How to Deal with Lime Scale in Your Home

08/17/2015

Lime scale is one of the most common, and irritating, plumbing problems across the country. It is caused by overexposure of the pipes and plumbing fixtures to hard water, which can be found in a great many geographical areas. While the white, chalky crust that forms around faucets and in showers may seem like nothing more than a nuisance, it can actually cause quite a few issues in your home. Read on to find out how to address the buildup of lime scale in your home.

What Is Lime Scale?

As previously mentioned, lime scale is a mineral deposit that is formed by hard water contacting a surface over time. Hard water is water with a mineral content that is above normal. The more a surface has contact with hard water, like your shower tile or the inside of your pipes, the more minerals it will leave behind. This is how you get that chalky white substance showing up in areas that are frequently in contact with water.

Lime scale can be extremely harmful to the pipes in your home. If it isn’t addressed, it can build up until it restricts the flow of water through the pipes. If your pipes have excessive lime scale buildup in them, you may need to replace them.

How to Address This

The best way to solve a lime scale problem is to install a water softener in your home. A water softener is a device that is attached to the water line, so that it can treat all water flowing into your home. As water flows through the water softener, any minerals that could be harmful to the pipes are neutralized. This protects your entire home from lime scale.

If you’d like to know more about water softeners, call Rooter Man. We serve the entire Troy, NY area.