Also known as limescale, calcium buildup is a result of water that contains dissolved calcium salts moving through your pipes and flowing through your faucets and showerheads. When you have water with a high levels of these calcium salts and other minerals, it is called hard water.
The best way to prevent calcium buildup in your home is to install a water softener. Water softeners specifically address calcium and magnesium in your water by filtering the water through salts and ion-exchanged resins.
Use a 50-50 mix of white vinegar and water to regularly clean fixtures to prevent build up. If faucets and fixtures have a scale build up already, use a cleaner such as CLR to remove it.
The acid in vinegar attacks the calcium carbonate, breaking it down. If you don't want to risk making a mess with a bag of vinegar, another option is to take a towel and soak it in a vinegar solution. Wrap the towel around your faucet or showerhead. Leave it overnight.
Calcium buildup is most obvious on the exterior of the faucet, but hard water can also stick around the inside of pipes. In serious cases, limescale can clog pipes. This can lead to water pressure issues and may even burst your pipes, forcing you to replace them.
The hotter the water gets in your water heater, the more calcium buildup it will create. Therefore, it's crucial to keep your system within the temperature range recommended by the manufacturer, which is typically between 120ºF and 140ºF.
Keeping Calcium Off Your Faucets
You can reduce your need for frequent plumbing repairs by preventing calcium buildup from occurring in the first place. For instance, your plumber can install a water softener to reduce the natural minerals present in your water supply.
Use Vinegar & Baking Soda
White vinegar is a natural solution that can be utilized to dissolve calcium buildup. Sitting overnight, you will be able to remove lime buildup from the drain while avoiding the harsh chemicals in traditional drain cleaners. Avoid putting any store-bought chemicals down the drain.
In areas with hard water, these minerals precipitate out of your tap water onto surfaces–which is why they're found most commonly on your faucets, shower heads, pots and pans, and anything that comes out of the dishwasher. You might hear this chalky white substance called “limescale”, or “calcium buildup”.
Remove limestone stains with WD-40!
Spray the product directly on the faucet, showerhead, or sink and then wipe it with a cloth or an old toothbrush. It tackles the most stubborn limescale deposits quickly. Using the WD-40 Multifunction product also serves two more benefits.
Limescale and soap scum on taps & handles can cause white chalky, unsightly stains. CLR Bathroom & Kitchen Action Cleaner is the perfect solution for making your bathroom and kitchen areas looking fresh and clean.
Calcium, Lime, and Rust Remover, or simply CLR, is a common cleaning agent for hard water stains and rust. Its heavy-duty nature is quite effective at removing hard water stains, including limescale.
In general, hard water does not pose a threat to human health. Calcium and magnesium are the two minerals most commonly found in hard water. Neither of these minerals are harmful to humans.
The primary reason behind white residue from well water is a high concentration of minerals like calcium and magnesium. These two also make your water hard. The white residue on your appliances, plumbing fixtures, bathtubs, and laundry is due to hard water.
CLR cleans what many household products can't. It dissolves and removes tough stains from the build-up of calcium, limescale and surface rust from hard water. You may not know what these are but chances are you're living with them.
The mainstay of treatment is lifestyle changes that can help slow the progression of coronary calcification. These can include smoking cessation, weight loss, alcohol abstinence, along with controlling blood pressure, blood sugar, and lipid levels.
In over 90 percent of cases, the deposits disappear spontaneously, but this may take 12 to 18 months. Symptoms of pain can vary during this process.
It takes many years for the inside of pipes to develop clogs due to mineralization buildup. If you continue to let hard water run through your pipes, the blockages will eventually get worse.
Hard water (high in calcium and magnesium) is not a health risk. The calcium and magnesium in water can contribute positively to your overall mineral intake. An 8-ounce glass of moderately hard water contains about 50 to 75 mg of calcium. In comparison, an 8-ounce glass of milk provides about 300 mg of calcium.
Hard water can be softened by adding sodium carbonate (washing soda) or by passing the water through an ion-exchange column.
Materials You'll Need
Fill a plastic bag with half water and half vinegar, ensuring there is enough liquid to submerge the faucet head. Put the liquid-filled bag over the faucet head and secure it with a rubber band. Let stand for 30 minutes to one hour. For more sensitive fixture finishes, do not surpass 30 minutes.
Vinegar is a safe, all-natural household cleaner with the amazing ability to combat hard water stains. Pour some in a spray bottle and squirt any surface where you find hard water stains. Let it sit for five to 15 minutes to give the vinegar time to break down the minerals in the chalky, white stain.