descaling pipes?

[kit.lemmonds]

My house is heated by an oil furnace which also heats our water. Recently our shower's hot water began to cycle to luke warm every 5-10 minutes - with the luke warm water lasting 5-10 minutes depending on if the heat was on at the time. We called a technician to clean the coils, which really increased our hot water temperature - but only for a week and the temperature was still cycling. We've always had an issue with hardwater (190 ppm or 11 grain) and we have to clean our shower heads often. We also have many drain problems with soap sludge for any drain that carries hot water. I would not be surprised if the the temperature cycling of our hot water was caused by pipes being caked with deposits - even inside of our radiator pipes, but I can't seem to find any methods online for descaling pipes. There are many sites for the magnetic or electromagnetic descalers - but I can't find a single study showing quantifiable results using this method.

My question is: what is the normal method of descaling pipes? Does a plumber replace every hot water pipe in the house? Can a chemical be cycled through the pipes/radiators that dissolves the scale?

Thanks.

[nicksanspam]

I know one guy who periodically pumps a vinegar solution out of a drum under a basement drainpipe up through the whole hot water system, out of the spigots and showerheads, and back into the drum.

Nick

[SQLit]

The magnetic are just money magnets for the guys selling them. Unless of course you have a cyclotron running at over 1000 amps. Then maybe.

If your water is that hard you need professional help. I would not tell you about the chemical I use at work for this cause they are seriously dangerous. Besides if the situation has gone on for this long with out treatment you may be needed a re-pipe job.... I am sure you did not want to hear that. Our chilled water system uses about $100 k of chemicals a month to keep the scale reduced. Not remove it. We still tear everything down once a year and clean it manually.

Side note. Most of the major rotohammer manufactures make hardened steel 3 inch wide chisels for this job inside of commercial boilers and chillers. Ya rotohammer.

Call several companies and have them investigate. Then make a decision.

[kit.lemmonds]

. I was afraid of that. Unfortunately I don't know of a good way to investigate the extent of scale.

I guess we'll have the plumber investigate when he's installing the water softener.

Thanks for your suggestions.

SQLit wrote:

[RicodJour]

Highlight the pipe, select font, and then decrease the percentage to

50% or however much you want to scale it down.

Hmmm...maybe I've been on the computer too long... ;)

R

[hallerb]

there are chemicals to remove hard water scale but they can be dangerous and may ruin your pipes.

I just used this in a toilet to remove hard water scale that had plugged the bowl rim where the water enters. its like a super concentrated vinegar.

worked great, but wouldnt recommend it inside pipes

[buffalobill]

you need a plumber to clean out your drains. there may be problems of mineral accumulations at the various shutoff water valves. and/or pipes. you want to know what the shower flow is when the showerhead is removed. your water pressure is part of this equation from the city or your well pump. if the water pressure is good in the basement but bad at the upstairs showerhead, let your plumber figure it out. you may need your annual tuneup for your oil system. ask him to make repairs and temperature adjustments to your system.