Limescale is a regular nuisance in bathrooms and kitchens in hard water areas, building up in kettles, on taps, in toilets and on shower heads. While harmless, it can be unsightly and, in one case, blocked the holes of a shower head and disrupted the water flow.
White vinegar is the most commonly recommended home remedy, but cleaning specialists at Villeroy and Boch claim it is "time-consuming". Instead, they recommend citric acid as it "dissolves stubborn limescale" for "perfect results", which proved effective in a test.
Citric acid method
The experts stated: "Cleaning with baking soda or with vinegar is very gentle on the material, but is somewhat time-consuming. A quicker way is to use citric acid."
Citric acid has become an essential product in one cleaning cupboard after first being used on a limescale-ridden kettle with immediate results. As it is a powerful natural cleaning agent, a spot test was carried out on an inconspicuous part of the shower head to ensure it would not cause damage – and it did not.
Step-by-step process
The shower head detaches from the hose, so it was unscrewed and submerged in a washing-up bowl filled with hot (not boiling) water and two tablespoons of citric acid. If a shower head does not detach, a suitably sized sandwich bag can be filled with water and citric acid and secured in place using an elastic band or hairband.
The shower head was moved around in the water so the acid could reach every part. Wearing gloves is important as citric acid is corrosive. Citric acid is "considerably more aggressive than baking soda", so the experts claim that 10 to 15 minutes should be plenty long enough to "completely decalcify the shower head".
Results
Once the 10 minutes had elapsed, the shower head was rinsed thoroughly and sufficient water was run through it to flush out any remaining acid. All the limescale had dissolved, even within the tiny holes, without any scrubbing whatsoever.
