How To Remove Calcium Buildup From Pipes

Many of us live in places where hard water is the only option available to us. Especially those who live in coastal areas like Chennai, Mangalore, and Mumbai and so on, face the problem of having to deal with hard water that has too high a mineral content. Such kind of water not only poses problem when it comes to cleaning, for the fact that it does not cause foam with soap very easily, but also causes deposits of calcium compounds to get accumulated on the inner surfaces of plumbing fittings and pipe fittings, causing them to become totally or partially non-functional. Thus, one must keep cleaning them on and off, to get rid of this problem. Read on to know how to clean calcium deposits from pipes.

 

 

The white coloured deposits on your bathroom fittings and other plumbing fittings are deposits of calcium compounds – they are present where there is hard water or water with high mineral content. As the water runs through the fittings, the calcium ions present in the water, which are highly reactive, react with the air inside the pipes to form compounds of calcium, that deposit all around the plumbing fittings, making the smooth passage of water difficult or causing hot water to cool down too fast.

 

Buildup of calcium in pipes and plumbing fittings can cause them to clog partially or completely, making them partially or totally dysfunctional. Some metals that pipes are made up of facilitate the buildup of calcium deposits. When such a case occurs, chunks of this calcium buildup can break off and clog the pipes, causing the pipes to become completely dysfunctional and even causing them to develop cracks and leak. If such deposits occur on your bathroom faucets or other fittings or tiles, they look ugly and dirty, no matter how many a times you clean it. If the water you are using has a high content of minerals in it, it will take as less as a month for the calcium deposits to build up in and around the pipes and plumbing fittings. Thus, the importance of cleaning the plumbing fittings and other pipes regularly cannot be over emphasized.

 

Here are some ways and methods that you can employ to get rid of calcium deposits from your pipes and plumbing fittings.

 

Barium nitrate, glycine, phosphoric acid, and sulphuric acid are some of the most commonly used industrial cleaners or acids. They help in breaking down the scaly or rocky deposits from the surfaces of the insides of the pipes. All one needs to do is to make a moderately concentrated solution in water and slowly run it along the inside surfaces of the pipes and plumbing fittings.

 

The high pressure steamer makes use of the theory that if the high pressure is released, the pressure gets transformed into energy, which can be used to remove the stains and scaly buildup by causing them to loosen up.

 

This device works on the same principle as the streamer, but uses water at high pressure to do the same. With this device, you may have to careful, as the high pressure of the water may cause the fittings and pipes to develop cracks . Thus, you must never hold this device too close to the surfaces.

 

The best, easiest and cheapest method is to flush a concentrated solution of white vinegar through the inner surface of the pipes to cause the buildup to melt and fall off, which you can clean later with a brush that has a long handle.