How to remove silica scale from faucets, etc.

A. Just because the water has a high silica content, does that necessarily mean the deposits are silica? Maybe it's just soap scum that will come off with an alkaline cleaner?

A. You might try cleaning it with a solution of 2-4 tablespoons of bicarb of soda in hot water, followed by a rinse followed by straight white vinegar ⇦ in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil link] (acetic acid ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil link] 5%) works on carbonate scale but NOT on silicate; full stop, end of story.
Mild solutions containing hydrofluoric acid (HF) are the only solution to silicates scale. WHY? Because it's the same acid that's used to etch glass (Silica). Agree with previous comments; please be exceedingly careful with any solution that contains HF. I would advise:
1. Please read up as much as you can prior to use.
2. Don't get it on glass; it will etch the glass very quickly and permanently.
3. Only use where you can control the run off drips & splashes 100.00% to ensure that the acid is completely washed away at the end of the treatment.
4. Calcium Gluconate gel is the antidote for skin contact after immediate washing with water.
5. Serious contact WILL REQUIRE hospital treatment.

Now if you still want to do this you can find many HF containing cleaning solutions in aluminium mag wheel cleaners as manufacturers use sulfurIC ACID mixed with SODIUM HEXAFLUORIDE to make HF in the mixture but don't have to declare it on the label as they never added it into the product.

OK, last bit of advice : consider very carefully the potential of this to go wrong and the cost of a new shower head.

Regards,

Glass Cleaner / Water Stain Remover

on Amazon or eBay
(affil link)

A. It is looking like Australia is way ahead of good old USA.
Forget the C-L-R, the bicarb and lemon juice and contact Gell Enterprises Inc., Fresno California. They sell, AMAZ, a product that will solve your hard lime scale problems. I have been using this professionally for several years now.
AMAZ is produced in the USA so you should not have a problem in locating.

Ed. note: We discourage commercial testimonials for a lot of reasons ( huh? why?)Even still, we never hear from company lawyers when their product is praised, but do hear from them quite when their product is dissed, it should be recognized that reviews you read tend to be unrealistically favorable rather than balanced :-)

A. Hi Frank. Commercial products like CLR and Lime-Away are basically for this purpose; I don't think we'll come up with a home-brew which is better. But if the problem is too severe to deal with, it may be necessary to start with softened or DI water and/or to make up the cleaning solutions from potassium-based chemicals or at least sodium-based and avoid calcium. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. Hi Shirley. It's not safe for people, that's for sure.
It's not safe on 1) or 2). It's not 'good' for 3) but may not harm it if rinsed well. HF eats glass, so it's not quite 'safe' on fiberglass. But as long as it's not old and wicking, or has a gel coat on it, it's probably okay.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

 Thank you for responding to my questions. That was very helpful.

A. Hi John. Sorry, although we can certainly print general responses about electronic descalers, like whether people consider them workable science or snake oil, we can't print support or refutation of claims about individual proprietary items like ScalePro & Eddy ( huh? why?). This is a "no-registration required" website where we have no proof that anyone is who they claim they are and that they are without without vested interests. We've had several suppliers pose as 'satisfied customers' in this forum (we knew because the poster's IP address was the same as the vendor's website). Similarly claims that one particular brand doesn't doesn't work could be brand assassination by a competitor :-)

It's best to use this site for technical issues rather than testimonials; we'll leave reviews to "registration required" sites like Amazon.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey