Pumice removing water chalk deposits

john reeves

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Feb 8, 2011, 6:20:22 AM2/8/11

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Being in a hard water area the u-bend of the WC bowl gets a coating of chalk
deposited from the water.

Pumice Stone seems to scrape it off quite well without damaging the glaze of
the chinaware.

Is there a good way that anybody has found to attach pumice to something to
enable it to reach right into the bend?

ransley

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Feb 8, 2011, 9:04:04 AM2/8/11

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Pumice will damage the ceramic, use an acid made to remove lime scale

Mentalguy2k8

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Feb 8, 2011, 10:39:20 AM2/8/11

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"ransley" <mark.ra...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2c161faa-fb23-4a38...@t13g2000vbo.googlegroups.com...

Agreed, my old house had the same problem but I found that anything abrasive
enough to remove the scale was damaging the ceramic, too. I think it
actually looked better before I "cleaned" it, even the slightest surface
marks quadruple the chances of scale and other stuff sticking to it.

Joe

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Feb 8, 2011, 10:48:54 AM2/8/11

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On Feb 8, 5:20 am, "john reeves" <bluestar0...@mail.invalid> wrote:

You will be far better off using a product designed to do the job
chemically. Sulfamic acid has been a mainstay of such products in the
past since it has a good balance of chemical activity/effectiveness
and relative safety, unlike muriatic (hydrochloric) acid. Vinegar
(acetic acid) is too poopy <G> and oxalic acid, while efficient, is a
slow dissolving solid. Sulfamic acid used to be the main component of
products like Sani-Flush. Haven't checked lately, but that still may
be the case.

Joe

JIMMIE

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Feb 8, 2011, 11:05:30 AM2/8/11

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Thats a hard way to get it off. Almost any dilute acid will take it
off. I use CLR, dilute muratic acid, or even a liter of cola poured in
and left over night will remove it. Using the pumice stone will
scratch the surface and make the next accumulation that much more
difficult to get off.

Jimmie

zek

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Feb 8, 2011, 1:00:32 PM2/8/11

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Vinegar and Scotch-Brite or just vinegar.

harry

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Feb 8, 2011, 2:39:11 PM2/8/11

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Brick cleaner left in overnight. you need to be careful not to use too
much & it needs to be done regular.

Sjouke Burry

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Feb 8, 2011, 4:29:39 PM2/8/11

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Said things are called hands/fingers, attached to something called
an arm.

Pierre

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Feb 8, 2011, 4:41:03 PM2/8/11

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Joe suggested sulfamic acid, with which I am unfamiliar.

My solution (done it at least a dozen times for my house(s) and
relatives' houses) has been hydrochloric acid (a.k.a. muriatic acid),
which will clean your trap in a few minutes, without leaving any
mineral trace. Make sure you don't breathe the fumes.

Do not use sulfuric acid, which will transform your deposit into very
hard minerals (tooth material). Do not, ever, under any circumstances,
add water to sulfuric acid.

Pierre

Oren

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Feb 8, 2011, 5:32:22 PM2/8/11

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On Tue, 8 Feb 2011 13:41:03 -0800 (PST), Pierre
<pierre...@gmail.com> wrote:

>My solution (done it at least a dozen times for my house(s) and
>relatives' houses) has been hydrochloric acid (a.k.a. muriatic acid),
>which will clean your trap in a few minutes, without leaving any
>mineral trace. Make sure you don't breathe the fumes.

Exactly.

If on a septic tank system. neutralize the acid before flushing.

Long term solution is to install a water softener...

The Natural Philosopher

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Feb 8, 2011, 6:04:38 PM2/8/11

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I always get the fat out with caustic, ad then descale with acid, later.

Let's face it, PH is pretty neutral in the tank after a couple of baths
and loo flushes. Esp if the water is hard.