Limescale refers to calcium carbonate deposits that form inside water pipes and hot water tanks. You can easily identify limescale since it leaves stains on boilers, taps, sinks, faucets, kettles, washing machines, central heating systems, and tubs. It is quite common in homes, especially in older ones. Many factors contribute to the formation of limescale. It is caused by calcium, magnesium, and other minerals in the water. Excess lime, detergents, and soaps in the water supply also cause limescale. Here are a few ways to prevent limescale in your home.
1. Use a Water Softener
Water softener refers to a device that removes calcium, magnesium, and other minerals from the water supply. It is an effective way to prevent limescale buildup in your home. A water softener helps remove the limescale by eliminating the minerals from the water. The hardness of the water is reduced, which makes it easier for pipes to absorb more calcium carbonate.
The most common types of softeners are granular and resin based. The resin-based softeners dissolve faster than the granular ones, but they can clog up your unit after a while because they are difficult to clean. It would be best to replace this type of softener every three months because it also tends to get damaged easily when you use it in your home’s water supply for a long time.
2. Use a Water Filter
Another way of preventing limescale buildup is by using a water filter at your faucet or tap. You can purchase an inline filter, an under-counter filter, or a whole-house filter. Inline filters are cheap and can be installed on the water supply pipes of your home. They work by passing water through small filter cartridges that trap the calcium carbonate and other minerals in the water.
The calcium carbonate builds up in your pipes, making them harder to clean. Under-counter filters work using a special resin that hardens over time to prevent limescale buildup in your home’s pipes. Some people say that under-counter filters help to solve numerous limescale problems.
Whole-house filters are usually placed above the water supply pipes of your home and use a special resin to trap limescale in the water supply lines of your home. They are usually more expensive than inline filters, but they can help prevent limescale buildup in your home’s pipes.
3. Clean Your Plumbing
Another way to prevent limescale buildup is by regularly cleaning your plumbing. It would be best to clean the outside of your pipes and the inside of your faucets and taps every week. You can use a pipe snake, a pipe wrench, or a small garden hose to remove and clean the limescale buildup from your pipes.
You should maintain a regular water softener routine for your home’s plumbing system for the best results. This will help keep calcium carbonate in your pipes and make them harder to clean. You may also contact experts from High 5 Plumbing to do the cleaning for you.
4. Use a Baking Soda Solution
If you want to prevent limescale buildup in your home’s pipes, you should use a baking soda solution to clean them. Baking soda is a natural compound that can help remove calcium carbonate from your pipes. You can use a combination of baking soda and vinegar to clean your pipes. Mix one part baking soda with two parts vinegar, and pour it down the inside of your pipes. Let it sit for about 20 minutes, and then run hot water through the pipes to flush all mixture traces.
5. Run Hot Water
You can also use hot water to clean your pipes. To prevent limescale buildup in your home’s pipes, you should run hot water every day. You can also use a shower head with a setting on it that allows you to adjust the temperature of the water you are using. This will help keep calcium carbonate from building up in your pipes and causing them to become hard and difficult to clean.
6. Use a Pipe Cleaner
If you are a Denver resident and you want to prevent limescale in your home’s plumbing system, you should use a pipe cleaner daily. Pipe cleaners are small plastic tools with small bristles on them designed to remove excess dirt and debris from the inside of your pipes. They work best when wet, so you should run hot water through them before using them.
7. Pour Vinegar Down the Drain
If you want to clean your home’s plumbing system from the inside, you can pour vinegar down the drain. It will clean out any limescale buildup in your pipes and will kill any bacteria and viruses in your pipes. Vinegar also neutralizes bad pipe odors, so you won’t have any lingering smells when you use them again.
8. Use a Pipe Snake
One of the most effective ways to clean out your home’s plumbing system is to use a pipe snake. A pipe snake is a long tube with small bristles on one end and a brush on the other side. The brush side has small bristles designed to remove dirt and debris from the inside of your pipes, and the bristles on the other end are designed to push away clogs and debris in your pipes.
9. Use Less Detergent
Detergents can strip your pipes of their protective coatings and leave them vulnerable to limescale buildup. The best way to prevent this is by using less detergent. Always read the label on the bottle and follow its instructions. If you are washing clothes in a machine, try using a detergent that does not have enzymes. The enzymes may cause your clothes to shrink or may damage your washing machine.
10. Use a Descaler System and a Magnetic Water Conditioner
Descalers are a great way to remove calcium buildup in your pipes. They use magnets to attract calcium deposits and pull them out of your pipes. Descalers are also very effective at removing lime buildup. If you have water that tastes bad, it may be because of limescale. A magnetic water conditioner is an excellent way to remove this buildup from your pipes and make your water taste better again.
11. Reduce Your Water Pressure
Limescale buildup occurs most often in areas with high water pressure. If you have high water pressure when the water enters your home, you are more likely to get limescale buildup on the pipes there. The easiest way to reduce the possibility of lime is to reduce the water pressure at that point by installing an inline backflow preventer (or backflow valve). This simple device prevents water from flowing backward into the pipes.
12. Use Stainless Steel Water Pipes
Stainless steel water pipes are less likely to develop limescale buildup because the metal is non-reactive, and stainless steel doesn’t rust as copper does. However, if you have a lot of stainless steel pipes in your home, you may still be susceptible to limescale buildup.
Contact the Professionals
At High 5 Plumbing, we have expert plumbers ready to help you with any of your plumbing issues. We provide a full range of plumbing services. Contact High 5 Plumbing today for more information or to schedule an appointment.
