How to Remove Hard Water Spots

Hard Water Stains
In Hawaii our water is hard, you probably have those nasty white and brown spots on your sink, tubs, and glass shower enclosures. Basically everywhere you have a faucet and use water. If hard water deposits are not addressed, the minerals in the water will stain and permeate the surface making it extremely difficult if not imposable for Do It Yourself removal. So don’t let those hard water stains take over. The sooner you address it, the less of a stain and build up you will have to deal with and you won’t have to call us at Glass Polishing Services.

Hard Water Spots
Hard water is water that has a high concentration of dissolved minerals, mainly magnesium and calcium. Hard water is not bad for you, (it's actually a nice way to get your minerals) but it is a pain when it stains and builds up on your sinks and showers. Water is foremost a solvent. It picks up impurities easily. So as water percolates through the ground, it takes very small amounts of the minerals with it and takes it right to the water processing plant.

Hard Water Deposits
So, with hard water comes increased soap scum, film, lime deposits on all your showers and sinks. These spots and deposits will appear on glass, porcelain, enamel, fiberglass, stainless steel, china, enamel, chrome, and tile. Your bathroom shower and sinks will require more frequent cleaning because of this. The calcium and magnesium in water leave what is called lime scales. These minerals make cleaning products much less effective. To clean lime scale, can use a product that deactivates or binds with the minerals. These are called a sequestrates. Calgon is a sequestrate cleaning product.

Remove Hard Water Deposits
The cleaners listed below will help remove light stains on your surfaces. But remember that you should clean hard water stains away regularly. The longer they sit, the harder they are to remove. If allowed to stain for long periods the stain may be permanent and have to be polished out by a glass restoration professional. Plain white vinegar and lemon juice is a acid, and it helps to loosen and remove hard water deposits from glass shower enclosures.

Hard Water Stain Removers for Tubs, Sinks and Tiles.
Lime-A-Way is a product that removes hard water deposits, rust stains and soap scum. There are tub and tile cleaning products that remove soup scum and also contain sequestering agents and heavy duty acids such as phosphoric acids. Phosphoric acid, hydrochloric and sulfuric acid are very strong acids, be sure not to get any on your skin. Use eye protection and gloves! These products can ruin glass by etching it if left on for longer than recommended by the manufacture. If you find your self with etched glass contact us. Note the process to remove the etching is considerably lengthier than just polishing out difficult hard water spots from the start.

Hard Water Stain Removers for Glass
Glass shower doors and exterior windows splashed by sprinklers become stained easily with hard water deposits. The lime scale attracts dirt and mold and mildew. To remove light to medium stains with this buildup, try cleaners made for hard water scale or lime removal such as wink, Zud or comet. If you find the water spot too difficult or time consuming to remove by these methods, don’t worry give us a call. To reduce hard water spots on shower glass wipe off water using a squeegee after each shower.

How To Descale & Clean A Coffee Pot
The scale or hard water spots on your coffee pot are caused from mineral deposits. Hard water spots, or stains can be removed by using a solution of vinegar and water. approx 25% vinegar/ 75% water. Pour the solution directly in the coffee pot's water holding tank and run the coffee pot through it's normal brewing cycle. It may take several times of cycling this vinegar/water solution to completely remove the scale.