How can I clean the buildup on my faucets?

Question

I just moved into a new house and have found that there is an odd white buildup at the opening of the faucet in the bathroom sink. It's really disgusting and I wonder if it affects the water coming through it in a bad way. What is the best way to get rid of it?
And does anyone know the best way to clean/prevent mildew on a shower curtain?

Answer 1

it's calcium. vinegar and a toothbrush will get rid of it.

Answer 2

I can help you with both problems, Wipe away mildew

When you want to remove mildew stains, reach for white vinegar first. It can be safely used without additional ventilation and can be applied to almost any surface --bathroom fixtures and tile, clothing, furniture, painted surfaces, plastic curtains, and more. To eliminate heavy mildew accumulations, use it full strength. For light stains, dilute it with an equal amount of water. You can also prevent mildew from forming on the bottoms of rugs and carpeting by misting the backs with full-strength white vinegar from a spray bottle.


Remove the faucet screen by unscrewing it from the faucet take out the washer or the water flow restrictor if it has one or both of these,put aside, heat some White Vinegar don't boil just hot, then put the screen and the part the screen is in into the hot vinegar and soak either over night or for about three hours, then take out and scrub with a old tooth brush where this lime is, soak for another hour if it has not been removed by then it should come off easily if not take a scrubbing pad or steel wool and just rub lightly that will remove it completely, but in your case being a new house this should remove easily as it does not sound like it has had a chance to build up very much, you can also clean the flow restrictor in this vinegar then brush with the toothbrush and rinse and put everything back the way you found it and it's all clean and you won't have that unsightly buildup of limescale. Good Luck !

Answer 3

For the first question. There is a strainer on almost all faucets and that strainer gets built up with calcium deposits over time. Do your best to unscrew that strainer. After you've unscrewed it, if the strainer can be taken apart into pieces you may want to do that, but take note the order that it fits together. Then get a small glass. I used a shot glass when I fixed my friend's bathroom faucet. And fill that glass partially full of something like Lime-Away. I like the lime removers that are more syrupy instead of watery. They tend to work better. Then fill the remaining portion of the glass with a little water. Use just enough to cover the strainer. The Lime-Away will start working on the calcium and you should see little bubbles coming up from the strainer. Leaving it in there for about a half hour to an hour. You might want to check it every fifteen minutes or so. In the end, with a very small amount of light cleaning and between soaking it in that solution it should look like new. The reason I said to take it apart was so that the solution can work on it better. Once it's clean, piece it back together and screw it back on. You should notice that your water runs through it a hole lot better. If you have any lime or calcium on the actual faucet itself, use some of the Lime-Away on that too. Lime-Away can also make cleaning calcium deposited glasses a breeze too. Just use a little and add some water to it and swish it around. If I have several, I'll just transfer the liquid from one glass to another. It's a lot easier than trying to scrape it from off the bottom of a tall glass. Then I just dump the liquid out and wash it like regular. If you are afraid to use Lime-Away or a lime remover, I'm sure white vinegar would work pretty much just about as good. Just use the same process. Although with white vinegar I wouldn't water it down. It is an acid, so it should work on the lime, but it is a light acid. So it shouldn't be watered down.

For the curtain, just use a bathroom tile spray on it or spray it with a bleach water solution every so often. Try keeping the closed whenever you are done using the shower. Keeping it bunched up will help keep water on the curtain, which encourages mold. You might need to wipe the curtain down with bleach water or a cleaner about once a week.

Answer 4

The taps have limescale on them, which is caused by the water dripping out of them over a long period of time, and leaving a mineral deposit. Vinegar in a plastic bag tied around the tap (faucet) is good, as others have suggested, but so is a pumice stone, which is not hard enough to damage your taps (unless they are gold plated or something!) but will shift the deposits quickly. That's what I used in my bathroom when I moved in.
And as for the mildew problem, leaving the shower curtain opened out rather than pushed back will increase the airflow, allowing water to evaporate. Mildew needs moisture, so this should help stop it developing. Also leave the bathroom window open after a shower, to let the air circulate, and the damp air to escape.

Answer 5

The faucet strainer unscrews. You can buy a new one for about $1 or $2. You might want to install a water filtration system for the continuing problem, (or keep scrubbing with vinegar)

Buy a tub and tile spray for the shower curtain. Put it in the tub, and hose it down good. Tilex works on all mildew. If this is a continuing problem, you might have a ventilation problem, where the steam is not being removed from the bathroom. Check out your vent fan for a dirt buildup, or bad venting.

Answer 6

Try using Vaikal, for the faucet´s and for the shower curtain, not much you can do apart from wash them often. This is why I put class door´s on my shower, easy to clean. But I use a natural stone cleaner cream , it´s great for getting rid of limescale, well for cleaning the whole bathroom. In the kitchen too ,great for all area´s in the house. It clean´s Stainless Steal, Bronze, Brass, Silver, Gold, Copper almost all metals, even cleans widows, along with so many other thing´s. Here is the web site for this product. Click on the product Perlglanz Putzetein, this will take you to the next page , You will see on the right hand side a list of languages, you choose which one suits best, Her you will find more information on this product. Not a sales person just a housewife. my niece introduced this to me. What a nice girl she is too . If you look in some of the bigger stores near you or even in your local hardware store, you might find something similar. No need for all these cleaning products but it´s really great stuff, comes with a small sponge , just wet the sponge add the cream and the dirt or what ever you are cleaning just comes off, and it´s all natural . Have a look for yourself

Answer 7

the white build-up is from deposits cause by hard water. get a soft brush immersed in a little vinegar and scrub gently. if you want, just replace the faucet.

mildew can be removed by soaking the curtain in a bucket with a spoonful of baking soda. to prevent mildew make sure you have adequate ventilation in the bathroom. open the bathroom doors when you are not in the house.

Answer 8

I agree with the vinegar answer ...as to the shower curtain, always leave it pulled closed after a shower so it will dry. If you have it open the moisture sits in the folds and molds. Shower shine works great also. Just spray the shower down when you get done , it prevents mildew.

Answer 9

Sounds like lime (calcium) buildup. I think it will be fine.

I always use bicarbonate soda (baking soda) and white (spirit) vinegar. The vinegar will dissolve the lime (if it is lime).

First I make a thick paste with bicarb and a little water and use a bit of elbow grease to scrub the persistent stain/spot/etc. then I splash vinegar and keep scrubbing while it fizzes.

Seems to work on my taps. It's cheap too, so it's worth giving a go.

Answer 10

Best way to do it is to soak some cotton wool with white vinegar and use rubber bands to attach the pads to the affected areas. This will get rid of most of it. Then give it a good scrub with Bicarbonate of Soda to remove any residue. Works well and no nasty chemicals involved.

Answer 11

white vinegar for the taps and i watched a cleaning program a while ago saying the best way to keep your shower curtain clean is to actually put it in your washing machine on a cool wash with a little detergent - iv done this ever since and it works a treat