Lime scale build up on taps

[twentysix by twentyfive]

New taps.............

 

[Lonestar]

i had this and more.Dismantled plumbing in the bathroom and found pipe filled up with rust and limescale at least half blocked.Replaced pipes and taps and much better now.They were already there when I moved in so god knows how old they were.Not impressed with the maintenance.Also done kitchen taps.

Should I actually clarify it was the isolation valve which was full of rust and limescale on the hot tap side.The kitchen ones weren't too clever either.

 

[HertzvanRental]

Thank you for all your replies. I was looking for some kind of gel to put on and leave but the plastic bag idea with vinegar/lemon juice or maybe limelight banded on and left overnight sounds like the solution, I will give it a try.

A sure way is to buy some brick cleaner from a builder's merchant. Wear rubber gloves, apply with small paint brush and wipe with fine wire-wool. Rinse thoroughly!! Don't use on plastic baths but OK on vitreous enamel WHB and toilet pans. OK on chrome taps. Been doing it for years.

 

[mybike]

Kilrock do a gel.

 

[Katherine]

Thank you for all your replies. I was looking for some kind of gel to put on and leave but the plastic bag idea with vinegar/lemon juice or maybe limelight banded on and left overnight sounds like the solution, I will give it a try.

You could also soak some cotton wool in vinegar and wrap it round the taps.

 

[Spiderweb]

I solved my limescale problem by moving from Hampshire to Sheffield.

I always thought living in Yorkshire was the issue. I live in a small village near Tadcaster which is built on limestone therefore the water table runs through limestone and that's what causes the build up.

 

[rich p]

This one works and is a thick gel with a brush attached to the lid

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/21274/gel-kilrock-descaler

 

[rich p]

As mentioned previously!

 

[Asa Post]

Damn - I was just about to suggest a one-way rail ticket to Yorkshire!

The difference in the water was one of the things I noticed very soon after moving here. When people from 'daarn saarth' stay with me they comment on how nice the tea tastes, and I always notice how bad it is when I visit them.

I always thought living in Yorkshire was the issue. I live in a small village near Tadcaster which is built on limestone therefore the water table runs through limestone and that's what causes the build up.

Both of you can stick your postcode in here to get a detailed breakdown of your water quality.
It would be interesting to compare Hebden Bridge and Tadcaster. Here's the report for my bit of Sheffield:

Calcium 5.45 - mg Ca/l
Magnesium 2.4 - mg Mg/l
Residual chlorine - free 0.31 - mg/l Cl2
Residual chlorine - total 0.41 - mg/l Cl2
Coliforms 0 0 no/100ml
E-coli 0 0 no/100ml
Aluminium 19 200 µg Al/l
Colour 1 20 mg/l Pt/Co Scale
Conductivity 173 2500 µS/cm
Fluoride 0.05 1.5 mg F/l
pH (Hydrogen Ion Conc.) 8.1 6.5 - 9.5 pH Units
Iron 20 200 µg Fe/l
Nitrate 2.126 50 mg NO3/l
Nitrite 0.009 0.5 mg NO2/l
Sodium 28.2 200 mg Na/l
Turbidity 0.12 4 NTU
Copper 0.0199 2 mg Cu/l
Lead 3.2 10 µg Pb/l

Where there are 2 values, the first is the measured amount and the second is the legal limit.

 

[mybike]

As mentioned previously!

And I don't think Lakeland are the only stockists.

 

[Spiderweb]

Water quality for the area where I live.

Both of you can stick your postcode in here to get a detailed breakdown of your water quality.
It would be interesting to compare Hebden Bridge and Tadcaster. Here's the report for my bit of Sheffield:

Calcium 5.45 - mg Ca/l
Magnesium 2.4 - mg Mg/l
Residual chlorine - free 0.31 - mg/l Cl2
Residual chlorine - total 0.41 - mg/l Cl2
Coliforms 0 0 no/100ml
E-coli 0 0 no/100ml
Aluminium 19 200 µg Al/l
Colour 1 20 mg/l Pt/Co Scale
Conductivity 173 2500 µS/cm
Fluoride 0.05 1.5 mg F/l
pH (Hydrogen Ion Conc.) 8.1 6.5 - 9.5 pH Units
Iron 20 200 µg Fe/l
Nitrate 2.126 50 mg NO3/l
Nitrite 0.009 0.5 mg NO2/l
Sodium 28.2 200 mg Na/l
Turbidity 0.12 4 NTU
Copper 0.0199 2 mg Cu/l
Lead 3.2 10 µg Pb/l

Where there are 2 values, the first is the measured amount and the second is the legal limit.

 

[mybike]

Bunch of wimps, our calcium figure is 126. That's what chalk does for you.

 

[ColinJ]

Both of you can stick your postcode in here to get a detailed breakdown of your water quality.
It would be interesting to compare Hebden Bridge and Tadcaster. Here's the report for my bit of Sheffield:

Calcium 5.45 - mg Ca/l
Magnesium 2.4 - mg Mg/l
Residual chlorine - free 0.31 - mg/l Cl2
Residual chlorine - total 0.41 - mg/l Cl2
Coliforms 0 0 no/100ml
E-coli 0 0 no/100ml
Aluminium 19 200 µg Al/l
Colour 1 20 mg/l Pt/Co Scale
Conductivity 173 2500 µS/cm
Fluoride 0.05 1.5 mg F/l
pH (Hydrogen Ion Conc.) 8.1 6.5 - 9.5 pH Units
Iron 20 200 µg Fe/l
Nitrate 2.126 50 mg NO3/l
Nitrite 0.009 0.5 mg NO2/l
Sodium 28.2 200 mg Na/l
Turbidity 0.12 4 NTU
Copper 0.0199 2 mg Cu/l
Lead 3.2 10 µg Pb/l

Where there are 2 values, the first is the measured amount and the second is the legal limit.

Here you go ...

Calcium 12.1 - mg Ca/l
Magnesium 1.9 - mg Mg/l
Residual chlorine - free 0.3 - mg/l Cl2
Residual chlorine - total 0.38 - mg/l Cl2
Coliforms 0 0 no/100ml
E-coli 0 0 no/100ml
Aluminium 10 200 µg Al/l
Colour 0.7 20 mg/l Pt/Co Scale
Conductivity 124 2500 µS/cm
Fluoride 0.04 1.5 mg F/l
pH (Hydrogen Ion Conc.) 8.2 6.5 - 9.5 pH Units
Iron 12 200 µg Fe/l
Nitrate 1.608 50 mg NO3/l
Nitrite 0.009 0.5 mg NO2/l
Sodium 9.07 200 mg Na/l
Turbidity 0.09 4 NTU
Copper 0.0067 2 mg Cu/l
Lead 0.45 10 µg Pb/l

 

[slowmotion]

Don't buy those little sachets of descaler at your supermarket. Buy citric acid in bulk from Ebay. You can get 2kg of it in powder form for under a tenner. That does an awful lot of shower heads, kettles, coffee makers, taps etc. Good tip about the plastic bag @ianrauk.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CITRIC-AC...48a9:m:mCkOVYcO2CZlJ0tjDWu_Aww#ht_2406wt_1190

 

[fossyant]

That Purple stuff (citrus bang) is supposed to work.

I live in a soft water area and even the basic shower and bath cleaners leave everything sparkling.