To hate living in a hard water area

[wondering7777]

I haven’t bothered cleaning my glass shower screen for a long time and it has become badly marked with hard water (limescale) stains. I have had a good go at it this afternoon using white vinegar and an e-cloth, and it’s looking better but is still quite obviously marked. Likewise for the stainless (ha!) steel bath taps. Normally white vinegar does do the trick - could it be harder to remove the stains this time because I left it so long?

It must be bliss living in a soft water area where this isn’t a problem - it’s such a pain!

Softeners don’t cost that much. Ours was fitted about five years ago and it’s been brilliant.

www.cotswoldwatersofteners.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb

Probably not supplying right now!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smiths-Magic-Cleaning-Eraser-Sponge/dp/B07G4HPYY6/ref=sr11_5?crid=30GJ2K8SI72VN&dchild=1&keywords=melamine+sponge&qid=1587489410&sprefix=Melamine+sp%2Caps%2C349&sr=8-5

These will save your sanity. I live in the hardest water place ever! My taps grow stalagmites it's so bad.

I was just thinking about this earlier. We hardies must use one hell of a lot more washing powder than the softies. I always get caught out on holiday and use too much shampoo, and end up looking like a froth monster.

I live in an extremely hard water area. And our plumbing and house configuration precludes a softener. It’s a real PITA. I use limescale preventer powder in the washing machine which reduces the amount of detergent powder needed and prolongs the life of the machine. I keep a squeegee and microfibre cloth in the bathroom and the last person to shower uses them when they’re finished. They don’t seem to need much else to keep them looking nice. The kettle and the saucepans still piss me off though!

We've only moved 25 miles and it turns out we're in a hard water area. I had no idea until my shower control knob had a chalky film on it after 2 days. I had to descale the kettle after a few months. It's come as quite a shock!

I keep a squeegee and microfibre cloth in the bathroom and the last person to shower uses them when they’re finished.

I might need to bring in this rule in our house - it’s such a PITA keeping the shower screen clean otherwise!

We put a water softener in, as I was convinced the hard water was what was ruining my hair since we moved here. It's definitely made a difference to my hair.

I've never lived in a soft water area so it's all I'm used to but yes, it's a PITA. We can't easily have a water softener either due to
layout. Microfibre cloths, magic eraser block, Viacal and soda crystals are my friends. Descaling the kettle every couple of weeks I use citric acid. I was really shocked when I got chatting to DMIL who lived in a soft water area and she told me she'd had her kettle 25 years and never had to descale it!

Doesn't help with the shower but for the kettle, we use a filter jug and have only had to descale the kettle twice in the five years we've lived here.

Am seriously considering getting a water softener though, having lived in a soft water area until I moved here 7 years ago, I don't think I will ever get used to hard water, I hate it.

We do the same as wondering and it completely keeps the limescale at bay.

Squeegee for the shower after every use, and viakal once a week.

For really welded on scale, you can carefully scratch it off with a blunt table knife.

I've never lived anywhere with soft water so this is just the norm for us.

Norm for me too. I use squeegee after every shower and viakal the taps at weekends.

We use method daily shower spray after our showers and I clean the glass with window cleaner and a squeegee and / or an e cloth once a week. If we run out of daily shower spray the scale really quickly builds up. We use vinegar (bought in 5L size bottles to soak the loo overnight every now and again.

We had a water softener plumbed in throughput the house and it's brilliant. I also have a bibo filter too as you can't drink softened water