How to Remove Limescale: A Guide for London's Hard Water

If you've ever wondered why your kettle fills with white flakes and your shower glass never looks clear, it's not you. It's London's water. This guide explains why London homes get so much limescale, how to remove it safely from taps, showers, kettles and toilets, and how to stop it coming back.

Why London has so much limescale

Thames Water, which supplies most of London, says that all the water in its region is hard. Rain soaks through chalk and limestone before it reaches the rivers and underground stores, and it picks up calcium and magnesium on the way.

When that water heats up or dries on a surface, the minerals are left behind as a chalky white crust: limescale. That's why it builds up fastest in kettles, on shower heads and around taps.

The good news: hard water isn't harmful to drink. Thames Water explains more on its hard water page.

What you need

• Rubber gloves
• A limescale remover spray for bathrooms
• Citric acid powder (from supermarkets) or white vinegar
• Microfibre cloths and an old toothbrush
• A food bag and an elastic band, for shower heads
• A squeegee, for shower screens

Before you start:

• Never mix limescale remover with bleach or other cleaners.
• Don't use acids on natural stone like marble, limestone or travertine. Vinegar, citric acid and limescale removers can etch and dull it.
• Coloured or brushed taps (black, brass, gold or copper finishes) can be damaged by acids, so check the maker's advice first.
• Test any product on a small hidden spot.

How to remove limescale from taps

1. Soak a cloth in a citric acid solution (about 2 tablespoons in a litre of warm water) or in white vinegar.
2. Wrap it around the tap, especially the base and the spout, and leave it for about an hour.
3. Scrub around the base with an old toothbrush.
4. Rinse with clean water, then dry and buff with a microfibre cloth. Drying stops new marks forming.

Don't forget the aerator, the little mesh at the end of the spout. If water sprays sideways, it's probably blocked. Unscrew it, soak it in the same solution, rinse and screw it back on.

How to descale a shower head

A furred-up shower head gives a weak, uneven spray. Which? recommends citric acid, as it's stronger than vinegar and doesn't smell:

1. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of citric acid in about a litre of hot (not boiling) water.
2. If the head comes off, drop it in a bowl of the solution. If it doesn't, pour the solution into a food bag, pull it over the head and hold it in place with an elastic band.
3. Leave it for about an hour.
4. Wipe it, rub the rubber nozzles with your thumb to push out any scale, then run the shower to rinse.

Which? has a full guide on how to descale a shower head.

Shower screens and tiles

1. Spray a limescale remover (or equal parts white vinegar and warm water) onto the glass and tiles.
2. Leave it for the time on the label, usually a few minutes.
3. Wipe with a non-scratch sponge, paying attention to the bottom of the screen and the grout lines.
4. Rinse, then dry with a squeegee or cloth.

The best habit for London homes: squeegee the glass for 30 seconds after every shower. Limescale forms when water dries on the surface, so if there's no water left, there's very little limescale.

How to descale a kettle

Choose one of these methods, all recommended by Which?:

• Kettle descaler: add a sachet to a recently boiled kettle, wait about 10 minutes, then rinse.
• Citric acid: boil a half-full kettle, switch it off and unplug it, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of citric acid and leave for 15 to 20 minutes.
• White vinegar: fill about three-quarters with equal parts vinegar and water, boil, leave to cool, then pour away.

Whichever you use, rinse and boil fresh water two or three times before making a drink. In hard water areas, descale about once a month. Which? explains more in how to descale a kettle, and Thames Water suggests a steel mesh scale collector in the kettle to catch flakes.

How to remove limescale from a toilet

The brown or yellow ring inside the bowl is usually limescale stained by the water.

1. Squirt a toilet limescale remover under the rim and around the ring.
2. Leave it for as long as the label allows, then scrub with the toilet brush and flush.
3. For a stubborn ring, lower the water level first (turn off the water supply to the cistern and flush), so the product sits right on the ring.

Avoid wire brushes and scourers: they scratch the bowl, and scratches collect even more limescale.

Washing machines and dishwashers

Limescale also builds up inside appliances, where you can't see it. Keep the salt and rinse aid topped up in your dishwasher, and run a hot maintenance wash in your washing machine. Our step-by-step guides show how to clean a dishwasher and clean a washing machine.

How to stop limescale coming back

1. Dry as you go. Squeegee the shower and wipe taps dry after use.
2. Clean little and often. A weekly wipe with limescale spray takes seconds. Thick scale takes hours.
3. Use a filter jug for the kettle and coffee machine.
4. Think about a water softener. If you fit one, Thames Water advises keeping a separate unsoftened tap for drinking and cooking, and having it fitted and checked by an approved plumber.

Job	How often
Wipe and dry taps and shower glass	After use, or at least weekly
Limescale spray on taps, screens and tiles	Weekly
Descale the shower head and kettle	Monthly
Clean tap aerators and descale the toilet	Every 2 to 3 months

See our simple guide to how often to clean your home for everything else.

Let us do the scrubbing

Descaling taps, showers and tiles is part of every TidyGo deep clean, at £22 an hour per cleaner, and our end of tenancy clean includes limescale and mould treatment in bathrooms. To stop it building up again, a normal clean every week or two (£18 an hour) keeps it under control, and a cleaning plan saves you money. We cover areas across London, from Hackney to Hammersmith.