REALLY Stubborn limescale!

Caterina

I live in London and the water is so hard here that when you drink a glass of it you have to chew through the grit! :eek: Limescale is a constant problem on all appliances and it is necessary to stay on top of it all the time. I would suggest doing a first attack with all chemical cannons blazing (commercial descalers everywhere) then, once it is removed, it is possible to deal with it with gentler, more natural methods.

Vinegar works on mild limescale e.g. every 3-4 weeks in kettle, or soaking a cloth in it and wrap wet cloth around base of tap overnight. Toilet: to get it properly done it needs to be emptied of water (I use a small yogurt plastic tub) and vinegar poured in it for a half hour, then go in with gloved hands and a scrub pad (not metal, as it can scratch). The scale comes off in chunks and you can flush it down.

When I squeeze juice out of a lemon I always leave the squeezed out skin in the sink then when I have a minute I cut it in half and rub it on the surfaces, it cleans, degreases and deodorises, and it leaves a nice scent.

However, once in a while I think the commercial chemicals are necessary - it is a matter of finding the right balance, I suppose! Even reducing our dependence on these products is good for our health and for the environment, but using them in moderation is occasionally a necessity!

susyrosy

Believe me, I've tried it - and nothing happened ... and I DID want it to work!

Back to CB for me.

Caterina

susyrosy wrote: »

... and I DID want it to work!

LOL I don't think we can will the stuff to work!:rotfl:

In the end, if you need to use chemicals, so be it, after all you are running a business and that's your livelihood!

M.E.

30 years ago when we moved into this (then) new house, we knew it was in a very hard water area.
We installed a large water softener DIY and boy, has it paid dividends. Absolutely no limescale (except near the kitchen sink which has a hard water tap), toilets dead easy to clean, mostly just brush and flush, washing machine..uses minimal amounts of detergent... baths and shower heads really easy to clean. We also recycle the bath/washing machine water onto the garden.. no problems at all.

Neighbours complain about the hard water. We don't. Are we glad we got the softener.. absolutely.

anguk

I was flicking round the TV channels the other day and saw this on Ideal World, I wonder if it's any good? The reviews seem okay.

http://www.idealworld.tv/Scale_Wizard_with_10_Year_Guarantee_140701.aspx?fh _location=//idealworld/en_GB/

Screwfix have a similar one:
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/13487/Plumbing/Water-Treatment/Electronic-Scale-Inhibitor

Penelope_Penguin

susyrosy wrote: »

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

I live in a hard water area and find that I need to keep on top of the limescale, or it will build up There's no shame in using alternative acids to vinegar and lemon juice, if that works for you - remember that Old style isn;t a competition

I'll add this to the existing limescale thread, to keep ideas together.

luxor4t

Sarahsaver wrote: »

Not very OS but i got some Cillit BANG (flippin silly name eh?) .... and by eck it works!

This was the only stuff that would shift the limescale in my son's grotty bathroom - I use bicarb & white vinegar happily at home but life is too short to tackle caked on limescale in a hard water area, especially on a short visit!

sexki11en

Hi Guys,

We're moving into a new house in a few weeks but when we viewed the property, the shower cubicle was manky as all....... covered in limescale and general grime. We're pretty sure the LL won't get it cleaned (they're the ones living there at the moment and didn't bother cleaning it for viewings!:eek:)

We bought some cillit bang line & grime today but i'm not hopeful of it shifting it as there was quite a deposit of limescale on there. Any tips?

TIA

SK x

newleaf

Cillit Bang is brilliant on ganky showers, I'm sure you will spruce it up in no time.

Loulou2010

we cleaned up our two shower heads and taps with neat white vinegar and a srubbing brush! worked a treat