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This two ingredient hard water deposit remover is the handiest thing to know about!
I think everyone has experienced those hard, thick calcium deposits on faucets or metal around your home.
For this post, we are going to utilize the amazing science of acid to dissolve hard water build up on your faucets!
Here is how to do it.
Two Ingredient Hard Water Deposit Remover
Don’t forget to read past the recipe to learn more about the very simple science behind how this works. Follow us on Instagram for more awesome tips and videos like this.
Ingredients Needed For DIY Hard Water Remover:
- Distilled White Vinegar (Regular 5% Acidity)
- Lemon Juice (Fresh or Bottled is Good)
- Toothbrush or Small Scrub Brush (Optional)
Directions:
- Remove the head of faucet if possible (this is the best way to do it, if you can’t remove it, read other directions below).
- Pour enough vinegar in the bowl to cover the top of the faucet head.
- Squeeze in lemon juice. A few tablespoons is enough.
- Soak the faucet head inside the bowl for 10-15 minutes.
- At this point, you can scrub the remaining deposits or soak for longer if needed. Sometimes you don’t even need to scrub the deposits, they will dissolve in the vinegar solution.
- Rinse the faucet head with water, then screw back on.
If you can’t remove the faucet head:
You can soak it by manually holding a bowl and letting the area sit for a few minutes. You can also soak paper towels in the solution, then wrap the faucet. Keep in mind, this doesn’t work as potently, but it is an option if you cannot remove the area with hard water deposits.
I checked the faucet head 5 minutes into soaking the solution so you can see how it starts to work. It is dissolving those thick water deposits, but it still needs a few more minutes.
Here is 15 minutes later and a small scrub with a toothbrush. The toothbrush can help get a few water deposits off the grooved area.
So, How Does This Hard Water Deposit Remover Dissolve Hard Water Stains?
This is more of a method instead of a recipe. This method is going to work for many surfaces with all types of hard water stains.
The science behind this is the acidity of vinegar and lemon juice.
Distilled White Vinegar
We have talked about vinegar for six years on Chemistry Cachet. Vinegar is such an incredible household item to use, but it is often used incorrectly for DIY cleaners. Vinegar is not all-purpose and can damage natural stone. Vinegar is also NOT a disinfectant, but it is an awesome substance for breaking down stains. Distilled white vinegar has a pH around 2.5, so it is acidic.
Hard water build up is very tough and thick, so it needs an acid to break it down. Household 5% acidity vinegar is perfect for this. It eats away at the buildup while soaking. Here is our complete guide to vinegar you can check out.
Lemon Juice
They didn’t have any fresh lemons at the store, so I use some bottled lemon juice for this project. For this method, any lemon juice is good to use. Why do we use lemon? Lemon just further enhances the impact of this solution. Lemon juice has a pH around 2, so it is slightly more acidic than vinegar.
Is the lemon juice necessary?
After using this technique for many years, I have found that combining lemon juice and vinegar makes this solution work better at dissolving hard water stains! While vinegar and lemon juice are both acidic, they have a different composition. After all the experimenting I have done working with them, they always seem to compliment each other for things like this!
Is there anything this shouldn’t be used on?
Always use caution if you have a bronzed faucet. Our old house had oil rubbed bronze hardware, and straight vinegar could diminish the bronzed coloring. This only happened one time, so I would always dilute this mixture with water to make it less acidic for surfaces like that. It didn’t work as quickly, but it was safer for the oil rubbed bronze finish. Double check with the manufacturer of your hardware to see if they have recommendations. Otherwise, this is usually safe for most things.
When using a homemade substance for the first time, it is always a good idea to test a small area first to make sure it doesn’t hinder the finishing.
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Alexis is an investigative chemist sharing her expertise in cleaning, skincare, gardening, and home hacks. She personally tests out products like the best skincare products or home products then shares not only the science behind how it works, but also her personal results. She is the mom of two living in Texas with her husband. Find her on Instagram for fantastic videos, tips, and behind the scenes.
This is a great “recipe” for hard water deposits. Thanks! My shower head gets lots of deposits. I plan to pour the vinegar and lemon juice in a plastic bag, place the head in the solution (still attached to the hose), tie off the bag and let bag and head rest in the tub. Then rinse when the deposits are gone/dissolved.
It is really amazing to use! I am always surprised how it dissolves that tough hard water build up, I hope you enjoy using it too!
A great post
Thank you! Glad you liked it 🙂
I have used citric acid to do this in my washing machine. I just got a wet rag and sprinkled the powder on it, then scrubbed the ring around the too of the washer drum. Then I rinsed with plain water. Will this be an ok solution in the long run, or is citric acid too strong?
This should be okay depending on the percentage of citric acid you are using, but it is a good idea to dilute acids when using it on anything like seals or rubber. Acid can cause damage long term. This is true for citric acid or vinegar. I like to dilute with water first before spraying acids on anything rubber.
is it possible to use citric acid rather than vinegar? I’m not much of a fan of the smell of vinegar. Thanks!
The lemon juice in this is the citric acid source, but I have found they work better together. Citric acid on its own, in my experience, doesn’t quite dissolve all the mineral deposits like vinegar. The good thing about this solution is the lemon juice addition almost makes the vinegar scent unnoticeable!
I’ve used vinegar but never added lemon juice. I’m going to give it a try.
Thanks for sharing!
After using both methods, I was amazed how the lemon juice made this work quicker!!
Can you use this method for coffee pots?
Yes you can. I actually like to use this glass cleaning method for coffee pots though!
Hi Alexis, will the vinegar/lemon juice mixture work for shower tiles?
It can, but it is not good for grout. And it should only be used on ceramic tiles, not natural stone. I would recommend our homemade bathroom cleaner and this grout cleaner.
You’ll be thrilled to know this science is actually going to be used in a science lab. We had an eye splash incident in one of our labs (scientist not wearing eye protection while opening a tube containing blood and methanol). She refused to use the eye washes installed on every sink in the lab, claiming they were moldy. The EHS team inspected and did not find mold, but did find a lot of mineral buildup, which could affect the efficacy of the eyewash. We will be soaking the eyewash heads in your solution in all 20 of our labs!
Awesome!! I hope it works well and gets everything running good again. Thanks for sharing that with me!
Can this be run through a coffee maker ? we have hard water, at this point I hate replacing coffee makers .. But not willing to ruin it though. Thanks in advance
No, I would not use this solution in a coffee pot due to the lemon juice. Vinegar with some water is the best way to do it. I did video on IG for this. I do about 2 cups of vinegar and 1 cup of distilled water through it. Let that run through, then do a few cycles with just water to rinse out any remaining vinegar. You can also buy a descaling product which is very powerful for hard water.
Rats! I Just purchased a bag of limes.. will this work as a lemon substitute?
No it doesn’t work as well 🙁 But for this recipe, you can just use the vinegar. Pure vinegar will work as well, the lemon helps it work quicker. But it still works for many hard water deposits using just the vinegar
Can this be used on fiberglass tubs?
Yes it can although fiberglass surfaces are more difficult to remove hard water from.
I tried this method out in my kitchen and bathroom and it worked so well! Thank you for sharing!
Awesome! Thanks for your feedback!
Hi!
In Sweden we only have the vinegar in 12 % and 24 %! Is it really the same vinegar?
It’s stronger, but will work fine for this recip
Any suggestion to remove hair dye stains on outer surface of toilet lid?
You can use a hydrogen peroxide cleaner which works great for stains, or try the pink stuff scrub which I have found works great for stains on porcelain surfaces.