Hard Water Homes: Removing Limescale Without Damaging Your Fittings

Water across Windsor, Reading, Maidenhead and much of Buckinghamshire is classed as hard or very hard. Left untreated, limescale builds up on taps, shower screens, kettles and tiles within weeks.

Acidic treatments dissolve scale, but they also damage natural stone, unlacquered brass and some coated chrome. Test on a hidden area first, and never leave an acidic product on a surface to dry.

For glass shower screens, a soft non-scratch pad with a dedicated descaler works better than scrubbing. Rinse thoroughly and dry with a microfibre cloth — drying is what stops the scale coming straight back.

Prevention beats removal: a quick squeegee after showers, and drying taps after use, will keep a bathroom scale-free for far longer than any monthly deep clean.

For badly scaled bathrooms, a one-off deep clean resets the surfaces so a normal routine can keep on top of them again.