Said It Here

How to remove thick, baked-on hard water scale

Heavy mineral scale creates an unbreakable crust that standard commercial limescale removers, lemon juice, and glass polishing liquids fail to dissolve. This leaves fixtures like chrome faucets and glassware permanently ruined by cloudy films because the mineral layers are too dense for basic surface applications to penetrate.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Using The Pink stuff paste
  2. 2
    Using Barkeepers Friend MORE spray
  3. 3
    Using Bar keepers friend cream cleanser with a scrub daddy sponge or plastic scrubbing brush
  4. 4
    Using a Mr. Clean magic eraser for porcelain
  5. 5
    Using CLR cleaner
  6. 6
    Glass polishing liquid
  7. 7
    Lemon juice
  8. 8
    Acetone
  9. 9
    Limescale remover
  10. 10
    Dish soap
  11. 11
    Using heavy duty limescale remover and steel wool
  12. 12
    Leaving the damaged fixtures in place to avoid contacting the landlord
  13. 13
    installing an entire house descaling system
  14. 14
    using citric acid instead of vinegar for descaling
  15. 15
    using a Brita filter to descale water before cooking
  16. 16
    using a kettle with a net at the spout to catch floating scale
  17. 17
    topping up dishwasher salt and setting the machine to maximum water hardness
  18. 18
    Using specialized calcium removers like CLR
  19. 19
    Using a magic eraser while in the shower
  20. 20
    Spraying walls with an after-shower spray every time you get out to limit scrubbing
  21. 21
    Using cream Bar Keepers Friend with a plastic scrub brush or magic eraser
  22. 22
    Soaking the shower head in CLR for an hour or two
  23. 23
    Installing a showerhead with a hard water filter

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.

“I don’t think the glass itself is etched, there’s an iridescent cloudy film on some of my nice glasses that I am trying to restore.”source ↗

“Things I’ve tried to no avail: Glass polishing liquid Lemon juice Acetone Limescale remover Dish soap None of this has worked, I’d be very appreciative if someone could help!”source ↗

Astromellius · r/CleaningTips · 53 upvotes

“I tried toilet bowl cleaner and a toilet bowl brush, but it did absolutely nothing except release one of the most putrid smells I've ever encountered and nearly made me puke.”source ↗

Laraso_ · r/CleaningTips · 6 upvotes

“Within three months it wrecked my kettle.”source ↗

“After the first boil there was already a coating of limescale on the base.”source ↗

“Dear reader, there is STILL LIMESCALE floating on my top of my coffee as we speak.”source ↗

“I’m renting currently do I can’t do much in terms of the pipes”source ↗

mixsethaddams · r/CleaningTips · 3 upvotes

“Chrome faucet is also really built up hard water scale. Any product recs to really get that off too would be great.”source ↗

Ethaneoax · r/CleaningTips · 2 upvotes

“Both quarter-turn brass cartridges in my kitchen sink are crusted with minerals after just ***2 years***.”source ↗

Suitable_Sky2079 · r/Plumbing · 2 upvotes

“I used heavy duty limescale remover and steel wool and nothing seems to budge.”source ↗

“Is it corrosion? Why does it stick out?”source ↗

“I’m sure the answer is replace but we are renting and don’t want to ask for that right now, seems insignificant.”source ↗

clang24 · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“My shower has a limescale problem and it’s not a little problem. For me it’s serious problem. The glass is cloudy, the tiles have white crusty patches. The shower head is basically a fossil at this point…”source ↗

“And I’ve tried everything like all these home remedies like vinegar, baking soda, citric acid and even every special product from Home Depot. I’ve scrubbed until my arms hurt. I’ve let things soak overnight”source ↗

“It gets better at some point, but it takes hours to scrub everything. Then it comes back in a week or even less. Seems like I’ve only removed the top layer and the rest is fused to the glass like concrete.”source ↗

trepasito16 · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“Looking for a shower cleaner that can take soap scum off the tiles and grout work of the shower tiles and flooring without scrubbing”source ↗

“Does such a product exist that I can spray on the tiles and all the mildew and soap scum just washes off after the application.”source ↗

johnphillipwang · r/CleaningTips

Where this came up

r/CleaningTipsr/Plumbingbathroombathroom maintenancecleaningfixtureshome carehome maintenancehousehold choresmaintenanceplumbingrental livingstain removalwater quality

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