John Myers
Declare war on the ugly white stains in the kitchen and bathroom: we will explain to you how you can use simple home remedies to effectively remove limescale. Save yourself the money for expensive special cleaners – citric acid, vinegar, and baking soda do just as clean a job!
Remove limescale – it’s that easy!
Do you know that? No matter how thoroughly you scrub the stove, sink, shower, or bath, white stains keep appearing? Limescale can be really annoying – it also builds up in household appliances such as coffee machines, kettles, or washing machines and impairs their functionality in the long run. Limescale is formed wherever water evaporates: the mineral is part of our tap water, depending on the limescale content in your region, soft or hard water comes out of your tap. Depending on where you live, removing limescale is more or less regularly one of the tiresome tasks in the household. We will show you the tricks you can use to loosen lime and remove lime crusts and limestone. You don’t even need expensive special cleaners for this: Limescale can also be effectively combated with household remedies.
Remove limescale with citric acid
You can get citric acid in the form of a white powder or in liquid form: this pure form of the acid is better for removing stubborn limescale than the juice of a lemon, which only contains around eight percent acid. Dissolve the powder in water according to the instructions on the package and insert your calcified shower head or the sieves in the tap (aerators), for example. You can also use the dissolved citric acid to remove limescale from glass and other surfaces: Soak a cloth and rub it over the faucets, shower walls, tiles, and other calcified surfaces. Important: After cleaning, wipe the surfaces with clear water.
Citric acid is unsuitable for hot descaling: When heated, calcium citrate is formed, which, like lime, forms a hard, non-water-soluble film on surfaces and can clog the tubes in your coffee machine, for example.
Remove limescale with vinegar
Vinegar is the better choice for removing limescale in the kettle: mix household vinegar with a little water and boil the mixture in the appliance. After a short exposure time, rinse the kettle thoroughly – done. To descale surfaces, use vinegar in the same way as citric acid. Vinegar essence is also suitable for removing limescale, but you must first dilute it so that it contains approx. 25 percent acid – this proportion is only five percent for household vinegar. Descaling with vinegar has two disadvantages:
Vinegar attacks rubber seals, plastic parts, and the chrome layer on fittings.
Many people find the pungent smell of vinegar unpleasant. When heated, corrosive vapors are also produced, which you should not inhale.
Caution: Both lemon acid and vinegar are not compatible with some surfaces: natural stone and marble can be sensitive to them, and you should not use them to clean copper or aluminum parts either. Also, wear rubber gloves when handling the acids and be careful not to get anything in your eyes.
Remove limescale with baking soda
Baking soda is also suitable for removing limescale from your kettle. To do this, add a sachet of baking soda to half a liter of water, boil the mixture in a kettle and then leave it to work for an hour. Then pour out and heat one liter of clear water in the cooker. You can also use baking powder to remove hardened limescale on your ceramic hob: add a little water to a packet of powder and stir it into a paste. Apply the paste to the limescale stains, leave on for an hour and then wipe off with a damp cloth.
Want more household hacks? Read everything about the good old curd soap, get washing tips and learn how to disinfect laundry and washing machines.
