limescale, water marks, hard water, water stains

limescale There are some things that should definitely not be used to remove hard waters stains and limescale. They can seriously damage your fixtures and fittings and cause them to look worse than when you first started cleaning! limescale I have seen many people try to remove hard water stains with just elbow grease. While this is certainly one way to remove them it's not the easiest and can make you feel like you've had a good workout! Using something to scrape the stains off is also a common method or even bleach or other toxic chemicals that can harm your children or pets. limescale Below are just some of the worst ways to remove hard water stains and limescale from your fixtures and fittings: Scour pads: these can cause significant damage as the scour pad can scratch the finish of metal faucets, sinks, tubs and toilet bowls. Pumice stone: while these are slightly less damaging than scour pads, they can still cause a lot of damage to toilet bowls and cause ugly scuff marks on the surface. Sand paper: this is possibly the worst way to remove hard water stains and limescale and I have seen terrible damage caused to porcelain sinks and tubs by the coarse, abrasive action of sand paper. Razor Blade: these need no explanation as to why they are completely unsuitable for removing hard water stains. Not only will they destroy any finish that a surface may of have had, they are totally unacceptable to have lying around the house for children to pick up and play with. Bleach: while this is good to kill bacteria, it just doesn't cut the mustard when it comes to removing stubborn hard water stains and limescale. Some people say it works, but there are easier ways than using a potentially harmful chemical such as bleach. Hydrochloric Acid: some people have tried strong acids to try and melt off the stains hoping they will just disappear. They sometimes do, but in the process you have just inhaled hydrochloric acid into your lungs...not good. Chemical Cleaners: there are many on the market these days which we all know about. They do have some success at removing hard water stains. The only thing with these is that again they are potentially harmful if used too much; I know I have ran out of the room gasping for breath more than once in the past! Plus they can be rather expensive for what they actually are. There are some much easier ways to remove stubborn hard water stains and limescale than this. There are some tried and tested methods for removing even the most stubborn of hard water stains that have been proven to work that will leave your fixtures and fittings sparkling like new.

limescale, water marks, hard water, water stains

limescale March is the time of year to think about spring cleaning your home. It's an opportunity for you to freshen up your house after a long dark winter. limescale Domestic cleaning, daily or weekly, will maintain your home and keep it in a good condition all the year round. But once a year, normally spring time, every home should undergo a thorough spring clean getting into those corners you do not get to during your normal regular schedule. limescale Planning and taking a strategic approach is key to successful spring cleaning. Without a plan it is all too easy to miss things. Take a walk around your home, room to room, with pen and paper in hand, and survey, analyse, and note down what needs doing, what are the real problem areas. This will ensure you do not miss anything significant. Things to record are what clutter needs tidying away, do your curtains and carpets need cleaning, what is the condition of your oven, do your cupboards need a good tidy. When you have made a checklist of things that need doing decide if the work is something you want to do yourself, or whether you want to call in a professional cleaning service company to do the work for you. Use the notes you have made to get three quotes before deciding which cleaning company to go with. If you do decide to do the spring cleaning yourself it does not all have to be done at once. If you are doing it yourself you could plan a schedule of cleaning tasks and spread the work over a couple of days. You could also ask members of your family, or a friend, to get involved. Cleaning Materials Before you start your spring clean check your supply of cleaning materials and equipment to make sure you have the right products and equipment for the job. For dusting you will need a supply of microfibre cloths, furniture polish spray, and a vacuum cleaner with extensions, You will need a plentiful supply of bin bags for de-cluttering and throwing out rubbish and things you no longer need. A general all purpose surface cleaner, kitchen and bathroom surface cleaner, limescale and mould remover products, oven cleaning product, and a strong acid descaler are other essentials you will need for your spring clean. Equipment you will need include a mop and bucket, a broom, dustpan and brush, step ladder for hard to reach areas, and a pair of gloves. Remember any special products you may need such as cleaning products for leather, stone, silver, brass, or wood. These surface can be delicate and need special care and attention. Bathroom Cleaning Starting with the bathroom, if you live in a hard water area like London, you should treat your bathroom surfaces to a deep clean, descaling tiles, shower heads, taps, sinks, toilets, baths, and shower screens with a strong, acid based descaler product that remove hard stubborn limescale and will leave everything sparkling like new. If you have a shower curtain take it down and give it a wash in your washing machine. Empty your bathroom cupboards, wash and clean inside, and throw out any old cosmetics or medication that are past their sell by dates before putting things back tidily and order. You will be surprised how much extra space you will have afterwards. Clean any stainless steel fixtures and fittings such as towel rails and toilet roll holders. Kitchen Cleaning In the kitchen your oven should be cleaned as part of a spring clean. Also, inside your fridge. Defrost your fridge first, then take everything out, and wash shelves and compartments thoroughly before putting things back. You should also clean inside your kitchen cupboards, Take everything out of your cupboards, throw away old food products that are out of date, wash inside, wash your plates and crockery, before putting back. Remember to clean on top of your kitchen cupboards too. Move appliances like the fridge and washing machine and sweep and mop underneath and behind. You should clean grease from kitchen walls and tiles using a degreaser product, and clean your extractor fan if you have one. Wipe down and clean the toaster, microwave, and other small appliances, Bedroom Cleaning In your bedrooms, you should clean the inside of your bedside chests, drawers, and wardrobes, by taking all your clothes out and dusting or washing thoroughly inside. While your clothes are out you could take any old clothes you no longer wear to your local charity shop. Your quilts should be professionally cleaned as part of your spring clean to eradicate the possibility of dust mites. Don't forget to clean under your bed too. Carpet Cleaning Call in the carpet cleaners and get your carpets professionally steam cleaned to remove really stubborn stains and dirt that normal vacuuming cannot do. Your carpets will smell and look like new afterwards. Your curtains should be taken down and cleaned once a year as part of your spring cleaning to keep them looking good. You could ask your carpet cleaners to steam clean them, or you could take them to your local dry cleaners. The carpet cleaners could also steam clean your sofa, cushions, and armchairs.

