Do limescale reducing shower heads actually work?

[tinyracoon]

I live in a really hard water area and every time I have a shower all the taps / shower screen get really limescale-y.

I've seen these shower heads that say they capture the limescale before it comes out the tap.... do they work though??

Meant to add a photo!

We ‘inherited’ one of those when we bought this house.

in a word - no, they don’t do anything to cut limescale. In fact the damn thing was covered in it. It was a crappy drizzle if a shower too. Bought a big standard replacement head and hose from b and q - and the shower is now decent.

Oh boo! I was really hoping it would solve all my problems 😁 I appreciate it would need replacing every so often, but I couldn't deal with crap water pressure....

You would be better off keeping your water temperature down. Limescale precipitates out of solution at 60°c.

I clean the shower after every use and put the shower head down on the tray (squeegee makes it all a 20 second job). I just accept it as a price to pay for keeping limescale at bay. Basically don’t let it build up and then you have to attack clean it.
(The best and cheap cleaner I have ever found for removing limescale is a toilet limescale cleaner, it clings to limescale and wipes off easily. - check to make sure it doesn’t mark any material first. )

No they don’t work

Nope, did fuck all for me

You need a water softener. Ours is wonderful but they’re not cheap.

I spray everywhere with one of the "Daily Shower" sprays. That seems to keep it at bay and we're in a very hard water area.

Oh @Alphabet1spaghetti2 @NetballHoop I know daily cleaning is the way forward but I don't want to 🙈 and I just know I won't be able to persuade DH to do it.....

The daily spray, can you just spray it and leave it or does it need a wipe and a rinse? And is that the method one?

I use lemon juice on a sponge to clean the shower screen once a month, and the shower spray daily after showering.

Vinegar is best but pongy. Cheap lemon juice nearly as good and smells great.

Shower spray is left on. No rinsing.

Water softener is the best solution.

Daily I don’t use any spray - I clean with a spray once a week. Any spray and wipe will do - method smells lovely but is a bit expensive (so I wait for it to be on offer!) If the shower is squeegeed as soon as anyone steps out of the shower, no other cleaning is needed. Failing that wipe everything down with a microfibre cloth.

For limescale I use a toilet cleaner made for limescale removing such as toilet duck / Harpic. Apply, leave it to do its thing for 2-3 minutes and wipe away with a damp cloth. Just check beforehand that it won’t damage any surfaces before applying. My bathrooms fixtures are good quality stainless steel / white porcelain and clear shower screens.

I am a fat cleaner by trade - I look for the easiest and quickest ways to clean!

@tinyracoon

So I took most of your advice and bought a shower spray (no rinse) - mr muscle - and my gosh it's completely worked!! I just mist it daily and my glass shower screen actually stays clear and doesn't look frosted anymore after a day 😁 magic

AND much cheaper than a shower head

I have one of these. I found a huge improvement with the pressure, and the various settings are great. TBH, no idea about the lime scale.

I also read not to use them with electric showers.