The proof is in the vinegar

Did you catch that UGLY photo?  That is a photo of the sink faucet in our master bathroom in our rental home here in Belgium.  The water that tries to force itself out of there is the same water we put into our mouth when we brush our teeth and wash our faces.  Many of you know our water is HARD here in Europe...well, here in Belgium, you can almost chip the stuff, like taking an icepick to a piece of ice!  Even your glass of water will have these calcium "floaters" in there.  How do you get rid of THAT on any surface in your house without scrubbing or using harsh chemicals?  Read on for the easy 2-step method and also a photo of my faucet...during and after getting "treated"!

First things first, vinegar basically EATS calcium and mineral deposits.  Since vinegar will evaporate and become ineffective, when I treat showerheads and faucets, I get a papertowel sopping wet with vinegar.  Wrap the offending piece in the papertowel.  Then wrap that papertowel with plastic wrap, being careful to cover all openings so the vinegar doesn't evaporate.  Let it soak and do it's thing for about 24 hours.

After 24 hours is up, unwrap and just wipe with a rough sponge or a toothbrush (not yours or DH's either).  All the calcium will come off, and you'll actually SEE the faucet itself, and look, I can see the aerator even!  For messy showerheads, I have also used Ziploc baggies filled with vinegar and then tied them off with tape.  No need to take the showerheads down to soak them in vinegar...don't do an extra step that you really don't need to do!

Now I know at least one of you is going to say, ewwwww....your faucet still has rust on it....well, yeah...now that I can see the thing...it DOES have rust!  I didn't get a chance to see that before, okay.  We do have a lot of iron coming out of the faucet too (can you tell I don't drink faucet water directly here?)....hence, the rust.  Of course you can get rust off with an acidic based rust cleaner, or to scour it off...but the only way to keep it off completely is to keep that area dry (not gonna happen here) or rub it with oil (also not gonna happen)....so, I'll monitor it, and if it gets too much out of control, I'll splurge and get a new faucethead.  Can you tell I am cheaper than cheap?





Oh, and FYI, while we are talking about vinegar...you can use it to clean and disinfect just about anything, but please do not use it on your tile floors.  Yes, it works great on the tile part, but over time, it'll eat through your grout!

How's the water where you are?  Do you have rust or hard water problems?  Do YOU drink out of the faucet where you are?