Vinegar is a miracle cleaning fluid. Removing limescale is most effectively done by using vinegar. There is simply no better liquid that is better for cleaning household items such as kettle, taps, glass ware, baths and showers. Chemical products sold in the supermarket may promise to leave everything at home sparkling clean. But anybody who has tried cleaning with those available in the market could have experienced a little more prolonged effort in cleaning than with vinegar. Vinegar on the other hand will effortlessly dissolve the nasty limescale residue with only a little bit of pressure being applied. What is limescale and how is it formed? Water, when it runs over soft, spongy rocks, like limestone or chalk the calcium or magnesium carbonate minerals, are dissolved in the water. “Hard water” is the type of water that contains higher levels of such dissolved minerals. Mainly such water is the source of limescale, which leaves an unattractive white residue once the water dries. The white residue is nothing, but the minerals found in the hard water. Wherever hard water comes in regular contact, you will find unpleasant white spots if in glass or a thin layer of white scale at the bottom of the vessel once dried. Sometimes it can be a tough off-white crust or other times it may be just a light covering on a window. Either way, limescale is not pleasant to see on visible places as it gives an unclean impression. Vinegar for cleaning limescale formation in houses – Any type of vinegar like white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar and distilled white vinegar can all be used for line scale removal from household items. However, the most popular vinegar for cleaning is distilled white vinegar. White vinegar is clear and will leave stains. Vinegar has an acidity of 2.5 to 4.0 on the pH scale. The acidity of vinegar helps to dissolve mineral particles by making them charged. These newly charged particles become attracted to the positive and negative charges in water. The minerals are pulled into the water by strong inter molecular electrostatic forces and thus can be easily removed. Vinegar is extremely helpful in removal of scales on shower heads, toilet bowls, soap scum build-up, and various other mineral scale deposits. Even, vinegar can also be used to clean up the dark green and black inorganic coating that develops on copper and brass metals, which are often used for cooking utensils and jewelry. Copper and brass tarnish because the metallic elements react with carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide in the air. These deposits can be removed because they easily become charged by the acidity of vinegar. How to clean the limescale using vinegar – To begin the cleaning process, take the bottle of vinegar and soak a paper kitchen towel with the liquid. Paper towels are more effective than cloths because they absorb the vinegar rather than allowing it to run off which often wastes the vinegar. Use the paper towel soaked with vinegar to wipe at the surface of the item where limescale has built up. If this is a shower, you will only need to wipe gently in circular motions before the limescale dissolves. The same with taps. If there are stubborn layers of limescale simply add more vinegar to the paper towel and press harder. Allow the vinegar to soak into the surface and dissolve the limescale. Return in ten minutes once it had begun working. For more stubborn limescale in kettles pour the vinegar into the kettle and leave it for 30 minutes while the scale dissolves. After then use a metal wire scrubbing pad to remove the limescale from the kettle. Sometimes limescale will gather on outside windows. It can be too tough for window cleaners to remove with their soapy liquids but with vinegar and some hard scrubbing it will be removed easily.

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