I've seen lots of mention of White Vinegar as a de-scaling agent Googling in here, and on the Internet itself, but no mention of where you buy it from ?
Can someone point me in the right direction please ?
TIA
Supermarkets.
However, it is not particularly useful for this purpose.
It's not very strong for non-food applications - you would be better off making a solution from a plumbing descaler like Fernox DS3 for that.
For food applications, a citric acid descaler is better because it doesn't leave a vinegary smell.
It's to clean a glass shower screen (yes, we do have a water softner, but after two years there are still hard water deposits).
Tried lemon juice (simply because there was some available) and 'Cilit Bang' with no luck. Will Fernox DS3 be OK, or are there precautions I need to be aware of ?
I used it recently for exactly that purpose.
I would suggest making the solution at 30-50% of the recommended dilution for plumbing and leave until glass is clean, then rinse.
It's a little pongy, so opening the window is a good plan.
You can apply solution with a sponge as well. I would wear gloves for that if working with it for a while. Having said that, I didn't have any problems without.
Yes and yes. All descalers are acids. I prefer HCl (its instant) or a scale removing toilet cleaner (no time to go get fernox needed)
If you genuinely dont know to take precautions with acids, maybe stick to citric or vinegar, but I asume that was just a momentary misunderstanding.
NT
Thank you and Andy for your answers. Yes, the 'precautions' I mention were for the shower room components, and not me !
The shower room has glass panels (OK), stainless frame (OK ?), and 'solid' (not plastic) shower tray. I'm uncertain about that ?
The bathroom has an acrylic bath, and perspex screen, I assume they'd be attacked by the DS3 ?
Not OK. HCL will discolour stainless steel.
Most plastics and ceramics are OK with HCL but NOT enamel.
Unlikely, but I'd go to Tesco et al and buy a proper bathroom descaler.
Try looking for Kilrock Gel, 'Old fashioned' ironmongers tend to keep it, or you can order by post direct with the company. Do a Google for Kilrock to track them down.
Kilrock is about the most effective domestic descaler I've come across, and as the name implies, the gel version can be spread on vertical surfaces and left to work.
I find those are usually inferior products at elevated prices, aimed at those that dont know their basic chemistry.
NT
I find that they are very safe products formulated by highly trained and experienced chemists.
Big difference between basic chemistry versus a degree & 25 years experience.
If you need a degree and 25 years experience to tell you that either acetic acid or sulphamic acid will dissolve limescale then you're a slow learner.
The point was, that you should trust the knowledge & experience of a qualified & experienced chemist rather than using a homemade remedy based on folklore & guesswork.
If I can just butt in here ? I've tried just about every 'supermarket sold' de-scaler, and *none* of them have worked on the limescale I've got. Hence my OP.
I think to describe any of the offerings here as based on guesswork or folklore would be fairly wide of the mark. We suggest them because they're effective and sensibly priced, unlike the watery time wasters at supermarkets.
Yes, as you say there is a difference in safety, and if the OP or anyone else reading is under 11 or retarded they'd better stick with the overpriced branded water with 1% of whatever acid is cheapest and least effective. All the kids at my old school worked with far stronger than that, but its fair to say theres always one.
NT
I think the point is that stronger acids, including sulphamic, will discolour stainless steel and chrome. Great for WC bowls, but the weaker acids in the branded products are more reliable for kitchens/bathrooms. They are not just branded water, but a box of citric acid at around 69p is still the best bet.
Steve Firth typed
Dissolving the limescale is the easy bit. Leaving the bathroom intact, clean, and with living, uninjured users is a tad more tricky.
Mark Carver typed
Are you sure it's limescale, not soap scum, grease, inspissated skin scale, or other grot?
Other cleaning agents might be more effective on other grot...
Look, I'll try to spell it out to you since you seem to be hard of thinking. Firstly, I am a qualified and experienced (bio)chemist. Secondly it doesn't need a qualified and experienced chemist to know what reagents (acids) are used for descaling. It's possibly a comment on the piss-poor scientific education offered in BlairLand that we raise idiots who think that everything should be left to the "experts" when knowing that limescale dissolves in weak acids should be something every eleven year old knows.
Your entire comment above speaks volumes about your ignorance, nothing more.
I've seen enamel baths ruined by hcl and stainless steel badly discoloured by it. If you buy a proper product from a supermarket & follow the instuctions it should do the job. If anything did go wrong you have some redress.
Umm no, not really.
The vast majority of commercial descalers (Limelite etc) use sulphamic acid.
No, they are mostly branded water, with added perfume, a smidge of non-ionic surfactant and a very small dollop of active ingredient.
Best/schmest. Sulphamic acid, sold as crystals in most DIY/Hardware stores tends to be the best and the cheapest.
I descaled a very heavily crusted lavatory using concentrated hyrochloric acid in a previous residence. Works a treat if you remember to wear a face shield, coveralls and have a respirator.
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