Limescale is ruining my life!!!!

[londongirl12]

Ok that's a big of an exaggeration, but my god it's annoying!! We live in a really hard water area, and no matter how much I clean, there's always water marks. Got a new kettle this week, and it has limescale in the bottom already. Please tell me your tips for dealing with the annoying stuf!! 😢

We have a water softener under the sink. Brilliant.

One thing I notice is hard water/limescale seems to give my white wash a yellow tinge over time ☹️

Ours is terrible here. Our walk in shower has black mosaic tiles (no idea what the previous owners were thinking). I’ve tried every product in existence and the HG descalers are the best. There’s one that a liquid and extra strength which I apply to the tiles with a sponge and it’s the best I’ve tried but not 100%. Nothing is.

You could consider getting a water softener system installed - we’ve thought about It but don’t have any space for it. When we move next time though I’m definitely doing it.

Barkeeper's friend is fantastic for limescale removal.

Definitely worth investing in a filter kettle too.

Are the water softeners expensive? I had heard you shouldn't drink softened water?

Viakal is OK but Limelite was better. Can't get it these days.

Can anyone recommend non-salt based water softeners? Want to be able to still drink the water from the tap.

Water softner that treats water for the whole house. Citric acid for kettle. Separate tap for drinking water can be installed by water softner company. Boil drinking water in kettle and pour into a brita jug when cool.

Should end any limescale.

Oh OP. I FEEL YOUR PAIN. Parozone Bleach Plus has been a revelation for my toilets. Before the lime scale was unmanageable. I descale my kettle every Sunday evening and it’s such a faff. I have a large stock of white vinegar.
A great help is also putting soda crystals in with your regular wash cycles which helps to soften the water. It’s definitely improved my machine

Honestly just suck it up and buy a water softener
It has changed. My. Life.
Best £400 we ever spent the time saved is unreal

Buy a water softener - it will pay for itself eventually if you aren't spending tons of money on limescale removers. In our old house we had a Crown water softener. It cost £650 and went under the kitchen sink, bypassing the drinking water tap. It makes your hair feel softer too.

Yes to citric acid! I buy a huge pot of it off amazon. I use it in the coffee maker, the kettle. It is brilliant. You fill half the kettle, out a scoop or two in and let it sit for 15 minutes. No smell, no fumes. It's wonderful, natural, and better than anything else. You don't need to replace kettles! Just get citric acid.

Sorry to jump in - are any of these suitable for granite worktops?

We really struggle with white marks around the sink and taps and especially under the draining board

I thought water softeners cost about a grand. That's what put me off. Is £450-600 including fitting?

Kilrock, Viakal and the heavy duty toilet cleaners (Harpic 10X/Power Plus I think it's called) are the only things that work here.

Those of you how have water softeners, could you please explain how it works, if it works and best buys.

I'm in Scandinavia and we don't have those that I'm aware of, only magnets or big built in systems. As our water pretty much comes out the tap in chalk stick, I'm more than interested .

Thames Valley

Water softener, filter on drinking water tap.

Bottle of Viakal for olds times sake.

Who

It depends how big your house is to an extent. Companies will try to push their premium models. And also depends on labour costs where you are. We dithered over ours but it is a godsend. Like the OP we are in a very hard water area and it was a nightmare.

I want drinking water from all my cold taps hence not interested in salt systems.

@MiddlesexGirl

I want drinking water from all my cold taps hence not interested in salt systems.

we can discuss that if you want.

Do you drink milk, or coke? Or eat tomato ketchup? Or bread?

Our water is extremely hard so when we refitted the kitchen we put in a water softener. Total game changer!!
Doesn’t help for the kettle as kitchen tap isn’t linked to it (you can’t drink softened water, it would taste rank and has salt in it) but for everything else such as bathrooms it’s amazing.
I use the water collected by the dehumidifier for the iron as it as close to distilled water as you can get.

Do you drink milk, or coke? Or eat tomato ketchup? Or bread?

Sounds like an odd question but on face value .... some of them yes.

But I drink a lot of water and encourage my children to too. And I don't want to trek downstairs every time I want a refill!

@middlesexgirl

this crops up from time to time.

1 glass of softened water 25mg of sodium

1 glass of whole milk 98mg of sodium

1 slice of white bread 350mg of sodium

1 tablespoon of tomato sauce 300mg of sodium

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/a2532089-Can-I-drink-the-water-generated-by-my-water-softener?msgid=58208883#58208883

it doesn't have salt in it, BTW.

But the water from a water softened tap tastes foul. I wouldn't even want to brush my teeth with it.