REALLY Stubborn limescale!

rosie383

I had a problem with limescale deposits on my French doors of all things! I think it was from years of having blocked gutters, and rain splashing up on them. Anyway, I got the W5 limescale remover from Lidl, put some in a spray bottle, and used that. It is great stuff and it worked to clear my windows anyway.

Pink.

Hi pigeonpie,

As your thread has dropped down the Old Style board I've added it to the main one on removing stubborn limescale so that you can browse the replies there.

Pink

Brooktop

At the end of the day, it's acid and abrasion that gets rid of limescale. The acid doesn't have to be particularly strong, so white vinegar, citric acid, lemon juice (contains citric acid) are all effective and do not have any environmental or health and safety implications. Stubborn deposits may require repeated applications and/or abrasion and elbow grease with pumice stone, wire wool etc. You can even use cheap cola down the toilet (phosphoric acid). I don't like using products that have a strong 'chemical' smell - especially with 2 young kids breathing the fumes in.

Getting the stuff to linger can be a challenge so the toilet paper trick is something I use regularly. This stuff is good - environmentally friendly and it foams so it lingers longer http://www.dri-pak.co.uk/limescale-remover.html. It's based on citric acid and lime juice and smells lovely (my wife hates the smell of white vinegar).

Be careful when using harsh abrasives not to damage the actual item. Also take care on things that are actually 'plated' as some cleaners can damage them.

pigeonpie

yes I can attack the floor tiles and taps with no problem about damaging them.

however the black mark at the back of the basin tap (tap has leaked a little for years) is on white enamel. The bath has marks on one side of it too. Again enamel which makes me more nervous about what to use but I must get it off somehow.
Vinegar (hate the smell too!) and lemon juice didn't work.

pigeonpie

I bought some supermarket own brand toilet limescale cleaner and wiped it on thickly everywhere. Nearly gassed myself Left it for about 3 hours then went and cleaned it all off. It's 80% better than it was -and the chemical smell has gone. I suppose I should do it again to try to get the last 20% off but the difference in the shower screen and the taps is amazing. The floor tiles, loo and a little bit of the bath tap are still resisting. Not every eco friendly I'm afraid but it does seem to work far better than the 'limescale' remover products and vinegar didn't work.
I wore thick gloves but I swear it got through....

susyrosy

I live in a particularly hard water area, and limescale is a nightmare. I also run a very small B&B, so high-end cleanliness is an absolute must. I've tried vinegar, and lemon juice, even leaving it soaking round taps on loopaper. But if I'm going to be honest, nothing works nearly so well as C****t B**g anti-limescale.

Does anyone else have this problem, where Kim and Aggie's 'green' tips don't actually work nearly as well as horribly strong chemicals?

newleaf

I think, unfortunately, if you live in a really hard water area, there is no substitute for hard chemicals

Ches

Yep no good here.

Barneysmom

The Harpic one is very good too.

angeltreats

newleaf wrote: »

I think, unfortunately, if you live in a really hard water area, there is no substitute for hard chemicals

I lived in London for years and had a constant battle with limescale, and I totally agree. We used to go through a showerhead every year and I used to have to scrub hardened bits round the taps with a pumice stone as nothing else would shift it.

Have to admit, I am not OS at all when it comes to cleaning. I go through copious amounts of bleach, and will only use antibacterial kitchen spray.