After spending your time and money choosing the perfect kitchen appliances to complement your home and enrich your life, we know keeping those appliances in good working shape is important. The presence of limescale build up can threaten to damage and even ruin your kitchen appliances. And even more importantly, your health will benefit from ensuring that the water you drink and cook with is pure, healthy, and not hurting your home pipes. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what limescale is, what to do if you have it at home, and how to prevent it from ever coming back.
What Limescale Is and Why It Matters
Limescale consists mostly of calcium carbonate that can build up on hot water boilers, pipework, and most commonly, in your kettles which are often the most affected. It can also be found inside old pipes when hard water evaporates and starts to build up. Limescale stains look like a white or greenish hard and chalky substance that stubbornly clings to kettles and pipes.
Not only does the limescale look unappealing, but the longer it sits, the more seriously it can damage your plumbing and heating units. If you don’t take care of the issue quickly, you could end up with a much worse, more expensive problem on your hands. If left untreated, limescale can have some negative effects.
- Electrical appliances will not last as long.
- You will go through more cleaning products – and spend more time cleaning.
- You’ll have an unsightly milky film that can start to cover household items like silverware and glasses.
- Washing machines can malfunction.
- Pipes can oxidize.
- Consuming hard water or limescale in water can dry out your skin.
- Hard water can taste bad and even salty.
How to Remove Limescale
Limescale can be pesky to remove from your home, but it is certainly possible with the right tools and some patience. It’s important to understand that simply scrubbing limescale away can eventually work, but stubborn minerals will take off the finish of your appliances and defeat the purchase of trying to repair them. That’s why we recommend using specific products or concoctions to break down limescale and remove it without damaging your beautiful appliances in the process.
- Combine vinegar and lemon juice to dissolve the scum off.
- For something even stronger, use pickling vinegar and lime juice.
- Purchase a limescale remover for an even easier, reliable option.
- Remove limescale in kettle or coffee machines with a kettle descaler.
- If you don’t have a descaler on hand, fill your kettle with vinegar or lemon juice, leave it for an hour, then add water and boil. After descaling, be sure to rinse out your kettle multiple times to ensure that your next cup of tea or coffee doesn’t have an aftertaste of vinegar!
For homemade solutions, note that you will need to soak the infected area for an hour or more before wiping away the limescale.
How to Prevent Limescale from Resurfacing
If you’ve had the displeasure of dealing with a limescale build-up, you know how vital it is to make sure it never comes back! If you haven’t dealt with it before, just take our word for it. To keep your tap water clean and tasting great, utilise a water filter to prevent water hardening and change your filters on time.
Check your local water to find out if you’re in a zone that is prone to medium-hard and hard water. A BRITA water filter jug reduces the minerals that lead to limescale, helping prevent limescale deposits from forming. There are plenty of filter options to chose from to help you get clean water and limescale-free appliances. Whether you prefer a built-in solution like filtered taps or something portable like filter jugs, we have it!
Another anti-limescale tip is to run your vinegar and lemon juice mixture through your kettle, sink, or other appliances every month or so. You can also test your tap water to ensure that it is not too soft or too hard. If you catch the problem before the limescale build up starts, it will be much easier to deal with.
Enjoy Your Kitchen and Water with Complete Peace of Mind
Though limescale is frustrating to deal with, the good news is that you can prevent it from building up. Save yourself the time, trouble, and money of needing to get rid of limescale and repurchase kitchen essentials with our helpful filters and tips. And most importantly, remember to keep yourself hydrated with the crystal clear, great tasting water you get running through your pipes as a result of your diligence at keeping limescale away!
