How to Remove Lime from Water and Buildup on Faucets

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Water may contain calcites especially in areas where the water table is in contact with the limestone or marble. These calcites have a high carbonate ratio which tends to build up on faucets and renders the water as hard water.

Hard water is not suitable when it comes to cleaning the dishes, washing your hair or simply your fixtures installed at home. So if you are dealing with hard water issues and facing a hard time with the lime-scale buildup on your faucets, follow through to get a solution to your worries!

How to Remove Lime from Water

There are a couple of different methods that you can use to remove the lime and calcites from your water.

1. Water Softener

Buying a commercial water softener can be a resolution of our hard water worries. The water softener has salt pellets that are used to get rid of the lime content in the water. So one needs to gauge the quality of their water and get a water softener according to that scale. Installation at the water source will help dissolve the hard water minerals and prevent the water from making deposits.

2. Reverse Osmosis

If you want to make the hard water suitable for drinking, the reverse osmosis unit needs to be installed at your home. This technique makes use of a thin membrane which captures all the large particles and prevents them from getting deposited over the fixtures. However, for every faucet, you will require a separate Reverse osmosis unit.

We have recommended some Kitchen Faucets For Hard Water here

3. Distillation

Distillation is another handy technique to purify water of all its large mineral deposits. This setup works on evaporating and condensing the water to let go of all the heavy minerals in it.

4. Chemical Additives

Another simple method to remove lime and calcite from water is the use of chemical additives. You can add these to your toilet tanks or bowls and protect your fixtures from the hard water buildup. However, the water in the method is not fit for drinking; it can only be used for cleaning other purposes.

So following any of the above-mentioned techniques will reduce your burden of dealing with the lime-scale deposits and hard water problems. However, even still you end up with the faucet with lime buildups, and then you will need to clean them up to improve the working of your faucets. You can follow the below-mentioned steps to get rid of all such mineral buildup on your fixtures:

Step 1

Get hold of all the acidic materials like kitchen degreaser in your kitchen and prepare to remove the deposits from your faucets. The acid works great against the deposits and dissolves them in no time. Following is a list of material you can make use of to get the job done:

White vinegar
Sulfuric Acid
Lemon juice

You can find other cleaning solutions too in the market, which are specifically designed to get rid of the lime-scale buildup. But you will have to follow the guidelines mentioned on them before you begin using it to clean your faucet.

Step 2

Once you have collected the acids, you now need to prepare yourself with the right equipment to begin the action. Firstly, you need to make sure that the room you are working in is amply ventilated if you are working with some strong acids. Secondly, you need to grab the following preventative equipment:

Goggles, to protect the eyes from acid fumes
Rag, to wipe clean the faucet
Pliers, to open up or disassemble the faucet
Scrubber, to scrape off the dissolved deposits
Gloves, to protect your hands from the acid

Once you have collected everything on the list, begin arranging all items and get headed to your target area. And remember to keep kids away from the area where you will be working with the acid.

Step 3

Now you need to start dissembling the faucet. Using a pair pliers, remove the aerator on the faucet by twisting in an anti-clockwise manner. Be sure to remember the order each component or gasket came off so that you do not face a problem in assembling the faucet again. Once the aerator is removed, remove the showerhead of the faucet. Use a rag to wrap up the showerhead, this will prevent the finish of the showerhead being scratched when you use the pliers to unscrew it, and then use pliers to screw the head out.

Step 4

Now fill up the bowl with the acid you are using. Be sure to read the guidelines on dilution, if you happen to use a stronger acid. Now gently soak all your faucet parts into the bowl and observe the time it takes for the faucets to be deposit free.

To clean the neck of the faucet or its base, simply dip a rag into the vinegar and scrub the deposits off the faucet.

Step 5

Now it’s time to remove your faucet parts from the acid solution and give them a good rinse through running water. However, before rinsing you can use a rag to wipe off any remaining deposits and then rinse it well. After this clean the faucet off with a soft cloth and let it dry.

Step 6

Lastly, you need to assemble your faucet again, all the parts in the same order you removed them. Make sure to keep the gaskets and screws in the right order to get your faucet working in the right condition.

And here it is a clean faucet free of mineral and limescale deposits. You may adapt to this cleaning process and apply it to all of the affected faucets of the house every once in a while. However, if you are too lazy to do that, you just need to make sure that your water is softened before it makes its way to your faucets.

This can be achieved by installing some of the mechanisms mentioned earlier. They may seem costly, but once installed you will get a smooth supply of soft water for use.

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Pat Abbaticchio

Pat is the former Luxury Sales Specialist of Groupe Deschenes. He has experience of 15+ years in the home improvement industry. He is now the Senior Sales Officer at The Rubinet Faucet Company.