Really hard water - help!!

[SeaShellsOnTheSeaShore]

Just moved in to the area and within 4 weeks my kettle nearly blew up due to thick limescale, the dishwasher is not washing, my washing machine drawer no longer seems to have a water flow to it and every BLOODY surface has water droplet marks on it - every drinks glass, window, shower door etc etc.

Its driving me mad!

I an no domestic goddess, but can't live like a limescaly slattern for much longer

Any recommendations for how to cope?!

anyone?

Well we have got a water conditioner unit on the washing machine pipes. But we don't think that it is that great. We are looking at getting a new one installed - but as we have recently moved into the house - are stone broke and will have to look at that shortly.

it is a PITA

i used to use a daily shower cleaner

salt in the dishwasher

viakal is great for cleaning stainless steel taps and shower heads etc

you must use calgon in your washing machine

Use separates in the dishwasher instead of tablets. You can install a water softener to your mains but I don't know much about it - perhaps someone else knows. My ils put one in when they built their house.

Thanks for the ideas! Its rented accommodation so I would need to negotiate with (rather absent) landlord re filters, but the rest are useful!

Any idea how to get limescale off UPVC windows?!

(I really need to chill anbout this don't I-I get the feeling its a losing battle!)

For the shower door you can scrub it with a bit of biological washing powder mixed to a paste (poached that tip off here myself ). Regular use of squeegee after showering (79p from Ikea), I would say every time but I cba myself - you may feel differently.

Don't know what to say about the UPVC, it's plastic so potentially you can scratch it with the wrong treatment.

Have you changed any settings on your dishwasher to adjust for the hard water?

I'm a dish washer novice- I've just got it on the settings already there. Been using ecover but it sounds like I need something else!

Is Calgon ok for sensitive skin? Ds has excema which is worse since we've been here. It seems to be settling now.

blade down the shower walls/glass after every shower.

Don't use Calgon - I have been told by 2 plumbers and a washing machine engineer that it buggers appliances up!

They told me to use soda crystals once a month on an empty machine with a very hot wash.

We live in a hard water area and I find we need salt in our dishwasher regardless of which tablets we use.

I also use Limelite spray for the bathroom and kitchen, it's pretty good.

What do you mean by salt? Real salt? Sorry for the twenty questions!

you have to buy dishwasher salt, it is much much coarser, table salt will break it.

Dishwasher salt - needed to soften the water.

Have a look here

Lol

God you really need to get into a hard water state of mind.

I moved from yorkshire (soft as shit water)
to Lincolsshire (water so hard it comes out of tap carrying a semi-auto machine gun)

you need soda crystals/morrisons own blue box stuff in EVERY SINGLE WASH

This wont affect skin allergies etc but will make your water what it would be if you were back in yorkshire which is a good thing.

Showers - cillit bang on the screens, then rinse off, then wipe sharpish with rubberblade thing.

Get a filter for the shower or a showerhead with a built-in filter. DH and I just got one and it makes a huge difference for sensitive skin; also eliminates the hard water spots on the shower stall glass. I believe ours was from Pure Shower -- ordered via their website and came in only a couple of days. It was very easy to install and also filters out chlorine, heavy metals, the usual bad stuff.

Thought about this some more. thelunar66, when you say soda crystals, do you mean in the CLOTHES washing machine? Sorry, I am a hard water newb and I can't figure out how to get my white towels actually white, instead of an increasingly dingy grey. Is there a trick to this?

Thelunar66 Where in Yorkshire has soft water? Our bit doesn't

The crystals are in a blue box in Morrisons, next to the Calgon, but way-way cheaper.

The bit of Yorkshire I am from with soft water is Ilkley.

cupparooibos hard water doesn't make white stuff a dingy grey it does however sound like a missing dark sock/pair pants trapped somewhere in the washing machine.......happened to me at uni, when the machine finally stopped working altogether he found some silver bangles and a missing black sock. That is when we realised why our white washing had been changing colour over the months!

Now that you mention it, CarGirl, the whites do seem to be looking gradually better since we've moved. I wonder . . .

Thanks for the advice everyone! I stocked up today at the shop, so will see how the next few weeks go

Cilit bang is great for showers, we have a britta filter kettle.

White vinegar is good for de scaling. I soak the kettle overnight and in the morning it is all nice and sparkly inside. Need to give it a good rinse and then boil it once with water you don't use to get rid of the vinegar smell.

We also live in a hard water area (so much lime it's amazing the water still flows).

I agree that salt for the dishwasher and water softener in the washing machine with every wash make a big difference (you can then reduce the amount of detergent you put in to the 'soft water recommended dose - which saves you cash too).

Vinegar is great as a household cleaner as well, but I also buy big bags of citric acid in powder form that when mixed with water is a really good de-scaler (a tablespoon to 5 litres of water - it lasts ages and smells nicer than vinegar). We use it to clean the bathroom of lime scale and give vases/glasses/the cat's water bowl etc a good soak in a bucket of the stuff every month.

And if you're missing a decent cup of tea, can I suggest a jug filter to fill your kettle up with...