Q: What is limescale?
Green Water Technologies: Limescale is known by people in the industry as calcium carbonate. It is essentially small calcium deposits that enter a home’s water supply. This happens as water passes through chalk and limestone. While calcium deposits don’t typically create problems for human health, it can wreak havoc on a home, leaving pink, brown, green, or orange stains on bathtubs, toilets, and faucet fixtures.
Q: How do you remove limescale build up?
Green Water Technologies: There are many tried-and-true methods to cleaning lime scale buildup. The first that comes to mind is by soaking it in vinegar. Vinegar is a naturally acidic compound that can help dissolve calcium buildup. By pouring a liter of white vinegar into a toilet bowl and letting it sit for three hours, the limescale buildup should be soft enough to scrub with your cleaning brush.
Q: How do you clean heavy calcium deposits?
Green Water Technologies: This requires a bit more elbow grease and some medium and fine grit sandpaper. Over time, calcium deposits can build up and can leave a thick layer on surfaces. Medium grit sandpaper can help wear down the top layer, and then you can use the fine grit sandpaper as a gentle way to buff off the excess. Follow this by cleaning with vinegar and then make sure to wipe down the surfaces with white vinegar once a week to help remove and prevent further buildup.
Q: Is it possible to prevent calcium buildup without excessive cleaning?
Green Water Technologies: It is. Heavily calcified water, which is also known as hard, unconditioned water, is the culprit in areas where limescale buildup is a problem. Utilizing a whole home water filter, such as the GE Pro Elite, is the best way to stop calcium before it enters your bathtub for kitchen faucets.
