10 years ago we had a new shower fitted... nice chrome plastic and clearplexiglass stuff..... however it doesnt get cleaned regularly and the build up of limescale on it is MINGING! Even the shower head which is a year old has pretty bad calsification/lime build up in the jets...

I am guessing that removing the scale to return the shower to a "like new" condition is going to be pretty dificult?

I am tempted (funds allowing) to replace the shower with a nice sparkley new one.... However... I dont want it to go the same way....

Do those water softener things work? Is there any other way of trapping the "lime" before it gets into the shower?


(its a self heating electric shower so just a cold water feed to it!)

I need to put together a price for all these "improvments" and get them accepted by "her with the money"...

Cillit bang - does wonders on our limescale covered shower (same water source too I suspect!).

I wonder if it can tackle 10 years worth in one go though

Vinegar works extremely well

Citric acid disolves calcium corbonate with ease.

If its just the head remove it from the hose and immerse in vinegar overnight then it should good

Yep, vinigar is good if fragrant. I have never had much joy with various descaler gizmos. Combimate are quite good for hot water supply though.

we've got a limescale filter fitted to the incoming water line on our house which works wonders. Obviously it wont clean your old shower but will stop a new one getting so bad. Also keeps kettle, dishwasher and washing machine clear of limescale.

Cheers

Rob

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Originally posted by nasty-bob
we've got a limescale filter fitted to the incoming water line on our house which works wonders. Obviously it wont clean your old shower but will stop a new one getting so bad. Also keeps kettle, dishwasher and washing machine clear of limescale.

Cheers

Rob

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quote:

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Originally posted by tegwin
I wonder if it can tackle 10 years worth in one go though

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quote:

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Originally posted by nick205


Is that one of the metal canister (little cherry bomb) type things fitted in line in the cold feed?

Or something more elaborate?

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I buy and fit a new unit about every 3 years.

In that time the head gets replaced at least twice.

Every 3 to 4 weeks the head is taken to bits and soaked in de-scaler.

And you think you live in a hard water area.

Paul G

quote:

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Originally posted by 907
I buy and fit a new unit about every 3 years.

In that time the head gets replaced at least twice.

Every 3 to 4 weeks the head is taken to bits and soaked in de-scaler.

And you think you live in a hard water area.

Paul G

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I wonder what effect the lime has on us human beans....

would be interested to see the chemical composition of peoples bones from different water hardness areas.... anyone want to volunteer?

IIRC people who live in hard water areas suffer less from heart disease than people in soft water areas.

On the plus side.....


Hard water is much better for producing Bitter, (Hail to the Ale)

and soft water is better for producing dark beer, Burton on Trent for example.

Since I prefer bitter to brown ale, I'm on a winner.


Cheers ( or should that be CHEERS! )
Paul G

i would avoid water softeners, or at most use them in a 50/50 softerned/normal water mix, they can cause corrosion problems in domestic water systems because they don't allow a protective scale build up on the inside of the copper pipe.
I've had a pipe sample in at work (corrosion investigation specialists) that was as thin as tracing paper!