You will be trying to keep your bathroom clean, but you are annoyed by seeing the white crust on your shower head. This is the lime scale or the mineral deposits that are not harmful to you in any way.
But they are bad for your bathroom and other water fixtures as this white crust can expand over time and completely block the flow of water.
The water in your area, especially the one that you take from your well contains many minerals and makes the water hard. This water is called hard water. This hardness or mineral mix in the water creates white spots or a thin layer of minerals on the glassware, faucets, showerheads, and other porcelain and cooking vessels.
This white crust can be seen as a thin layer of deposit on all the surfaces that have contact with hard water.
The hard water problem is pervasive in almost all the regions of the country and in some places it will be stronger and in some places, only traces of these minerals can be seen.
In these places, the white deposit on the showerhead may take a very long period to be visible. But still, these mineral particles are present everywhere and hence this problem of lime scaling is prevalent in all places.
The white crust is mostly made up of common minerals like magnesium, calcium, and other minerals like silicate present in your municipal water or in the groundwater you are using. These minerals come from the sources of water.
When water flows through them these minerals get dissolved and flow along with the water that is supplied to your home. Thus, when calcium, carbonate, and magnesium are present in substantial quantities the water becomes hard water.
These minerals that come into your home with water precipitate out of your tap and stick to the surfaces as white crusts. They are seen as white or brownish stains on the faucets, showerheads, pots, pans, etc. and this deposit is commonly referred to as limescale.
Lime scale and your health
The hardness of water leading to lime scaling or calcification is not harmful to your health. These minerals are present everywhere in minute quantities.
As these chemicals are present in our body and are used in our body daily these trace minerals do not cause any substantial health hazards to you or your family. This lime scaling with its ugly white spots on the sinks, water tubs, showerheads, and bathroom surfaces affect the aesthetics of your home, besides causing spots on clothes.
But the major and very dangerous effects of these lime scaling come from the deposit of these minerals
Effects of strong lime scaling on your home
If the harness of water is too high, the mineral content will be more. The buildup of white spots on your appliances and fixtures will be fast. You need to clean them often.
But, though this is an easy task to accomplish, the biggest danger of excessive lime scaling lies in the deposit of minerals inside the pipes and waterline fixtures that leads to over scaling.
This will reduce the area of the pipes available for water flow and gradually it leads to reduced water flow.
If you ignore this condition it will lead to the complete blocking of water lines and malfunctioning of water line fixtures. This will completely impair your plumbing system.
This affects the water pipes in your home appliances like washing machines, water heaters, dishwashers, etc, and may lead to expensive repairs.
Besides this when there is a block on the main lines you may be forced to spend thousands of dollars in replacing the pipes and fixtures affected by lime scaling.
Water testing for hardness
When the water you are getting for your home is hard and there are repeated white deposits on the showerhead and other appliances, get your water tested for hardness.
If the test finds that the hardness level of your water is more than the permissible limits, then it is better to go for some permanent solutions to remove the hardness of the water.
The best way to do this is to install a water softener in your home. This will remove all the lime scale causing minerals from the incoming water supply and will be able to prevent the lime scaling.
Water softeners are available in different varieties and sizes. You can select the one that is best suited for the water condition, usage of your home so that you can get the best possible solution for getting rid of the lime scaling problem.
How to Get Rid of Lime scale?
Lime scale can be removed easily from your shower head and other water appliances. You can use one of the many lime scale remover homemade solutions that can easily inexpensively remove the lime scale. The most effective homemade limescale remover is the vinegar solution.
Just fill a thick plastic bag with vinegar solution and soak the showerhead in this solution for up to two hours and wipe the showerhead with a piece of cloth or scrub with an old toothbrush.
The vinegar solution acts on the lime scales and the acetic acid present in it dissolves the mineral deposits so that you can clean them easily.
How to prevent limescale formation:
You can prevent the formation of the lime scales by keeping your shower and bathtub clean. Wipe your shower head and bathtub after each use and this helps in getting rid of water droplets evaporating on the surface leaving behind the mineral deposits.
When you do this regularly you can effectively prevent the buildup of lime scaling on your water appliances. Also, keep your fixtures free of soap scum.
Permanent solution for Limescale prevention:
If you want to permanently prevent the formation of limescale, install a water softener in your main water supply. This will effectively bring down the number of minerals in your water supply and prevent the formation of lime scaling.
Selection and Installation of a water softener require technical knowledge and professional experience. To get the best results and trouble-free operation call Raptor Plumbing services for the installation of water softeners in Las Vegas and surrounding suburban areas.
We have installed many water softener installations and maintained them in our Customers’ homes and helped them get rid of that white crust on their showerheads and other water appliances permanently.
Call Raptor Plumbing on: 702-257-7511
