Best Limescale Removers (2024 UK)

Limescale is a chalky crust that lurks in your kitchen and bathroom. I’m sure you know this if you are reading this article about limescale removers. However, it’s always good to know that we are on the same page before we get the reviews underway.

Chemically speaking, limescale mainly made up of calcium carbonate. Hard water leaves limescale behind as a residue. Hard water is good old fashioned H2O that contains more minerals than other water.

When this water goes into something like a kettle and evaporates, it leaves behind the calcium carbonate as this can’t be evaporated away.

So limescale can build up quickly on just about any surface that hard water comes into contact with, and as limescale loves to stick to other limescale, this buildup won’t stop unless you intervene.

How can you stop this happening? Well, you can use one of the products below to help keep your limescale at bay.

 

 

How to Get Rid of Thick Limescale

Really thick limescale can be tricky to remove, but thankfully, not impossible. You can buy many powerful limescale removers for this job, but this home remedy actually works exceptionally well too. All you need is bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Use equal parts and make a thick paste.

Next, apply the paste to the limescale. This will work on any limescale you have in the home, but it’s probably best to not use it on anything you want to drink or eat from, like the kettle, for example. Don’t worry; we’ll cover how you can remove limescale from a kettle in a moment.

Once you have applied it to the limescale, you need to leave it to soak. Now, the longer you leave the paste, the better it will work. If you only have a little bit of limescale build-up to take care of, 15 minutes is plenty. However, for really thick limescale, leaving it overnight often gets the best results.

You can then rinse off the paste, and you should be left with a clean surface. If there is any limescale left on the surface, you can repeat the process.

For limescale in kettles, cleaners often use denture cleaning tablets. They are designed to remove staining and debris, so they do a great job at cleaning a kettle and leave behind little to no evidence.

Although you may want to boil the kettle with fresh water and dispose of this before using it again.

You may need to use two denture cleaning tablets in your kettle and leave it to soak overnight, but that will ensure it is clean and free from limescale, prolonging the life of your kettle.

 

Limescale Remover FAQs

What do professional cleaners use to remove limescale?

Professional cleaners use a variety of cleaning products to get rid of limescale around the home. Many of them swear by mixing white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda into a paste and applying it.

While others use a spray bottle of undiluted white vinegar and spray it directly onto the limescale. Others, though, use professional products like Kilrock’s Descaler as it is a very powerful limescale remover, perfect for stubborn situations.

 

Can you remove limescale with WD-40?

WD-40 actually states on its website that its product is an excellent limescale remover. And there are many YouTube videos and articles claiming the same. However, we would approach WD-40 with caution when it comes to limescale.

WD-40 is a fantastic product to have around the home and is certainly useful in many different applications, so it’s worth keeping a can handy. In this case, though, WD-40 shouldn’t be your first choice. This is because it isn’t acidic. In fact, it is more alkaline-based.

Although the recipe of WD-40 is a highly guarded secret, we do know that it contains petroleum-based oils and hydrocarbons, which are alkaline-based.

Most limescale removers are acid-based because the acids eat through the limescale very effectively. This is why white vinegar works so well on limescale.

So, while WD-40 is a brilliant product to have around the home, it isn’t suitable for getting rid of limescale and may actually damage certain surfaces around the home if you use it.

 

Can you remove limescale with Coke?

The acid in Coke does make it quite good at removing limescale, so Coca-Cola can certainly be used in a pinch to remove limescale.

However, it won’t be as effective as some limescale removers because the acids in Coke are not as strong as the ones found in readily available limescale-removing products.

So, if Coke is the only thing you have in the home, you can use it clean light limescale build-up on your surfaces, but it won’t get rid of heavy limescale.

 

Can you remove limescale with a 2p coin?

This limescale removal hack went viral after a Mrs Hinch fan posted her findings on the Mrs Finch Facebook page.

According to the original poster of this hack, you simply need to wet a 2p coin and rub it over the limescale to remove it. And this has been backed up by other users of the page and other cleaning websites.

Now, some people state you need to be very careful that you don’t damage your ceramic sink as you do this and be careful not to scratch your taps as well, but the hack does seem to work. Amazingly, you can remove limescale with a 2p coin.

 

Does bicarbonate of soda dissolve limescale?

Bicarbonate of soda does work really well at removing limescale. However, when you combine it with the other magical household cleaning ingredient, vinegar, it works even better. Make a thick paste with bicarb and vinegar, and your limescale worries will be over very quickly.

 

Conclusion

We hope these limescale removers can help you keep your limescale in check and keep your kettle, boiler and any other surface in your home clean and limescale free for years to come.

If we had to pick just one limescale remover to recommend, it would be Kilrock Big K Multi-Purpose Descaler. It’s a professional limescale remover, but is very quick and easy to use.

If you would like to find out more about cleaning products and other household items, please explore our website further. We have plenty of articles on here to make setting up and maintaining a home easy for you.