way let’s move on to things that actually work.

How to remove limescale from your toilet bowl

How many times do you and family members use the toilet throughout the day? Probably too many times to count. In any case, you probably flush it a lot. And even if you’re away for long periods, limescale can still build up around where the water sits.

To remove the limescale from your toilet bowl, it’s as simple as using vinegar.

• Pour undiluted vinegar all over the bowl and let it sit for a couple of hours.
• Ideally, you’ll want to let it sit overnight.
• Then start scrubbing the bowl with a toilet brush thoroughly.

Even if the vinegar has weakened the limescale, you’ll still need to use some force. Finally, just flush the toilet to make it all go away. The downside is that the vinegar smell persists for quite a while, so leave the window open.

How to Remove Limescale from your shower head

Luckily, you can use two different substances to remove limescale from your showerhead. The two things you will need are probably already in your house right now. If not, you can find them easily in almost any supermarket or grocery store. And they don’t even cost much.

1. First Option: Lemon Juice

It all starts with cutting a lemon in half.

• Rub the fleshy side directly onto the showerhead.
• Leave it for about an hour, then scrub the showerhead and its holes with a toothbrush (preferably a clean one). The citric acid inside the lemon has the right pH and acidity to combat limescale on the showerhead surface as well as its holes.
• Once done, just turn on the shower to rinse the lemon.

 2. The Second Option: Vinegar Again

Using this method requires less effort but takes significantly more time to complete.

• Fill a small food bag with vinegar and fasten it around the showerhead with an elastic band, rope or string.
• Leave it overnight and clean gently with a toothbrush.

How to remove limescale from your faucet

Similar to your showerhead, you can use vinegar and lemons also to clean your tap.

• Cut a lemon in half and rub the fleshy side onto your faucet.
• Leave it for half an hour and then wipe gently with a wet cloth.

The other option is to pour vinegar into a spray bottle and sprinkle it thoroughly on the entire surface of your faucet. Make sure to cover the whole area.

• Leave for 30 minutes and scrub it clean with a wet cloth. The limescale stains should come off easily when using either of these methods.

How to remove limescale from the shower, sink, and bathtub

Using vinegar and lemons doesn’t work in these cases. If you have hard water, you’re most likely also dealing with soap scum in these areas. Limescale can also form around the shower walls and screen or plugholes.

You’re going to need three things: baking soda, vinegar, and a sponge.

• Mix two parts baking soda and one part white vinegar to form a paste.
• Apply the paste to every limescale-affected area and leave it there for about 10 minutes.
• Then scrub thoroughly with the abrasive side of the sponge until you manage to remove all the limescale.

This process can take a while because the paste is relatively hard to remove.

How to remove limescale from your kettle or coffee maker

It usually takes longer for limescale to build up inside of coffee machines and kettles. But that doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen eventually. Fortunately, the cleaning process is straightforward.

• Fill the kettle with half water and half vinegar and leave it overnight. The limescale should come off easily in the morning.
• Rinse thoroughly to remove any nasty odors that the vinegar left behind.
• The smell should go away by doing so, but if it persists, wash the kettle with detergent, as you would typically do.

For most regular coffee makers, the process is more straightforward.

• Just add vinegar to the water compartment and let the machine run its normal process – without adding coffee, of course.
• Afterward, run the coffee maker through the process using just water two times. The limescale, as well as the vinegar smell, should completely disappear.

Note

Some coffee machines may be built differently and have their proprietary cleaning process. It’s best to consult the manual in such cases to avoid invalidating the warranty.

How to actively remove limescale without putting in any effort

While the solutions mentioned above work well, you have to waste precious time and effort to apply them. If you live a busy life and barely have time to relax, this can prove quite challenging. You deserve to get some rest and not worry about something that you could easily prevent. And preventing limescale is much easier than you might think.

The easiest way to have a limescale-free household is by installing a water descaler. The device is easy to set up without having to call your plumber. You can do it all by yourself by simply reading the easy-to-follow instructions manual. Once you set it up and plug it in a power outlet, your water quality will start to improve.

The water descaler works by sending electric impulses through your pipe, which actively changes the shape of calcium and magnesium crystals. As the water flows through the area surrounded by the descaler’s coils, the electric waves transform the crystals into ions, making them form smooth long strings that will not adhere to anything.

Unlike water softeners, which were banned in certain states, descalers don’t add sodium to your water and don’t eliminate its minerals. This makes the water completely safe to drink while still benefitting from softened water’s qualities. As a result, your washing machine will live longer, and your pipes’ chances of getting clogged get dramatically reduced.

Not only that, but you’ll also save water in time because of a few reasons. Soap scum becomes much easier to remove, meaning you no longer waste water rinsing. No more limescale deposits on your pipes, meaning water flows smoothly. No more chances of corrosion, so no more iron in your water or leaks from your pipes.

A water descaler is also the eco-friendliest solution for solving hard water problems. You don’t need to buy salt bags, you don’t need to replace any filter or tank, and you won’t leave any chemicals in your town’s sewer system. You’re not leaving any extra carbon footprint. So if you’re concerned about pollution and water preservation, a water descaler is by far your safest and most affordable bet.

And unlike water softeners, you can rest assured that descaled water is safe to drink. You can put it in baby’s formula, give it to your pets, and fill your fish aquarium with it without having to second guess.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Will the water descaler cause any problems with my septic system?

No. Water descalers don’t connect to a drain and don’t add any chemicals to your water. They work by simply changing calcium and magnesium crystals’ shape.

• Will my water bills go up by using a descaler?

Quite the opposite. Since the water descaler prevents limescale from building up in your pipes, you will generally use less water. A descaler is capable of saving you up to $1000 per year in water bills and money spent on detergent, shampoo, and soap.

• What if I don’t have enough room to install the descaler?

Our descaler is only 5.9 inches wide, 2 inches tall, and 1.8 inches thick. No matter where you choose to install it, you’re guaranteed to have enough room. The power cord 5 feet long, so you’ll have no problem connecting it to a power outlet.

• Will the descaler work on my pipes?

Our water descaler is certified to work on a variety of pipe materials: iron, copper, stainless steel, plastic, PVC, PE-x, and compound pipes.

• What if I’m not satisfied with the results?

Even on the hardest water levels, you will most likely start seeing results in less than three months. If, for whatever reason, you are not satisfied with our product, simply send it back to us, and we’ll give you a full refund.

• Can water descalers act as a filter?

No, and neither do water softeners. If you’re concerned about impurities in your water, it is better to buy a filter. Neither descalers nor softeners eliminate pollutants.

• What if I move to another house? Do I need a new descaler?

Not at all. Removing the descaler is just as easy as installing it. Simply unplug it, remove the coils from your pipe, and you’re done. You can then install it in your new home, just like you did last time.

• What if my descaler breaks?

Unless you’re planning on hitting it with a hammer or throwing it off a 10-story building, your descaler should be fine. It’s built to last a very long time, and because it doesn’t use much energy, the chance of short-circuiting it is meager. If, however, you do encounter problems, our one-year warranty has got you covered.

The bottom line

Don’t waste precious time and energy by removing limescale from your pipes and appliances long after the damage has been done. Instead, invest in a practical solution that will save you a lot of money over the years.