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As we all know, every household needs to deal with calcium deposit stains every once in a while.
Calcium deposits, also known as limescale, usually come from water that contains softened calcium salts (calcium carbonates). Water that contains a high level of these minerals is commonly known as hard water.
Hard water is easy to notice, the first signs that you are having this problem are white stains and build-up around your faucet. The build-up may also take a yellowish tone and this could be an indicator that there is also some iron in your water and this can lead to your sink being blemished and rusty.
But before you rush and call your plumber to the rescue, you can try out this method to try and take care of the problem yourself.
All you need are a few supplies that you probably already have sitting around in your home. So, let’s begin.
Items that you will need
First of all, here is a list of the couple of supplies that you will need to get in order to prepare for the process of removing the limescale.
What you will need:
- White vinegar – White vinegar typically contains a higher level of acetic acid than compared to distilled vinegar. It is known as a very versatile cleaning product, and it has been used by many previous generations; chances are even your grandmother’s grandmother had it in her household. It will serve you perfectly for this problem.
- Paper towels
- Rubber bands
- Sponge – If you don’t have a sponge, the textured cloth will also do the trick.
- Store-bought cleaner for lime and rust (optional) – While white vinegar is more than efficient in dealing with calcium deposits, some might feel like using a store-bought lime cleaner. In this case, don’t forget to wear a pair of rubber gloves and be careful not to breathe in the chemicals.
As you can see, you probably have most of these things in your home, but if you are missing something they can surely be found online.
Once you get all of these items, it’s time to move to the explanation of the cleaning process.
How to Remove Calcium Deposits from Faucet
Follow these next few steps in the given order and you’ll fix your problem in no time.
Step 1 – Cleaning the faucet
Before you do anything else, you first need to clean your faucet.
Begin with soaking a few paper towels in white vinegar and cover the problematic parts of the faucet. Make sure to secure them with the rubber bands. Leave it like that for approximately an hour.
After finishing this, soak your sponge with water and clean the faucet. You can now either wait for the faucet to dry off or you can speed up the process by using a hairdryer for example.
After the faucet is clean and dry, move on to the next step.
Step 2 – Getting rid of the deposits and buildup
Now, it is time we move on to the most important step.
So, prepare your plastic bags (if you have sandwich-sized plastic bags, they will be the most useful) and fill it with white vinegar, and just like in the last step, make sure to secure it onto the faucet with rubber bands.
The faucet end tip should be fully dunked in so the vinegar can make its way inside the faucet as much as possible.
It’s probably best that you leave the plastic bag on for about two hours.
Next, use your sponge or textured cloth to clean the faucet. Let it dry and try turning on the water.
If you are still having problems with the water flow there is a good chance that you will have to disassemble the faucet and soak your aerator in vinegar before wiping it clean again.
This may occur because calcium deposits affect the insides of the faucet, clogging it and making the water stream unevenly rather than flowing.
Step 3 – Measures of preventing this from happening again
Seeing that that calcium deposits can cause quite a few troubles (clogging the pipes or affecting the water pressure) it is best that you try and prevent this from happening again and stretch the life span of your plumbing system.
The best solution is to have a water softener installed. If you already have it, it is crucial that you keep it well maintained to enhance its performance.
If neither cleaning the faucet nor the aerator fixes your problem, it’s possible that your pipes have been clogged with the calcium buildup and minerals, or some other issue is at hand.
Interesting to know – Why are vinegar baths so efficient?
The reason why white vinegar is so effective is because of the acetic acid that it contains which acts as a solvent. It helps dissolve not only calcium buildup but every other mineral deposit that might be clogging your faucet.
Cleaning with vinegar is a regular part of many people’s housekeeping routines. It is also very inexpensive and cheaper than most of the specialty cleaners you can find in stores.
It’s very important to remember that is all-natural and there are no toxins and fumes that you should be worrying about. You can even use it to clean your child’s bedroom and not have any concerns about it.
Aside from all these benefits, there are a few things you should keep in mind when using white vinegar. The most important thing to remember is that you avoid contact with your eyes, as it will cause many problems. You will have to rinse the entire eye with fresh water until the sting is completely gone.
Conclusion: Removing Calcium Deposits from Facuet
While there are probably more than a few methods of removing calcium deposits we find this one to be the most efficient, especially if you don’t have a lot of knowledge in this area of plumbing.
We hope these instructions were useful in helping you resolve this issue. If you still need help, click on the banner below.