Limescale is a problem for many that presents itself in a powdery-white crust and lingers around taps, sinks, toilets, shower heads, and anywhere else you might find water.
It is a substance mainly made up of calcium and magnesium, which is left behind when hard water evaporates.
Apart from looking unsightly, if not cleaned away, it can restrict the flow of water from taps and reduce their efficiency.
Fed up after spending years trying to remove limescale from her bathroom taps, cleaning enthusiast Shelley Law took to the Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips and Tricks Facebook page to share her breakthrough.
She wrote: “For many years I’ve tried different lotions and potions to solve the limescale problem on these taps on a small hand basin in an extra loo with no success.
“Then I joined this group. I saw a few mentions of citric acid. I was sceptical and wasn’t sure what it was.
“I thought ‘well I’ve tried everything else, what have I got to lose?’ We have a winner!
“It’s been on there so long that I thought it was impossible to shift the limescale and it had even caused pitting to the tap.
“But as you can see the limescale is now all gone! The stuff worked like magic. I am a happy little bunny right now.”
Describing her method, Shelley said: “I soaked two cloths in citric acid and water and wrapped it tightly around the taps for five minutes. Five minutes later I wiped the tap down and the limescale was gone.”
Shelley also shared before and after pictures which left her fellow group members amazed by this method.
Jade Hayward wrote: “Amazing isn’t it! I was like you and super sceptical but now I look around for any signs of limescale anywhere just to do some more.”
Abbie WB said: “I was sceptical too but it really does work! Only problem I have now is the limescale was basically holding the 20-year-old tap together and now it’s dripping constantly.”
Cleaning experts at Karcher also recommend using citric acid using the same method. They said: “If you need a quicker way to descale the tap without dismantling it into its components, the trick is to soak a cotton cloth with citric acid and water, and wrap this around the tap.”
Leave the mixture to work for a while or in the case of “extremely stubborn limescale”, leave it overnight.
For the citric acid solution, simply dissolve half a tablespoon of citric acid powder in 100 ml of warm water.
