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Removing limescale from your property can seem like a losing battle when it continues to return time after time. Each time you run water or use a dishwasher, limescale can build up as the minerals in the water dissolve, leaving calcium and magnesium residue behind. Everything from white vinegar to citric acid has been claimed to clean these tough, chalky deposits – but these are the remedies that work best.
Whether you’re looking to tackle limescale in your dishwasher or chalky taps and showerheads, white vinegar and lemon juice are two of the best ingredients to remove limescale in the home.
From liquid sprays to exfoliating scrubs, mixing these two natural products into a limescale-fighting solution will leave your home clean and fresh.
While limescale is derived from the same minerals found in water, the extent to which it builds up on different surfaces may vary.
Treating limescale requires different methods when dealing with different appliances – and this is your guide to tackling it in every part of the house.
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How to descale a showerhead
Showerheads are a prime example of a limescale prone surface.
When water sits in the holes of the showerhead, limescale can still form even when the water is no longer running.
This unsightly residue can not only make your stainless steel feature look foggy, but it will also make your showerhead less powerful while increasing the water pressure in the pipes.
Lemon scrub
Use half a fresh lemon to scrub the showerhead with a little salt or sugar added to the fleshy side of the lemon.
How to clean limescale from taps
Limescale can build up in mounds around the base of your kitchen or bathroom taps.
Drips and spillages are the most common cause of chalky taps and can be worse in hard water areas.
Keeping on top of tough water stains is easily done with an old toothbrush and a simple liquid solution.
Acidic soak
Combine the juice of one lemon with one cup of white vinegar to create a powerful cleaning agent to combat limescale.
Pour into a spray bottle and spritz liberally onto your taps to cover the affected area.
Leave for 30 minutes and scrub clean using an essential oil of your choice for a high shine and fresh scent.
Lemon wedges
To tackle hard to reach limescale around taps, cut a lemon into small wedges and use them to gently rub onto the chalky patches.
The acidity of the lemon juice will help to dislodge the calcium and magnesium residue while the pressure of the lemon wedge will remove physical clusters of yellow-hued limescale.
How to clean limescale from a kettle
Kettles and Moka pots can quickly become flakey and chalky when limescale builds up.
Simple place one lemon cut into two halves into a kettle – or just on half for a Moka pot, and fill with water.
Add a dash of white vinegar and boil as normal before rinsing out the product to remove excess debris.
This works with lemon or white vinegar alone or a combination of the two for a deeper clean.
Top tips for removing limescale around the home
Limescale can be removed with most combinations of white vinegar and lemon juice or these products can be used alone.
Use lemon halves as a gentle scrub and use white vinegar to soak chalky surfaces.
While these are natural remedies for limescale, preventing excess residue from gathering will keep your home cleaner for longer.
Long term solutions to limescale include:
- Carbon water filters for taps
- Magnetic descalers for pipes
- Invest in a water softener
- Only use filtered water in your kettle, coffee machine and iron
- Use Calgon to prevent limescale build-up in washing machines
- Use soda crystals and white vinegar to flush through dishwasher cycles
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