If you have a supply of hard water, you are bound to have calcium deposits on your faucets, drains, and other components that are coming in contact with the water regularly.
It is also often called as limescale. As the water carries a large number of calcium salts, it gets picked up by the surface of your utensils, and you will see a white layer on top of them.
This white layer does disrupt the overall aesthetics of the components, and you might wonder how to remove calcium deposits from the faucet after seeing them.
Well, you will not have to wonder anymore because we are here to answer that. Hopefully, after following the steps that we are going to show you, you will be able to get the pesky layer of calcium off your faucet.
Remove Calcium Deposits from Faucet: Step by Step Process
Step 1: Sourcing Out the Weapon
Before you get scrubbing, you will need some specific materials for this task. Acidic liquids will work the best in the case of battling with calcium deposits. It will not only eat away the calcium buildups but also will clear away other materials from the components.
However, you might not have the acidic substance that most of the people recommend for fighting against these deposits, which is white vinegar. Well, here are some alternatives that you can pick up if you do not have white vinegar in your home:
- Lemon juice
- Phosphoric acid cleaners
- CLR cleaner
- Sulphuric acid
- Muriatic acid
Among all of them, we would recommend you to use muriatic acid only when the amount of deposit is high. This acid is powerful, and you would require to use only one bit of it. So, if you are planning to buy it, do not get more than 50 grams.
Step 2: Gathering Necessary Materials
Handling acidic cleaner can irritate your skin. It can also cause rashes on it. That is why you should have some materials with you which will protect you from the harsh acidic elements you are going to use to fight the buildups. They are:
- Protective eyewear
- Gloves
Other than the safety materials, you will have to source some cleaning materials that will aid you in carrying out the task smoothly. They are:
- Towel or rag
- Pliers
- Toothbrush or sponge
- Plastic bags
For the gloves, we would recommend you to opt for the neoprene ones or the PVC ones. And for the sponge, we would suggest you to get the non-abrasive scrubbers. If the one that you get is abrasive, you might end up with some scratches on the surface.
Step 3: Wearing Safety Materials
After getting the materials that we suggested above, you should wear them. The first that you should wear is eyewear. It is important because you are dealing with acids, and if one splash enters your eye, it can cause serious harm.
After that, you should wear gloves to protect your hands from rashes and irritations. Once you get them on, you will be ready to deploy on the battlefield.
Step 4: Removing the Faucet
The main thing that you have to focus on is the aerator. It remains on the tip of the faucet head. Removing it is a simple process. The gloves that you are wearing should give you enough grip for the removal process. However, if you find that it is tighter than expected, then you may need to use a pair of pliers.
After getting a good grip over the aerator, you will have to twist it counterclockwise, which is left. Rotate it until it comes off. After you remove it, you should keep the gaskets and other parts appropriately organized. Without them, you will have a leaking faucet.
Step 5: Preparing the Acid Solution
For the white vinegar, you would need some warm water. Put some water in a pot and turn the stove on. You should not put it on for that long because you would boil the water if you leave it on for that too long.
After the water is a bit warm, put it inside a bucket and prepare a 50/50 white vinegar solution. You will have to follow the same procedure for the lemon juice as well.
On the other hand, if you are planning to use acid, you will have to follow through the instructions that are described in the label. Not all of them will be suitable for specific surfaces. So you will also have to keep that in mind.
Step 6: Soaking the Cleaning Material
Whether you opted for a sponge, a toothbrush, or a towel, you will have to soak them with the solution that you made. You should leave the cleaning material of your choice in the bucket for some amount of time and allow it to absorb all the solution properly.
Step 7: Cleaning
Take out the soaked up towel or scrub from the bucket and wrap the aerator with it. Keep it wrapped for a certain amount of time and let the cleaning solution do its thing. After approximately five to ten minutes, you take the aerator out of the towel.
Then you will have to rinse it on running water and scrub with the soaked towel or scrub again. Repeat the process until you see that there is no calcium deposit left on the surface.
If there are deposits on the head, you can apply the same process to clean it too. Other than that, if the deposits are too rough and if you can not wipe them away using the method that we described above, you should put them inside the cleaning solution directly for a couple of minutes and scrub them in running water.
That should do the trick for pesky calcium deposits.
Step 8: Reconnecting the Pieces
After you are done cleaning the faucet head and the aerator, you will have to reconnect the components on the reverse order of how you took them apart. First, the gaskets and other tightening components will go on, and then you will have to tighten the aerator clockwise(right).
Step 9: Taking Off the Safety Materials
Once you have taken the pesky deposits off your faucet and tightened the aerator up, you will now have to take off your safety gear. The first thing that you should remove is gloves and put it inside a plastic bag and dispose of it appropriately. Then wash your hands with soap and take off your eyewear.
Final Words
After going through each of the steps correctly, you will be able to remove the stubborn deposit of calcium from your faucet.
We hope that we were able to keep it simple for you, and now you will not have to wonder how to remove calcium deposits from faucet anymore. With that, we would like to conclude here by wishing you good luck.