limescale, water marks, hard water, water stains

limescale In hard water areas it is a common problem that limescale builds up on taps and anywhere ells where water frequently comes into contact with. limescale This is why we have done a little guide on how to remove limescale from your taps as easily as possible using Selactive E014, which is a specialist bathroom sanitizer, deodorizer and general cleaner. limescale As you can see these taps are clean, but limescale has been allowed to build up in areas that water settles on. What you will need: 1. Rubber Gloves 2. Selactive Washroom Sanitizer 3. Two Cloths ( We used Dish Cloths, but any cloth will do) 4. A Plastic Bucket Step 1. Put some of the Bathroom Cleaner, we are using Selactive, into a container, and add the recommended amount of water. The Selactive container recommends using 1 part Selactive to 40 parts water for general cleaning. If you are using an alternative cleaner the manufacturers guidelines should be followed. Step 2. Add 40 parts more water to the container to dilute the bathroom cleaner for general use. Step 3. Wet one of your cloths and use this to wipe the taps over so they are wet all over. Step 4. Rinse the taps off so they are clear of all cleaner residue, this should leave you with only the most stubborn limescale remaining. Step 5. Then apply the cleaner directly to the cloth neat, using a finger wipe the cleaner onto all stubborn deposits. Step 6. You Should be left with blobs of neat bathroom cleaner on all the limescale deposits. Leave this for around 15 minutes, enough time to have a cup of tea, or do another cleaning task somewhere ells. Step 7. Wipe all the foam off and the limescale should come with it, some of it may need a second application but 99% of it will wipe off or flake off. (depending on how bad it is obviously, the deposits on our taps took two applications in the worst affected areas. That's it, simple. Our taps came up great, considering they where 10 years old. You may find as we did that the limescale has actually held fluid that damages the stainless, which can leave some small marks behind. But the small blemishes are nothing compared to the limescale.

limescale, water marks, hard water, water stains

limescale DIY projects pose a variety of small problems. Whether these problems be temporary or not, it depends largely on a person's acuity and resourcefulness. However, a bit of professional help will never hurt anybody.limescale Fence panels and post holeslimescale Just how deep should a posthole be? Donna Hardie, syndicated columnist and DIY expert sheds light on the problem:"A solid 1.8m square fence panels offer a lot of wind resistance so they need a firm anchor. Bury 600mm of the post in the ground. Pack the bottom of the hole with crushed hardcore, then drop in the post and force in some more. You should aim to leave about 300mm to fill with concrete. Use a trowel to slope the concrete surface away from the fence post to stop rainwater pooling around the base."The crushed hardcore is used to stabilize the fence posts when they're driven to the ground. To make sure that you have an easy time of it, make sure that you use an electric auger to make the work easier. Don't break your back if you don't have to.Loft space problemWith the advent of smaller and more efficient tanks for insulation, what happens to the old metal tanks? Aside from moving it around (not advisable because of the old pipes), the best approach to this problem is the use of an angle grinder.If you really want to free up space in your loft, the simplest way to do it is to chop the offending metal tank and remove it from your loft piece by piece. It's not easy, but after a few hours of work the metal tank will be out of your loft, and your home for good.Which mower?If you're buying your old mother a new lawn mower, then make sure that the mower you will be purchasing is fit for the particular terrain of your yard and your garden.Rough terrain, with lots of pebbles and irregular formations require a rotary mower or what some call an electric light hover. According to Hardie:"Rotaries can cut though rough grass but a hover is easier to push and can still cope with uneven areas. Your mum should only need a lightweight (1000W) motor. There are lots of hovers for less than pounds 80. Qualcast's Easi-Lite (pounds 52.99) has a tilting head so it's easy to steer around."Hot showers gone coldIf you've been using the same shower for the past seven years and the water suddenly feels colder than usual, what could be the problem? According to Reggie Merida, a DIY enthusiast from Edinburgh:"The inlet could have been blocked with what we call limescale. As the name implies, limescale forms over a period of time, with the accumulation of natural salts from the water. The best way to DIY it is to not DIY it. Simply call the manufacturer and have the shower cartridge replaced."In some cases, showers have intelligent chips that add specific chemicals to counteract the formation of rust and limescale. However, these models are a bit more expensive than regular showers.