Taps and sink basins usually accumulate a great deal of lime scale through everyday use. Unfortunately, descaling lime deposits from such fixtures will require some manual labour in the form of scrubbing. Nevertheless, a proven combination of white vinegar and lemon juice will make a great difference and your chore will be much easier and less intense.

The taps:

It is important to ensure maximum contact between the acid soaked scrubbing pad and the surface you are scrubbing. Try not to miss any spots, including grooves between parts. This acidic cleaning solution will not affect any rubber seals or the chrome finish of the faucet.

-apply the mixture of vinegar and lemon juice generously using a scouring pad, don’t scour just make sure every part of the faucet is treated;

-repeat the process once or twice in the space of about one hour;

In about an hour or so, the lime scale deposits should be softened (some of them dissolved) by the acidic properties of lemon and vinegar.

–scrub the faucet properly from all sides in order to remove all scaling, take your time and do it right;

-polish the faucet with a towel and that’s it;

The sink:

–mix vinegar and lemon juice in equal amounts;

-apply generously with a sponge all around the sink basin;

-let the acid go to work for about an hour, you can reapply the solution if necessary;

-scrub the sink with a scouring pad and then rinse thoroughly;

-polishing is optional;

*Tile work

In case you like to give descaling the tiles a go, you can do this by using the same solution of white vinegar and lemon juice. In this case though you would have to reapply the mixture every fifteen or so minutes as the solution will be running down tiled surfaces. The more often you reapply the solution the better effect and less scrubbing you will have to do.

-mix a larger amount of the cleaning solution in a bowl or a small bucket;

-apply to the tiled surface generously using a sponge, don’t skip the grouts;

–reapply the acid cleaner three or four times depending on how much deposits you are dealing with;

-in an hour or so you can start scrubbing the tiles, lime scaling should be coming off quite easily;

-keep a plastic scraper handy as heavy, solidified deposits in awkward spots might require some extra muscle.