Removing limescale from plastic shower head

[Jon]

What would the group suggest?

[tiscali]

white vinegar soaked in a cloth wrapped around it

[Colin Wilson]

Soak in vinegar overnight ?

[Owain]

Vinegar?

Or buy a new shower head. Unless it's a fancy multi-pattern one they don't cost much.

Owain

[Phil L]

Take it off and soak in a glass of vinegar overnight, gets all the lime out of the holes too. Any acid will do, lemon juice etc.

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

"Phil L" typed

Scrub the head gently after any soaking.

Any acid will do, but you may wish to try a proprietary limescale remover, such as Ataka or Viakal.

[meow2222]

Brick acid and a paintbrush. Mild acids will work but take forever.

NT

[Frank Erskine]

I read that as "Ataka or Viagra" (although I use Viakal around my bathroom taps myself).

[Frank Erskine]

What IS this brick acid that people keep referring to?

I've heard of hydrochloric, sulphuric, nitric, formic, citric, and of course "aceeed"(!) and others, but "brick?". It doesn't sound a very scientific name.

[meow2222]

Its HCl, maybe with some oxalic acid thrown in. Good for cleaning mortar off bricks, rust off plastic, and the strongest scale remover in the west.

NT

[Clive George]

Get one of those shower heads with lots of rubber nozzles - they don't clog in the same way as a plastic one.

cheers, clive

[Lobster]

The point being that it's sold under the name "brick acid" at your local builder's merchant or even B&Q, for the purpose as described above

David

[Peter Andrews]

True, but it still looks unsightly according to SWMBO. Another job waiting to be done with vinegar.

Peter

[Clive George]

:-(

I used to have to clean ours out every couple of months (limestone here :-) ). Haven't touched it for over a year now. Not sure how much my new regime of cutting the power a few seconds before the water has helped - it may have made some difference too.

cheers, clive

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

"Peter Andrews" typed

They don't clog *quite* the same way; they just send the water off in unintended directions...

[adder1969]

They do clog in the same way but the idea is moving the rubber bits dislodges the limescale. Vinegar usually takes a long time and can be a bit smelly, especially if you heat it up.

[Stuart Noble]

A happy medium is citric acid. Keep a 10% solution in a plastic pot and stand the shower head in it overnight every month or so.